So living in a town such as Fort Yukon has its advantages and its disadvantages. Most of the advantages revolve around it being both a small town and it being very peaceful and cut off from the world in many ways. These advantages can quickly turn into disadvantages however when you need something that back in the “Lower 48” you could just run to Walmart or Lowes for.
There is a store in town that is run by a company called The Alaska Commercial Company (The AC). This company operates over 20 stores in bush towns in Alaska. These are mostly smaller stores that serve communities in the close to or over 500 people range but some are in smaller towns down to 200 and some are towns of a couple thousand. The problem is that this is a store that reminds me a lot of being in a “general store” in small communities in Pennsylvania. They do have everything you would need in order to survive, but not everything you will ever need.
Eventually you will need something that they just don’t carry. For example in the minor renovations we were helping with on our house before we moved in we were doing some electrical work. Fortunately our landlord is on the ball and had all the supplies we needed to do the work and make it functional so we could move in. One of the things that we did overlook were the plastic cover plates that go over outlets and switches. Not necessary items to function, but preferable to have for safety reasons. So in order to get these in Fort Yukon, I had to contact a building supply company in Fairbanks, get them my order, (I needed a few other things too) then pay for the order with a credit card over the phone, they pick the order, charge a small fee to have the order boxed up and labeled and delivered to the airport cargo terminal. Then I have to call the airline, let them know that the packages are mine, pay for the air freight for the boxes and then they give me an idea of when they will arrive based on room for freight on the planes. Then I call the terminal to see if the boxes left or if they are still in Fairbanks, find out the did get shipped so then I have to go to the airport here and seek them out so I can finally get them back to my house and install my outlet covers.
This scenario is not limited to building supplies either. Most food and house wares are available at the AC but they do have a limited selection and many items are very expensive. Most of the expense is due to transportation but also contributing to it is the very high cost of energy here, both electrical and fuel, and the limited customer base which leads to a lot of spoilage and loss. So knowing these facts most people try to get many of their needs in Fairbanks when they are there for one reason or another.
So that leads back to the “Alaskan Suitcases” (Rubbermaid bins) When we go into Fairbanks, we bring several of these empty and stacked together as our luggage on the way into Fairbanks. We do our shopping, pack our goods into the bins and take them to the post if they are non-perishables and mail them home (this is cheaper then bringing them as freight). Things that are chill or freeze and things that are oddly shaped we take as our luggage home. You are only allowed so many pounds on the planes and then you have to pay per pound for anything over (hence why you mail everything you can).
All of this has made us realize how much we took for granted back in PA. We actually are really enjoying things despite these difficulties (small “price” to pay for the wonderful life we have in Fort Yukon).
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