1989 - A final Alaska trip, ghost towns and collpased bridges; Moving back to D.C., Relationship strains; Linda snags a job delivering babies.
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They were aligned on a final bucket-list adventure before they left Alaska. 100+ miles self-arranged whitewater rafting from the Saint Elias icefield above Kennecott into Valdez. Timing sucked: they hit Valdez just after the infamous tanker of the same name ran aground, despoiling the Prince William Sound and creating nightmare logistic tangles just when they needed it the least.
Near the end of the trip they came to the first signs of civilization, called locally “The Million-Dollar Bridge”. Built a ways out from Cordova, the great Alaskan earthquake of 1964 knocked it off its moorings.
They camped at Hurricane Point. A 40-mile Road came out from Cordova, but few traveled it, named locally as “The Road to Nowhere”. Nonetheless, Linda spotted one car and decided wisely to hitch with Noah to Cordova while the men-folk did another day or two. The remaining group huddled under tarps as the winds sleeted ice sideways and made for a most miserable night and day. They met up with Linda and Noah who found “no room at the inn”. Prince William Sound just after the Valdez ran aground, Texans by the hundreds flying up to make quick bucks with squeegees to soak up the oil besotted coastline: no rooms anywhere.
Linda was less than happy returning to Gaithersburg, but although disgruntled, Linda sleuthed out a new job as a nurse midwife with a large group in DC. But being back in an urban environment, seeing her husband wearing a uniform, her having to work, her discontent boiled over on several occasions, but she hung in there.