Our second day/night in Hope! Tango and I wandered and then relaxed most of the day. On a side street, we found the library, a coffee shack, and some historic cabins. From what I see, life is hard in Hope – long winters and then a short tourism season that centers on the salmon run. In a few weeks, Hope and the rest of the Kenai Peninsula will be overrun with fishermen, bears, and spawning salmon. I am happy to be through here now. In many ways, my timing in Alaska has been perfect. Early, but ahead of crowds. That is how I like to travel – early or late in the season.

I decided to eat dinner that second afternoon at the local cafe. I planned to head over exactly at 4 PM when they opened. I didn’t want to take up a whole table during their peak hours so I planned ahead and was hungry.  Prices are astronomical as they are in all Alaska cafes and restaurants. The Avocado BLT, however, was in my budget, and it came with homemade seasoned fries. Glad to support the economy a bit more.

Hordes of people set up tents by dinner time – spilling out of the grassy area and onto the riverbank and tidal flatlands. Young people circled around and played guitars. Young kids came with parents. Young couples hugged and held hands. Thank goodness for the public restroom complex that the town wisely built.

The number of dogs reached critical mass, and I had to keep Tango close to me on his leash. As I have mentioned before, everyone in Alaska has a dog – most often husky or husky mix. I saw an ancient wolf-dog hybrid wandering with some other local dogs. Her long, lanky wolf legs gave me the first clue to her ancestry.

I talked to people on and off all day. Then, the music started up – a talented, mostly bluegrass band. I say “mostly” because in the second set they played “Graceland”, “Superstitious”, and others that mysteriously worked with a banjo. The night, as always now, stayed bright and warm as people milled around town.

Again, I crawled into my tent, basically in the middle of the festival-like scene, before the partying ended. Somehow I was able to sleep and awoke early. I walked over to the espresso hut for coffee and a breakfast burrito cooked on a Panini grill. There, I talked to two couples from Anchorage. I asked about the summer sun and the winter darkness, and they shared what it was like growing up here, living with both. They told me that the key to the winter (with 4 hours of sunlight on the shortest days) is to get outside every day during the sunny hours and to do something outdoors on the weekend.

Afterward, I reluctantly packed up the tent and Tango and I set off,  towards Homer, AK. Our goal is to camp on the famous Homer Spit. I was planning to take the ferry from Homer to Kodiak but I have had my fill of rainy islands so I cancelled the ferry from Homer.  So, in Homer, I will be the farthest south and west that I plan to go.

Ten weeks on the road!