A Turn Around Homer Town Turns Up Amazing People: Here Are a Few, Part I

A town in the wildest part of America is populated with terrific people

Dear Reader: I’m writing a few pieces about the folks I’ve met here in Homer and some of the activities I’ve sampled in the off-season. Above all, when things slow down, you get to meet the locals, who are as much of an attraction as the breathtaking scenery. This is the first installment.

Homer, Alaska, is a small, relatively isolated town at the very end of the Sterling Highway, a little over two hundred miles from Anchorage. That highway takes you along some of the most astounding scenery on earth, through Seward, where the Iditarod launches each March.

In late summer/early autumn, the float planes line up like folks for rides at Disney World, carrying tourists to watch the bears. All summer long folks hike, bike, wind surf, ride horses, kayak and otherwise immerse themselves in the stunning beauty of the Kenai Peninsula.

At the beginning of September, many of the operators of high-season (summer) concessions, shut down and shuttle out for a vacay of their own. I got here just in time to miss most of what I’d hoped to be able to do, but in plenty of time to meet lots of locals.