Hope, Alaska is a small town which lies sixteen miles off a deserted stretch of Highway 9 which connects Anchorage to Seward. Not many people live in Hope for there really isn't a lot to do there. The population doubles in the summer to a few hundred as the cottages and campgrounds fill up with tourists looking for a peaceful break. During the rest of the year the town is very quiet.
As such, Theresa was a little surprised when I took the road to Hope in early May. We had just finished a day in Seward and were heading back to Anchorage, a three hour drive. It was raining hard. There did not seem to be much point in this diversion. But as she was nodding in and out of consciousness in the passenger's seat, Theresa did not make any objection. After all, a long drive while sleeping is not a tough thing to handle. The miles pass by effortlessly.
There were no other cars on the road going in. We drove through beautiful woods where the branches of the trees hung over the road as we passed through. The rain beat a steady rhythm on the hood and roof of the car. The drive was carefree and serene. It felt like we had not only the road but the entire world to ourselves.
A few miles in, the road begins to hug the western shore of Turnagain Arm, a large salt water offshoot of Cook Inlet and the Pacific Ocean. The shifting sands and glacial silt at the bottom of the Arm make it impossible for boats to navigate on it so the surface is always smooth and traffic free. Several miles across the arm on the eastern side the Chugach Mountains rise up from the sea to tower several thousand feet above the water. The scenery along the road can be phenomenal.
It wasn't long before we reached Hope. It lies about a half mile off the main road. But I decided to bypass the town and drive through a campground at the end of the road. I did the loop through the park finding that it was completely deserted. At one point I pulled over to the side of the gravel path.