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'Weird, Alaska'
Chapter Three
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"This place is great," Reid commented, as he looked around at the rustic décor of the restaurant Sheriff Reischl had brought them to.
The Sheriff nodded. "The food is nothing fancy, but it's delicious. You'll have to come back sometime for breakfast and check out the size of the pancakes and omelets they serve."
Morgan raised his eyebrows as he perused the menu. "They have a double cheeseburger with two half pound patties plus bacon."
"It comes with three slices of cheese plus fries," Reischl added.
Morgan laughed. "You can eat all that, Sheriff?"
"I've been known to." He shrugged. "But I don't get down here very often." He laughed. "My son could finish one off easily."
"You must be very proud of your son," Hotch commented.
Sheriff Reischl looked at him. "I alternate between moments of intense pride and sheer terror. I keep telling myself to stay away from news about Iraq, yet I can't help wanting to seek out information regarding what's going on where he is."
Hotch nodded. "I can certainly understand those feelings."
"What the heck is chicken fried steak?" Rossi asked.
"It is round steak, tenderized and dipped in some kind of a batter mixture and then fried like chicken."
"No chicken involved then?"
"No, Agent Rossi," Reischl chuckled.
"Hmm…makes sense to me, I guess." Rossi looked up from the menu. "What do you recommend, Sheriff?"
"My tastes are fairly simple. I'm perfectly happy eating a burger and fries. The menu here more or less reflects my tastes. It reminds me a lot of a place I used to stop at down in Flagstaff, Arizona when I drove from Los Angeles to a place a friend owned in Northern Arizona. The main fare is burgers and fries, a few sandwiches, and items like meat loaf and chicken fried steak."
"Diner fare," Hotch commented.
"Pretty much." He looked at Rossi. "Agent Rossi, I suggest the chili size. It's a burger, open faced on a bun, topped with chili, onions, and cheese and including fries on the side. The chili is homemade, by the way."
"Why not?" Rossi commented, closing his menu.
A few minutes later their waiter came over and took their orders. Morgan and Reid decided to take up the challenge of trying to eat the double cheeseburger, which lead to teasing from JJ. "That burger probably weighs more than you do Spence," she joked.
"I want to try it," Reid answered.
"I bet I eat more than you do," Morgan teased.
"I bet I finish it all," Reid responded.
Fifteen minutes later all eight of them had their food and the looks on Reid and Morgan's faces when they saw how big their cheeseburgers actually were elicited laughter from JJ, Garcia and Prentiss. Rossi grinned as he and Sheriff Reischl dug into their chili sizes, Hotch started on his club sandwich, JJ started on her meat loaf, and Prentiss and Garcia started on smaller cheeseburgers. A little while later everyone was done, except Morgan who looked like he wasn't going to be able to finish, and Reid who had a small portion of his cheeseburger left. After eating the last few French fries on his plate Reid picked up the rest of his burger and finished it in a few more bites.
"Well kid," Morgan remarked. "I guess you win. You're finished and there's no way I can eat the rest of this." Sheriff Reischl looked on in amusement as Reid smiled and blushed when Garcia and JJ started applauding his accomplishment.
"Sheriff, I wanted to ask you about the State Capital issue?" Reid asked, in an attempt to change the subject.
"Reid, maybe we could talk about this later?"
"No, I don't have a problem with talking about it, Agent Morgan. What do you know about Juneau as far as a State Capital, Agent Reid?"
"Juneau is the most geographically isolated state capital in the United States. It is not reachable by car and must be accessed via boat or plane. The City and Borough are located in the Gastineau Channel in the Alaska Panhandle, and it has been the capital since 1906 when the government of the Alaska Territory was moved there from Sitka. Juneau was the largest city in Alaska until it was passed by Anchorage in 1950." Reid opened his mouth to continue, but changed his mind after looking around the table at his fellow team members.
"Very good. Do you know how far Juneau is from Barrow?"
"1093 miles," Reid replied without any hesitation.
"How about Nome?"
"1097 miles."
"Very good, Agent Reid. I'm not sure how you knew all that…"
"I have an eidetic memory; therefore it's not at all difficult to remember."
"As long as you read it somewhere?"
"Exactly."
