The Mail

Mail service in Girdwood is a bit different than it is in the larger cities where we have lived in the lower 48. The mail is rather unpredictable. Sometimes it takes several weeks to receive a piece of mail sent from the East Coast. Until recently, houses didn't have street addresses. Even today, many people have to think about their address and are more likely to describe where they live in terms of landmarks, colors of their house, or the vehicle parked in their driveway. There are no mailboxes, except for those at the post office. It's a bit reminescent of college days where the post office in the campus center was a hub for communication. Many times when we go to the post office, we meet someone we know.

The bulletin board at the post office is used for posting anything of interest to the people of Girdwood (things for sale, events, group meetings for various puposes, etc.) Postings remain on the board for 1 week, but are occasionally defaced (mustaches on faces, comments about prices that someone thinks are too high, etc.).

Here's our post office box. Despite it's small size, it can still be the gateway for receiving cards, packages, (esp. oatmeal choc. chip cookies), etc.

P.O. Box 333

Girdwood, AK 99587

UPS, FedEx, and Express Mail services take much longer here (the nearest drop box for UPS or FedEx is close to 30 miles away).