best of small town america

best of small town america

Here’s what Rand McNally and USA TODAY are sending teams out in search of, for the Best of the Road Rally 2012. The:

• Most Fun
• Most Patriotic
• Most Beautiful
• Best for Food
• Friendliest

…small towns in America.

This Blue Lollipop Road sure has been to plenty of small town stuff on that list, so how about some daily pix until the voting ends to inspire you all to VOTE FOR US?

Ketchikan, AK local Mike took me and another traveler from “the lower 48” out fishing and touring on his boat one day during my summer 2010 visit. We stopped at a few spots, did some hiking, saw black bear and had a blast. The nature around the Naha River Trail was gorgeous!

I am not so good at fishing for what we were trying to catch though. Talk about a crack up when I caught these giant gelatinous things!

Just call me a fisherman on the Deadliest Catch.

Speaking of, later that evening after a shower for $1.25 in a laundromat (if you’re ever road tripping to AK and sleeping in your car, don’t forget your quarters for your every few days shower at various places like marinas and laundromats. It will be the best $1.25 you ever spent!)- I walked into an empty restaurant and ponied up to the bar for some eats and relaxation. 5 minutes in chatting with the staff, I was bombarded by a crew of fisherman “fresh” off the boat. These guys claimed they were the ones who actually caught the fish for the deadliest catch to stage for the TV show. I don’t know what the truth is, all I know is they were ready to P-A-R-T-Y and they were so entertaining I stayed for several hours observing. (They thought I was some secret spy reporter.) They made me stand up on the piano when another patron started playing so they could serenade me. I laughed so hard for 2 hours my stomach hurt. These guys were characters and then some. Quite the stories these Alaska Fishermen who spend 22 days straight on boats have.

I’d definitely categorize Ketchikan, AK as some amazing small town fun, friendly and beautiful. I met the real deal people that night!