It took me 12 hours to hitchhike from Moose Pass to Homer, which was a little ridiculous considering it’s less than a three hour drive. The most memorable ride of the several I got that day was with a guy who lived in a cabin in the woods with no electricity or running water in a place “where there ain’t no women.” To deal with his manly urges, he confided, he’d driven up to Anchorage to sleep with a few prostitutes. Unfortunately he’d got carried away and spent all his money so he was worried that he wouldn’t have enough gas to get himself home. He drove as slowly as he could on the busy, single-lane highway to conserve gas while we stared at the fuel gauge wondering if we were going to make it. It was like a really lame, reverse version of the movie Speed.
In the end we got all the way there, but not before he had this gem of a conversation on the phone: “Buddy, I’m sorry. I feel asleep at the wheel about an hour ago and only woke up when I drifted over the bumps at the side of the road. I had a fifteen minute nap and then picked up a hitchhiker. I’ll be there soon.”
I got into Homer late and camped in the very pleasant campground on the hill. A couple of baby moose were hanging around the outhouses, which sounds cute but you don’t want to get between a momma moose and her calves so I gave them a wide berth.
They are cute, it’s true. Also, another great view from a loo.
I was feeling desperately dirty by this point, so I sent a bunch of couchsurfing requests around midnight and when I woke up the next morning, had an offer of a place to stay that night from a guy called Bob. He asked me to hang around until evening because he was busy, so I packed up my tent and went to see Jurassic World at the little independent cinema in town, where I chomped my way happily through a huge bucket of popcorn.
Bob was an interesting guy. In his fifties, he made his living making crowns for teeth from a lab in his front room. We had a good time chatting on his balcony, and he made me some lovely food, but the main thing was finally having a shower. Oh my god, it felt good! Cleaned up and freshly shaven, I felt like a new person.
I spent four nights staying with Bob, first on an inflatable bed in his front room, then in my tent on his front lawn when some other couchsurfers who’d got in touch with him before me showed up.
In amongst the vehicles.
I spent my time lazily exploring Homer, which is a lovely little place with quaint shops and a laid-back vibe.
What a fantastic name for a bookshop.
It’s also the furthest south point of the peninsula south of Anchorage, so the road ends there. I’ve never been to the Land’s End in England but at least I’ve now been to the one in Alaska.
Homer: End of the Road.
It’s not really the end of the land, though. There’s another large spur of land to the south, it just doesn’t have any roads on it. But at least it makes the view nice!
A couple of evenings before I left, I went for a long walk along the beach. On my way back, strolling through a beautiful meadow in the late-evening light with snow-capped mountains in the distance, I felt a thrill of excitement as I reflected for the first time since leaving home about what exactly it was I was doing. I was hitchhiking around Alaska, something I had always wanted to do, and it was going fantastically!
A view worthy of reflection.
Total distance hitchhiked: 2,701 km.
Total number of rides: 26.
Distance from Nabesna: 832 km.