#17 - Goodbye Alaska
Last day in Alaska for the Travelling Farmers today ...
This week we have:
- Been out on a real Alaskan fishing boat to catch halibuts.
- Been offered a ride by a guy who was just out of three years of prison.
- Met Hobo Jim, the official singer of Alaska.
- Planted rows and rows of potatoes.
- Helped in a starting peony farm. - Rebuilt the garden of Barb, our host in Homer.
- Eaten great food for free at our friend's Darren's restaurant.
- Seen a lot of moose and seals.
- Eaten wild trouts and pikes
One last agricultural fun fact about the small town of Homer where we lived the past two weeks: in recent years, the city is getting crazy about peonies. Indeed, thanks to its climate and wonderful sunlight exposition - up to 22h of sunshine per day in July - it is the only place where people can grow peonies in the Summer. To answer to a strong demand, particularly related to marriages taking place in the summer in the US, peony farms are popping up everywhere! To learn more, we spent two days helping a university teacher who needed help in his peonies field. Because of the business opportunities linked to the sale of these flowers, worth up to $3 each, even wealthy families are getting into this new gold rush, alongside their main activity.
And as promised, here is a video to show you in detail how halibut fishing works :
The 4 000 miles that we've spent on the road from Phoenix to Homer, meeting Americans and working in farms and on boats have been incredible. Thanks to the people we met, we received more than what we could have imagined. Hitch-hiking to Alaska was a dream for us, and nothing feels like making your dreams come true.
Tonight we will hop on a plane for New Zealand where we will farm again.
Have a nice week, and see you next sunday from a new continent !