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August 8, 1998

Up to go to another press conference at the Mayor's Office.  right in the middle of it, cameras and reporters everywhere, I get a phone call.  All the way down 3 flights of stairs, I was thinking that Mary Beth had been damaged.  But it was Valery with some "important information".  It was about our flight to Nome. See, I told you he was keeping me informed.  When we got back to the hotel, he called and said my fax from Yakutsk had not gone through.  It was my journal updated from over a week ago.   Did you guys worry about us?  Trust me, I have been trying real hard to keep you updated but we have been in places with only homes to stay in.  No hot water, or not water, squat over a hole in the floor to pee, sleep with flies on our faces and we beg each other for a Kleenex to use as toilet paper.  So I have had a hard time finding a phone or fax each day.  But WOW, what a catch-up when we get to Alaska.  (Sorry Faye, you'll have a lot of work to do.)  Valery brought me a fax from U.S. Customs Service approving our flight back into Alaska.  It will be a flight of about 8.5 hours.  If a customs agent does not meet us in Nome, then we have to refuel and must proceed to Fairbanks.  Another 4.5 hours.  Boy, we'll be tired tomorrow night.   We called Stan Steck in Denali and got more information on the weather and asked him to call home for us.  We figured that maybe some people might be a little concerned after I said hello to Stan and he hollered "Where Are You".   Oops!  We knew we were okay.

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