Taking care of travelers along the Alaska Highway

The wood-framed screen door screeches open and bangs shut every few minutes as people stop in at Tetsa River Lodge, Mile 375 Alaska Highway. It’s a wet day in early June, but the customers keep coming, to pay for gas, pick up a quart of oil, buy a cinnamon bun, reserve a campsite or cabin for the night. They crowd into the small log building, which combines a cafe, gift shop and office, and is decorated with pioneer tools, moose antlers and wildlife mounts.

Owner Lori Andrews is in constant motion, working the cash register, heating up cinnamon buns, refilling the coffee thermos, and keeping 2 or 3 conversations going at once as she answers questions from tourists about the wildlife and highway conditions up the road. When there’s a lull, she runs upstairs to the cramped loft to help her husband Cliff, who is on the phone dealing with the aftermath of a fire that burned down their shower house.

Welcome to the life of an Alaska Highway lodge owner.