1/14/13
One of the biggest complaints of many Alaskans is “Why does XXXX company not include free shipping to Alaska, we are part of the United States.” If USPS is the mode of shipping it costs NO more to the sender to send anything to AK. It costs the same to mail something 10 houses down the street from you or 10,000 miles away to rural Alaska.
However, there IS an additional cost to get items to our small rural towns. There is a Bush Mail subsidy that costs millions of dollars each year. The Post Office must work with small airlines to deliver to our rural communities. This is also how groceries are sent to our communities that don’t have road access.
I was in Angoon, Alaska this week and got to experience watching the mail come in on the plane I was due to fly home on. As I watched the plane off load I saw many interesting items. Everything from a shot gun (for hunting no doubt), decorative hooks for a newly decorated room, a large flat screen TV, and many, many, many boxes that had been mailed from different parts of this country.
Most people take getting mail for granted, but in rural, AK mail is the lifeline to many items that others may take for granted. Think about waiting for mail to get fresh fruit or veggies?
Angoon is part of the Chatham School District and is the only community on Admiralty Island. It is the 7th largest island in the US at 90 miles long and 35 miles wide at the widest point. Only about 500 people, mostly of Tlingit heritage, live here and it is about a 45 minute small plane ride from Juneau. 
My husband works on Admiralty Island as most of the island is part of the Admiralty National Monument. Kootznoowoo (fortress of the bear) Wilderness is known for the large number of brown bear that live on the island, about 1 bear per square mile. He works at Pack Creek a brown bear viewing area.
timistravels 
Great post. I loved it!
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The scenery is amazing!! It has been hot all year in Florida!
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