No Running Water Living in Alaska

by John Thibodeaux
(Granite Falls Wa. USA)

When I worked on the Alaska pipeline We lived in a cabin 25 miles out of Fairbanks on the Chena River with no running water. The owner of the cabin was a snowbird and spent his winters in Florida and did not want to be bothered with frozen pipes. We would drive 52 miles round trip to Manly Hot Springs to fill our water containers.We had 3 5 gal. cans and a big Igloo water container. By the time we would make it back to the cabin all the water cans were frozen solid.We would bring the water cans inside the cabin next to the wood stove to thaw.We used the igloo container on the shelf next to the sink for drinking cooking and personal hygiene. We put an empty 5gal bucket under the sink to catch the drain water. We did not have an indoor toilet. You had 2 option's on using the facilities. (1)Use the 5gal. bucket with the toilet seat on it. Or take the toilet seat after it has been warming next to the wood stove out to the outhouse with the toilet seat tucked under your coat to keep it warm.For cleaning our bodies we would take showers at my parents house or my ex brother-in-law's apartment.It is definitely a challenge living in Alaska let alone not having running water.