Adventures in Alaska (2 of 3)

I was beginning to grow very tired of having to rely on public transportation. I didn’t mind it and I loved the affordability, but it was very confining in my planning. The ferries run at odd schedules and well, buses are buses. I had planned on taking a train and some buses once I flew into Anchorage. However, I was now at the end for my acceptance of crowds and schedules. My journey in Alaska was to discover myself in the peace and solitude and it is very difficult to do that when you are being carted to the exact same place as everyone else.

So, I began checking my funds and considering a rental car. However, not only were they charging too much, every agency that I called was sold out. So, I grabbed an Anchorage newspaper and did some searching instead. I called a man who was selling a 1985 GMC Jimmy. I asked him if he would be willing to rent it out for a couple of weeks. He said, “Sure, I don’t see why not!” So, as soon as I got into my hostel in Anchorage I called him up again. He asked me which car I had asked about and then brought the Jimmy over for me to inspect. I took a quick look around it. The stuffing was coming out of the seat and the radio was broken. Those things didn’t matter too much though.

“What do you think of it?” he asked me.

I paused and said, “Well, it doesn’t have a back window.”

“Oh, is that a problem?” he asked.

“Well, I was planning to sleep back there. Isn’t that just like inviting the bears in for a snack?” I said. “But, you asked which car I was calling about. Do you have others?”

He did indeed. So, we drove to his house a few blocks down and he ran inside and got out a few sets of keys. The first one he pointed called to me. It was a 1984 Ford F-150 pick-up truck. It was the twin to the truck that I had learned to drive. It even had similar rust holes. The tires were bald. The right hand turn signal was a little switch tied to the steering column with its own wires. However, the radio worked and it had a cap that went on the back of it. He let me drive both around town for as long as I wanted and let me make the decision.

I was a little bit worried about the fact that the brake light in the truck was on but it was covered with electrical tape so that it wasn’t showing. He assured me that it was OK and that the New York plates were from his friend having driven it from New York the previous year. I wasn’t sure about the story, but he seemed like a sweet grandpa type man and besides, I was getting two weeks of transportation and accommodations for only $250.

Then, before I left, he gave me all his fishing gear and anything else he could find that he though just MIGHT come in handy in my travels. He even offered the use of his gun (which would have fit in the gun rack), “cause there is some crazy rednecks out there!” he said. I declined his offer knowing that it would have gotten me in more trouble than it would have kept me out of. I gave him half of the money, we made phony sales papers and he gave me some sort of application for registration just in case I got pulled over.

The next day, I drove down to Homer, Alaska. Homer is the Halibut capital of the world. So, I had to go on a charter boat through K-Bay Charters (great people there). I caught a few 30 pounders, which are small for Halibut, but they’re damn heavy after 130 feet of reeling them up.

That night, I went to the laudromat. I stunk and I knew it. I hadn’t showered for about 3 days and was wearing one of my two outfits. The laundromats in many Alaskan towns also happen to have the world’s most powerful showers. The water pressure is astounding. In ten minutes, I was cleaner than I had been in months. When I walked into The Salty Dog that night, I was given the original compliment of, “Mmmmmm, you smell clean!” Of course, because of the low low ceilings, the smoke was at your waist. Therefore, I had pulled my hair into my hat to keep it smelling somewhat clean. I was actually called, “Sonny!” by some old drunk trying to pick a fight with a young fella. Instead of punching him out and flinging my long blonde hair out of my hat, I just grabbed my beer and went back to the pool table.

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