The Hairiest State in the Union Since 1959

I almost forgot to write about the hairy Alaskans!

It's very common to see people around here that are dirty and hairy and at first sight seem like winos, but they're wearing North Face jackets and other pricey gear. They're always dirty allover, too. At first I just figured the homeless guy saw just happened to have some good gear for one reason or another, but then I kept seeing the same sort of thing over and over. Unless Anchorage outfits their bums for winter, there's no way they're homeless. I'm thinking they must have just emerged from the bush or something. Either that or they don't give a damn about presentation. Really, it could be either.

There's also a whole heck of a lot of long male hair and beards with a good sprinkling of mullets for good measure. Is the hairiness runoff from the cold winter? Could it actually be the fashion here? Do they just not care? I've seen far too much hair to not question it. I bet the women would grow beards if they could.

After marveling at the sheer amount of hair here (lots of hippies here, too, which I don't even have to explain) I happened to notice this awesome poster that said Bearded Beer Train in big letters. On closer examination I found that the Beard and Mustache World Championship will be held in Anchorage in 2009! I'm here in the wrong year, damnit! I don't know what the Beer Train part is about, though, the website wasn't very informative. It's possible they're doing something with the Alaska Railroad. I think it's a German dominated event, so that could account for the beer. Can you imagine cruising on the Alaska railroad with lots of beer and a bunch of funny bearded men? Sounds like a party to me.
This guys is awesome. In the description where they say the word drill, I was hoping they would say scissors or x-wife with scissors or something.
This is a clip of the most recent champion winning. He's only 23. Check out the Zeus beard complete with full costume. Amazing.