Serendipitous Encounters of Random People in Alaska
Traveling solo allows you to meet and interact with various people in many places, people you would not normally strike up a conversation with if you weren’t alone. During the year I spent backpacking across Europe in the early 80s, I met many interesting people, many became friends and a few lovers.
More Memorable People
Here are some of the more memorable people I met during my three weeks in the Last Frontier and the places / circumstances I met them.
A Fishing Family in Homer
I spent a day deep sea fishing with a nice family from Minnesota. It was a pleasant day with lots of fish and nice conversation. Later that evening we all met up for dinner and drinks at a local joint. They were just ending their trip and I was just starting mine. They shared a few Alaska travel tips with me.
Crazy Brazilian at Coldfoot
I saw this bike and took a few pictures to send to my Brazilian wife. Then the owner came out and he was a crazy Brazilian riding his bike from Brazil to Alaska. Spent about 20 minutes talking in Portuguese with him as his English was limited (so is my Portuguese). He was grateful to have someone to speak Portuguese with for a while.
He was heading south now and then planning on driving through Canada to New York, then to Miami, where he plans on selling his bike. I gave him my number and said if you make it to Miami where I live, I’ll buy you a dinner.
Dalton Highway Bikers
It’s a long lonesome road with a few spots here and there to stretch your legs. I met nice travelers at the Arctic Sign and a few other spots. Most of the time it’s trading pleasantries and highway conditions either north or south.
I met these two bikers north of the Arctic Circle. they were taking a break after an arduous uphill ride and enjoying the scenery. We chatted for a while. They started in Deadhorse with plans to ride to Texas (red hat) and the other to San Diego.
Before they headed south and me north, I gave them some extra energy bars and water purification tablets and tips on road conditions.
A Fast Biker in Talkeetna
Met a guy named Russel with a fast motorcycle at a bar in town. We talked for a few hours, as we were both headed nort toFairbanks and then the arctic. His was riding his bike fast for 12-18 hours a day and covering insane distances as a competitive sport. I met him again in Fairbanks.
Yukon River Camp
Here you can meet random travelers stopping for fuel and a bite to eat at a very random stop. Not much south till Fairbanks and nothing north to Coldfoot. But here is a small store, restaurant and basic lodging (key word basic). Did meet a few people at YRC heading north / south that I actually ran into again and again, including one couple I caught up with at Toolik Lake north of Atigun pass.
