We left Denali and it was still raining. As mentioned in the last post we had 263 miles to traverse to Anchorage – in the motorhome without any stops that amounts to about 6 hrs, so unusual for us but we got an earlier start. On the way out of Denali we took pictures of the Nenana River, the one we had “white water rafted” on. It was neat to see the river wind around amongst the mountain & cliff sides, knowing we had ridden those waters.
THE NENANA RIVER WE RAFTED
The wagon master had mentioned a good stopping point along the way was at Talkeetna . The “Milepost” promoted it as a good side road. It would take us 14 miles down a different road and we would have to travel back that same 14 miles to get back on our route to Anchorage. I read the blurbs in the book to Bill and we decided to go ahead and stop. As we were driving into the town we saw several rigs from our group in parking areas a couple miles before town. We figured something was up but continued into the town --- and of course there was no place to park a rig our size and a tow car. So we turned around and went back to a parking place one of our “caravans” had stopped. Bill was going to unhook the tow car and take it into town (he thought it was too far for me to be walking) but the area wasn’t level enough to do that. So, back into the rig we went and back down the road --- we never found a place to park, let alone turn around, and ended up back where we started. I felt Bill was getting frustrated and so I said it was too far to go all the way back, we might as well go on. Now I really wanted to go back and Bill really wanted to go back, but as I was trying to take him off the hook, he thought I didn’t want to go. So, my lesson today is COMMUNICATION!! Speak up…say what you mean and mean what you say…usually we can’t read each other’s minds. So lack of communication and we lost out on the opportunity of a pleasant respite in an interesting area. Now on the other hand….we were not the last ones in camp that night!! LOL
Since we didn’t make many stops we had camp set up fairly early. We were in Anchorage, a very large city. In fact of the 600,000 people who live in the whole state of Alaska, over ½ of them live in Anchorage. Now, that is a lot of people, but when you have been in these little towns/villages and on roads where you don’t see any vehicles behind you or in front of you for miles, being in Anchorage was a bit overwhelming. I was getting claustrophobic with all the traffic and people. Crazy how just a few weeks changes you!
Bill was beginning to think I must be “Beef Deprived” with all the salmon, cod and halibut (which I don’t like) that was being served at our meals. So he took me to a TGIF’s for a steak. Said he thought I needed it. I do love steak. (Okay, Rob, I know I don’t eat it rare, but I still love it with sautéed mushrooms!) We had a nice dinner and drove around with the Garmin to find the local churches as we would be here on Sunday. The first time in a few weeks that we would be able to attend a service (besides our own in the RV). It was a nice evening and Bill got a little feel for the city.
The bus picked us up Saturday at 8:30AM and took us all to the Alaska Native Heritage Center. The Center featured young native people who shared their culture through talks and demonstrations of Native games and dances. There was a museum area and a theater showing different aspects of the Alaskan native culture and the wildlife. Outside they had a walking tour of many of the different types of homes and dwellings, with displays of the different tools, artifacts, animal skins, etc. They also had a full skeleton of a huge whale. The Natives were also displaying and selling their self-made crafts and jewelry. Interesting and since this was the clearest, nicest day for a while it was really pleasant to walk around outside and check things out.The tour bus took us around the city of Anchorage pointing out many of the historical sights and places of interest. He took us by the Alaskan Railroad Depot and we stopped at a bridge to see the salmon making their way back to the place they were born. There was one huge salmon and one smaller…that’s all we saw there.
He also drove us by the airport and the area where all the float planes are. We stopped to watch a few take off. 
WILDFLOWERS AROUND THE FLOAT PLANES DOCKING
He continued to relay historic information as we headed for the “Sourdough Mining Company”. This was a dinner I enjoyed! They served family style BBQ ribs and chicken, waffle fries, coleslaw and the most wonderful corn fritters. Mandy, you will not believe this, but there was ice cream for dessert but I turned it down for another corn fritter!
Then across the street there was a shop, “Wildberry Patch” which had a huge chocolate waterfall. It was pretty neat – I had to buy a couple pieces of chocolate covered pecans and cashews. Pretty good!
After lunch we headed to the Alaska Museum for a tour. Bill decided he did not need a tour guide for that so we pulled away from the group and looked around by ourselves. We left the museum and walked around their Weekend Market & Festival. Rather like a town festival and craft show. A lot of Alaskan culture was on display for sale along with the normal junk fair food. It was cold down by the river but bright and sunny. It was a nice day and we were glad to get back to camp after 9+ hours sightseeing.
FLOWERS OUTSIDE THE MUSUEM
The next morning was Sunday and we had planned to attend an early service so we would have the rest of the day to explore on our own. I could not get out of bed, so Plan B, late service. After church we went to the “Sea Galley” restaurant for some shrimp (for me) and Cajun cod (for Bill). It was a very nice place, I enjoyed my shrimp but Bill needed a lot of ice water to go with his dish. By the time we made it to Walmart to stock up on a few things and got back to camp it was 4:30. Still cold and rainy so we skipped any other sightseeing and hunkered down for a warm dry pleasantly quiet evening. Almost finished the “Band of Brothers” DVD’s.
The next morning, 156 miles to Kenai, Alaska. No group outings planned there so we need to do some research and make a plan…..weather forecast still 50’s and rain.
Bill opted not to sign up for the “Salmon Fishing” which some of the men in the group did. Sleep and then off to Kenai!!
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