Although it is a big, fast river, the only serious white water is at Haigh Rapids, and even there we can skirt around the rougher water. Clients well into their 70s have rafted down the river before. It sounds like you’ve recovered well from your recent illness and have spent a lot of time in the woods throughout your life, so I don’t think this will be outside your comfort zone. My cousin is used to having some pretty hoity-toity clients, so he serves great meals, and you’ll have a warm sleeping bag and a cot in a roomy tent.
Isaac has already checked into it, and we can get you a cabin at the Wolverine River Lodge so you could spend a few days here in Alpine too. It’s nothing fancy. The main lodge has a restaurant and bar, and there are a half dozen cabins nearby. Each one has its own bath, telephone, and television. It’s only about a 10-minute drive from the museum, and it’s right on the bank of the river. Just imagine?—?It’s very likely that the Colonel camped in this same area.
We are all so excited about this idea. You could see the museum and meet everyone here. Mom is already planning to have you over for dinner, and Isaac wants to take you up the old mining road so you can see the ruins there.
I know this must seem overwhelming. But please just give it some thought. On a practical level, it would also solve the problem of the artifacts?—?you could bring them with you on the plane. It would be safer than sending them via the mail. And we’ve got the money you donated to the museum, so we can easily cover all the expenses of your trip.
OK, I hope this hasn’t been too much of a “hard sell.” I really want you to consider this, Walt. I know it has long been a dream of yours to come to Alaska, and we would love to have you. Please say yes.
With warmest wishes,
Josh
P.S. You’ll also see that I’ve also sent you brochure about the rafting trip, just in case it might help persuade you.
Raft Alaska’s Magnificent Wolverine River
Calving glaciers, soaring mountains?—?float from the mountains to the sea and experience Alaska on its grandest scale.
Our river trip begins in the historic mining town of Alpine, Alaska. For the next five to six days, you will float through one of the most scenic landscapes in the world: dramatic Forrester Canyon, cascading waterfalls, coastal mountains with their ever-white peaks, the misty stretches of Boyd Flats, and the beautiful Tillman River. You’ll also see the crumbling signs of a bygone era?—?the abandoned railroad line that was built in 1905 through some of the most rugged terrain on earth. You’ll see tunnels through the mountainsides and timber railroad trestles. Wildlife too abounds along the way: bears, seals, salmon, and bald eagles are common sights. Near the end of the trip, we will float past Kings and Stone Glaciers, which regularly calve giant slabs of ice into the river.
You can look forward to:
Friendly, informed guides.
Freshly prepared meals.
Comfortable sleeping quarters.
The adventure of a lifetime.
Dear Josh,
You knocked me right off my feet with your last letter. Alaska!
Right off the bat, I can think of a lot of reasons why the trip would be against my better judgment. I’m too old for such adventures, and I hate flying more than having teeth pulled. Consequently, I haven’t been in one of those death traps since 1980, before you were even born now that I think of it.
It also seems to me that your little museum could put that money to better use than bringing my useless bones up there.
All that said, yours is the kindest invitation I’ve received in a long time. As you well know, ever since I was a young boy and learned about the Colonel’s journey and studied that map up in the attic, I’ve dreamed of seeing Alaska. It’s hard to even imagine what it would be like to step foot in that country. And now, it seems like I’ve got some friends up there to boot.
I won’t deny it. I’m nervous about making that long trip. I’ll check in with my doctor, and we’ll just see how this pans out.
As for Sophie’s photographs, the Anderson Museum burned in 1965. The family had donated her photographs, plates, and camera equipment to the museum, and all of it was destroyed. What you have there is all that’s left.
Thank you for your kindness, Josh. I’ll be in touch. I sure would like to see Alaska.
Walt
Oregon Post, April 19, 1929
BIRD PHOTOGRAPHER SOPHIE FORRESTER RECALLS LIFE OF ADVENTURE:
ANDERSON MUSEUM WILL OPEN SHOW OF HER PHOTOGRAPHS NEXT WEEK
One would guess upon first meeting Mrs. Sophie Forrester that she has led a common, quiet life. She is a slight and elderly woman with white hair pinned up neatly, long dark skirt, old-fashioned high-necked blouse and a soft-spoken, Victorian manner.
Yet visit her home on a quiet little pond outside of Portland, and one will find evidence that contradicts this ostensibly ordinary life.
There is a wooly mammoth tusk above the fireplace, a framed letter from the National Audubon Society in gratitude of Mrs. Forrester’s work, and on her bookcase an Indian birch bark basket that holds what Mrs. Forrester says are the eggshells of an Alaska ptarmigan.