Alaska Day 28-30

Monday June 12, 2006 Palmer AK to Anchorage AK to Palmer AK Log 0 Miles
Today is a day for housekeeping, picking up some medicine for Jake, shopping, and rearranging some of our equipment in the motorhome. We start the day by driving the Jeep into Palmer to pick up some medicine for Jake at the Palmer Vet Clinic. Then it is off to Anchorage only 35 miles south of our location at Homestead RV Park. 99 maps of Anchorage in the coach and we leave without a one of them with us. That's OK since we have the navagation system built into the dash. Wrong. It also does not have Alaska maps. If I run the zoom out to 350 miles, I can see just a little bit of BC in the corner of the screen. No problem, they sell Chrysler Jeep products here in Anchorage, so we just pop into the dealership and ask for an updated DVD for the navigation system. The salesman says that he also would like one but none of the navagation systems that come in Chrysler Jeep products from the factory work here in Alaska. Amazing that for a simple software change, they would ignore customers from Alaska plus the customers that visit here. Anyway the next stop is a motel to pick up a city map and brochures so we can shop and see some of Anchorage. We find a copy of Microsoft's Streets and Trips with GPS. Works great on our laptop. Microsoft at least does not ignore its Alaska customers.

Wilma notices a Pizza Inn and immediately starts going into Pizza withdrawal. So it looks like nothing else will be on the menu for lunch today. We do not make it back to Pizza Inn, but find a Sicily's that serves Pizza and pasta for a way too big lunch.

We finish up our shopping and head back to Palmer for the evening.

Tuesday June 13, 2006 Palmer AK to Homer AK Log 272 Miles
The light rain has ended and it is cloudy as we leave Palmer. The water and mountain views as we follow the coast along the Turnagain Arm are just gorgeous. When the weather forecasts that winds may be light in Anchorage it will be 25 to 30 or greater out here. It must be the venturi effect as the wind passes through the channel formed by mountains on both sides as it narrows near the north end of Cook Inlet. One of the beautiful sights was at Cooper Landing by a lake with mountains in view and pink wild roses and yellow dandilions along the turnout where we stopped to walk Jake. We, and many others stopped to take pictures. As we neared Homer we began to see fishermen in the streams, and at one point the salmon fishermen were in a line wading in the water. A hot spot!

Homer is a nice family town, and we found the spit to be flat, very commercial and wildly lively. We chose the Oceanview RV park back in town, which had a hillside view of four volcanoes, one of which (Mount Augustine) had erupted in January. Sam recalled that he had seen the activity live on webcam from his home in Fayetteville AR.

Sam's friend Tony from AR has a summer home here.

Wednesday June 14, 2006 Homer AK Log 0 Miles
We had a light rain or heavy dew all day and chose to drive the Jeep, rather than ride the trikes. After a great and surprising lunch at the Senior Citizens' Center (which Tony had taken Sam to), we explored the area, heading out on East End Road, which was billed as going to the end of the road. We never got there, as Wilma was watching the gas gauge, but we did see a great view from up on the mountain of the volcanoes.

After such a big lunch, we opted to skip dinner as we know it, and go straight to dessert. A lady at the Senior Center gave Sam more fresh rhubarb than he knew what to do with, but Inez knew. She had in her memory a rhubarb pie, so we had that with vanilla ice cream. We don't know if rhubarb is a fruit or vegetable, but we don't feel guilty.

A welcome sight was weather clearing and the sun shining on the volcano peaks.

Pictures

Walldog, Willie and Jake