come on down to Bodie Ca.
s
On Oct 28, 2016, at 9:18 AM, David Young <dsy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Oops! That should be Hyder, Alaska. (Sorry!)
Though, somehow, Hyder BC would seem more appropriate.
You see, Hyder, like Stewart, used to be a boom town, but it, too, has fallen
on hard times. So much so, that when you look at Stewart and realize how bad
it's been for them; when you drive to Hyder (2 minutes, by car) you discover
that, by comparison, Stewart is booming. An economic powerhouse!
This outpost of the USA does not have a functioning gas station, grocery
store, or pretty much anything. The 70 odd people who live in Hyder depend
on Stewart for their groceries, gas, restaurant meals, as well as their
medical and dental. Their electricity comes from Canada and they are the only
place in the United States with a Canadian area code!
There is no border station ... no customs or immigration officers ... just a
sign telling you you've entered the USA.
http://www.furnfeather.net/Look/Border_Town.html
After all, if you're going to go into the rest of Alaska, from here, you're
going to have to hike 800km through grizzly country. Good luck with that!
You'll note that at 8 pm, the only car on this, the main street in town, is
my little red Chevy.
Here are a few of the better buildings, in Hyder, to give you the idea...
The gas station...
http://www.furnfeather.net/Look/Gas_Station.html
The restaurant..
http://www.furnfeather.net/Look/Restaurant.html
The Church ...
http://www.furnfeather.net/Look/Church.html
The Gift Shop...
http://www.furnfeather.net/Look/Gift_Shop.html
and the grocer's store...
http://www.furnfeather.net/Look/Grocery.html
There were two functioning tourist traps in town. In one, the lady talked
our ear off. The poor soul had not seen a breathing body in 3 days, I swear!
She also had a sign, asking for correct change as the only bank in Hyder
closed in 1934 and the bank i Steward closed in the 1980's!
The other was run by a crusty old curmudgeon, who apparently was not
interested in selling anything, to anybody. However, on the front door of his
store he did display the only political sign we saw in town. As we try to
keep politics out of this list, I'll let you surmise who he is supporting.
Curiously, when you re-enter Canada, there is a border station, though their
only concern is that you might be brining back cheap liquor from one of the
two bars that are supposedly in town. We did not succeed in finding either
one!
Enjoy!
David.
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