Hope, Alaska.

Let me tell you something. Hope, Alaska is as cute as it sounds. It’s located on the northern end of the Kenai Penninsula and sits just across the water from where Dan surfed the Turnagain Arm bore tide a couple days ago.

And let me tell you something else. Alaska is a huge state but since there are only a few roads, we keep running into the same people over and over again. Good thing we like them! Haha. Hello again, Bodeswell and Tim & Kerri.

Here we are camping in the parking lot of the only bar/cafe/restaurant in town. We chose the the dry camping spots for the view of the grassy field out the back of the Airstream. No need to worry about solar charge on this overcast day because the sun is out almost 24 hours and the we probably won’t run the heater tonight (which is our biggest electric draw).

The weather is on the chilly side again today so getting a fire started was a must.

And what is it about boys and fire? Luka is obsessed with it.

And here are the bigger boys. All with their axes out, shoving their fire starting techniques in each other’s faces. Pyramid! No! Log cabin! No! Bacon grease!

The kids occupied themselves for hours in this tall grass.

They played predator & prey and hide-n-go-seek and whatever else their imaginations created.

Whenever the kids run in tall grass, I get a little leery of all the snakes that could be hiding in it. But not here. No snakes in Alaska! (Sung in the tune of No Cats in America.)

Look! The kids left the grass for a minute to balance on the camp site dividers.

And then, back to grass.

The funny thing in some of the above photos is that Moose (the dog) was playing with the kids. You just can’t see him unless he jumps up. The grass is that tall!

The town of Hope is tiny with a population listed at less 200. It’s the small town Alaska that we were looking for. Unfortunately for us, the campsites are fully booked this weekend and we must move on but until then, we’ll make the most of our time here.

First stop was the one bar/restaurant/cafe in town. Beers for the big ones. Juice and soda pop for the little ones.

You bring a baby… to a bar? Yes. Judge away.

Maybe you don’t think learning to clap at the end of a song during open mic is an important life skill… but we do! Clap away, little baby in the bar!

The next morning we made our way across town (literally down the street).

Passing the social hall.

And a residence.

And a garage.

To get to the library.

The kids got to spend some time reading and I finally got to donate some newer books and some that I have been lugging around since we started Airstreaming in 2008.

We also joined craft class. Today the kids got to make bird feeders, paint them and fill them with seed.

Not the most ideal craft for a home that bounces down the road. Hopefully the birds eat these seeds quick!

Hope, Alaska stole a piece of our hearts. Our stay was chilly and short so we’ll have to make a second stop here once we loop the rest of the Kenai Peninsula this month.

I think we are in agreement.

Hope gets a two thumbs up.

See you soon, Hope!

Thanks for reading,
Marlene