How Three Sisters Got Her Name & More

Because I was dating his sister-in-law, because the Three Sisters took her name from, well, the three sisters in his wife’s family, my skipper had more than a passing interest in the web of relationships that were intersecting that summer in 1994. And so it was that, on the 300 mile drive from Valdez to Talkeetna, he wanted to gossip inquire about those intersections. And more.

Dangerous territory, this.

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From Valdez to Talkeetna, via the Richardson & Glennallen Highways (Apple Maps; illustration Leland E. Hale)

Guys often assume that we’re in this together — meaning men are in this together against women. So any information we can share becomes strategic. It becomes a “help me win” moment.

Yuck. This was not a place I wanted to go. I decided that less was more.

Since I’d known his sister-in-law since she was in her teens, I felt comfortable enough filling him in on the broad outlines of her family history. That she and her siblings — two sisters and a brother — were the children of divorce. That they had little contact with their father. That their mother was a force of nature. That growing up their mother once rented two adjoining apartments — one for herself and one for the kids. That the sisters were head strong and independent, having fallen not far from the tree.

The skipper nodded as I talked, revealing a look of recognition and, perhaps, resignation. For my part, I was entranced by the scenes unfolding outside the truck’s window. Although I had spent many days in Alaska while researching “Butcher, Baker,” this was new turf, with spectacular vistas. Talk about the sisters would have to ride in the backseat.

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Trans-Alaska Pipeline, along the Richardson Highway

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Thompson Pass & Worthington Glacier, along the Richardson Highway. Thompson Pass is one of the snowiest passes in Alaska. It routinely sets snowfall records.

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Short Trees, on the approach to the Glennallen turnoff. The boreal region of Alaska has a harsh climate, as these trees show. Yes, there will be trailers.

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Town of Glennallen, at the junction of the Glennallen & Richardson Highways. From nothing but wilderness to this bump in the road. Typical Alaska. If we failed to make the westward turn at Glennallen, we’d end up in Fairbanks.

Copyright Leland E. Hale (2018). All rights reserved.


Craig

Order “What Happened In Craig,” HERE and HERE, true crime from Epicenter Press about Alaska’s Worst Unsolved Mass Murder.

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