"Hmm. I see. Well, to add to what you've already said, Fairbanks is 624 miles from Juneau, and Anchorage is 569 miles. Of course those distances would be different if the city were accessible by road, however as you already know it's not. Distance and isolation along with access are the biggest factors for most people who want to move the capital. Alaska is already an expensive state to live in, and any time someone has business with the legislature or the state government they are forced to make a long and expensive trip. I've had to do it myself, and I can tell you getting to Juneau, especially in the winter with the weather issues and the avalanche danger, is a pain in the ass." He looked at Garcia, Prentiss and JJ. "Excuse my language, ladies."
"Huh…no problem," Garcia smiled.
Sheriff Reischl smiled back at her before continuing. "On the other hand, moving the capital would cost in the neighborhood of a billion dollars, and most people simply don't want to pay for it. In addition, Juneau is a beautiful city, and some people have even referred to it as a 'little San Francisco'. The city has put in a lot of effort to keep the capital in Juneau with ideas like cable television hookups on the city website so business can still be conducted even if a trip to the capital is not feasible at that time. And then there's tradition and the fact that Alaskans in general are just plain stubborn."
"So, are you saying you think the capital should be moved or it should stay in Juneau?" Reid asked, looking confused.
Reischl shrugged. "The capital was in Juneau before I got here, before I was born in fact, and it's still there now. I don't think it's moving any time soon. Whether it should stay or be moved, there are good arguments on both sides. For me personally it would be easier if the capital were located elsewhere. However, that doesn't mean it should be moved. And that's all I'm going to say on the subject, Agent Reid, other than you should visit Juneau sometime."
"Uh, okay. Thank you."
Sheriff Reischl looked around the table. "Anyone up for dessert? They serve an excellent homemade apple pie here."
"I couldn't eat another thing," Prentiss groaned.
"Me either," Morgan laughed, pushing his plate away from him. Rossi, Hotch, JJ and Garcia all declined dessert as well.
"I'll try a piece of apple pie," Reid said.
Sheriff Reischl called their waiter over and ordered a piece of apple pie for himself and one for Reid. He turned back to the others. "It's almost 5:30 pm right now. We may be able to reach Weird before the sun sets at around 9:45 pm; however I recommend you don't try to reach Fairbanks tonight."
"I agree," Hotch said. "We'll all stay at the hotel in Weird tonight, and tomorrow JJ and Garcia will continue on to Fairbanks." As Reid and Sheriff Reischl ate their pie, he signaled the waiter for the check, handed him a credit card and then signed the slip he provided, adding a generous tip to the charge.
A few minutes later the entire group was standing outside by the vehicles. "We have a little over 250 miles to go to reach Weird. First we'll be driving north out of Anchorage for thirty-five miles on the Glenn Highway to where it interconnects with the Parks Highway. At that point we will pass through Wasilla and head north toward Fairbanks on the Parks Highway. We will pass by Denali National Park and we'll be able to see Mount McKinley from the highway."
"Mount McKinley is the highest point in North America at 20,320 feet in elevation. In 1980 the name of the National Park and the Mountain were both changed to Denali. However, many people still refer to it as Mount McKinley, and several native people have their own names for the mountain…" He trailed off, once more noticing some of his team members rolling their eyes.
"Reid," Morgan sighed.
"Right. That's about it, I guess."
"Not really, Agent Reid. That's nowhere near 'it' as far as Mount McKinley is concerned." The Sheriff looked directly at him. "We can talk about it later. Sometimes you can see it from here, but not today, unfortunately. When we're close enough for a better view I'll be sure and point it out to you." He looked around at the others. "Before we get going here, does everyone have plenty of mosquito repellent?"
"Oh yes, Sheriff, JJ told us you recommended we all bring some," Hotch told him.
"I told them also," Reid added. "I brought extra."
"Of course you did," Prentiss commented.
Sheriff Reischl looked from Prentiss to Reid but didn't say anything to either of them. "So we don't need to stop anywhere then? Good. It's not a particularly difficult drive, so I don't imagine any of us will have any trouble, but I'll lead the way and the rest of you can follow." He turned to Reid and Morgan. "You'll be riding with me again?" When both men nodded he turned to Hotch. "Are you ready, Agent Hotchner?"
"Yes, let's hit the road. And, it's Hotch."
Sheriff Reischl smiled. "Okay Hotch." Once again Reid climbed into the back seat of the Expedition while Morgan and the Sheriff climbed into the front. Hotch and JJ climbed into one of the Bureau SUV's and Ross, Prentiss and Garcia climbed into the other.
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A/N: Okay, a little lame, but I wanted to get this next chapter up!
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