7/7/22

I got into Fairbanks from the Dalton the eve of 7/6 and got an Airbnb for the night. I got some awesome Thai food from a drive thru hut (these are pretty common around Fairbanks) just down the block from the Airbnb. It was delicious! Apparently Thai food is pretty good in Fairbanks due to a growing Thai population.

(Drunken Noodles with pork and shrimp)

I needed to run some errands and deal with logistics so I decided to book another Airbnb the next day in the neighboring town of North Pole. As you can imagine, they have all sorts of Christmas and Santa Claus themed attractions.

That morning I was sitting at a cafe writing some post cards and an older couple walks by my bike and asks about my trip. We talk for a good while about Alaska and the wild fires.

It turns out that the woman, Sheryl, owns the boutique next to the cafe and the man is her good friend. He's the nephew of Joe Vogler, a former political candidate that ran for governor and wanted Alaska to secede from the US and be it's own country. In 1993, just weeks before Joe Volger was scheduled to give a speech to the United Nations on Alaskan independence, he had gone missing. His body was found a year later buried in a gravel pit wrapped in a blue tarp with duct tape. Many people the federal government was involved in his disappearance and death.

Sheryl saw the stickers on my cases and gave me a few from her store and then told me that I should ride the Denali Highway from Cantwell to Paxson. Another person had recommended this road to me as well so I figured I should go. At the end of the Denali Highway is the Richardson Highway, which is another spectacular road. She said that her friend owns an inn called The Lodge at Black Rapids that's on the Richardson and if I chose to go that way she'll phone her friend and reserve a room for me on her. The Lodge is across from the mountains and the Delta River. I couldn't believe that this person would make such an offer to a stranger that she has just met for 40 minutes. I thanked her and said I'll try to figure out my schedule for the next few days. She gives me her card and say to call if I decide to go in that direction. Her friend gives me his contact info if I need help with anything in the area. With everything we've been bombarded with in the news and social media for the past few years about how this country is filled with hate, racism, misogyny and whatever else, the people that I've met on this trip counter proves all that. Whether it's in the US or Canada, I've encountered nothing but the kindness of strangers. Reduce your news and social media usage and meet people, especially in small far away places, and you will renew your faith in people and your fellow countrymen.

We said goodbye and I run around town to deal with logistics. The Denali Highway and the Richardson Highway are two roads that I've been hearing about from multiple people. And this chance encounter with Sheryl and Lynn and the opportunity to stay right off the Richardson seems like fate. Later back in my Airbnb, I call Sheryl. I got voicemail and left her a message to tell her that I will take her up on her offer but if it doesn't work out it was a pleasure to meet her and Lynn regardless.

30 minutes later I get a text from her:

The theme of this trip and perhaps of life in general, the kindness of strangers.