Hope, Alaska is the kind of town that can be seen in its entirety by simply standing at one end of Main Street or the other. The view from both ends is spectacular—framed out by mountains. One might get the sense that they had never truly known the meaning of the word “majestic” until they had visited this quiet town on the Kenai Peninsula. There was a bar, a community center, a mercantile, and one or two homes.

I found myself at the bar, as I often do on such occasions, waiting for time to slip away while small beads of water slowly made their way down my pint glass and stained the dark, rich wood forming circular patterns that overlapped from picking it up and setting it back down again.

I hate waiting, but if I gotta I suppose a small bar in Hope is as good a place as any.