Hyder, Alaska

Not much more than an outpost, Hyder, Alaska is the southern-most and closest-to-the-US city that you can drive to. It’s also at the beginning of the Alaska Highway. A popular ride north goes another 1,700 miles to Prudoe Bay, above the Artic Circle. I passed by and talked to a number of bikers who are making the migration up to the Artic.

My friend Jen and I have a running conversation about the string of coincidences that make up my life. I’m always amazed when something serendipitous happens. We definitely joke about the frequency. In Hyder while I was filling up with gas I mentioned to the guy in the shop that I drove from Florida. He said he had a friend who spent the summers there who was from Jacksonville. He called and didn’t get an answer, but asked that I stop by on my way back from the bar/restaurant.

So I went to the Sealaska Inn and wrote some postcards, had a couple hot dogs, and got my picture next to an Alaska sign. I really thought to myself, "Ok, you made it to Alaska, now what?"

After I dropped my postcards at the tiny post office, I stopped back by the gas station. Again there was no answer, but since it was late, Bill had me follow him to his friend’s after calling the neighbor to see if his car was there. We went over and sure enough, Larry from Jacksonville was home. He reminded me of my 8th grade history teacher, Frank "The Tank" Callahan. I thought I was about as far as away I could get in our country and here was a guy from across town. It turns out we didn’t know each other, but we at least share a common city.