Hyder, Alaska, was known as a mining town decades ago. Now, it is so far off the grid that residents band together to place large orders of food and try to place online orders in groups for convenience and shipping charges. Mail only flies into the town twice a week—so long as the weather is nice—and there is only one road into and out of the town. With just 87 residents, Hyder is considered to be a ghost town, and there are just two saloons, a bar, a few stores, and a post office in the town. Residents send their children to a school in nearby Stewart, British Columbia, which is also the town with the closest grocery store. In Hyder, seeing bears around the town and experiencing blizzards are normal occurrences.
Hyder is the easternmost town in the state of Alaska, but its rules and traditions take on that of another country. They accept Canadian currency, implement no American policies, and have no police forces or property taxes. The small village relies on towns in nearby British Columbia, notably Stewart, for services like electricity. Despite being small in area and population, Hyder has plenty of celebrations, like an annual pet parade, an ugly vehicle contest, and a contest called the Bush Woman Classic, which involves flipping pancakes, catching fish, and putting on lipstick. Throughout the summer months, over 100,000 people visit the area of Hyder and Stewart, to enjoy the outdoors and visit nearby monuments.