- Summer

Easy To Hitch Hike
by Summer Katz

       
        
         Josh, a young adult from Ypsilanti, Michigan, comes and goes in Alaska as he pleases. In 2005 his parents decided to move to Alaska. His mom had always dreamed of moving there, so one day she and her husband decided to pack up a U-Haul and leave. “She was doin’ this job thing and she just said, ‘Let’s go!’ and they left,” Josh said. They drove all the way from Arkansas to Alaska.
         In the summers, when Josh comes to Alaska, he stays at his parents house in Homer, Alaska where he takes care of their cats, dogs, and rabbits and works in their garden. During the summer of 2006, Josh worked at a resort in Cooperlanding, Alaska instead of working for his parents. “I made rich peoples beds, and waited tables, stuff like that,” Josh said. He decided he wanted work at a resort because he needed a job and thought that it would be a fun place to work. Josh enjoyed meeting people who climbed mountains and hearing their stories.
         Like any normal college student, Josh enjoys hanging out with friends and being active. Some of the things he does in his free time are spending time in Fairbanks, Alaska, partying with his friends, mountain climbing, and spending time on the water. He does a little fishing and mountain climbing, but mostly sails. Josh enjoys the little bit of mountain climbing he does do. “I don’t’ do a lot of mountain climbing, but I do some,” he said.        
         “My favorite part of Alaska is how incredibly easy it is to hitch hike,” Josh said. He loves how people understand different people and their cultures. “I like the slogan in Homer, ‘We’re all here because we’re not all there,’” he said. He appreciates how the people in Alaska are all there for one another. “People help each other more [than in other places], people are a living community more, and that’s good to see. I think it gets people away from the suburban squall in the lower 48,” Josh said.
         Most of the time, Josh comes to Alaska in the summer, but he has also come in the winter a couple of times. He has come up for Christmas a few times. Josh didn’t think the weather was too nasty. “It’s about as cold in Homer as New Hampshire or Maine. But if you get farther up, towards Anchorage, it gets pretty cold,” he said.
         Josh plans to keep coming back to Alaska every summer. He has a great time up here and loves the good nature of the people.