Alaska P 20

JOURNAL #16

28 JULY 2007 TO ANCHORAGE

Anchorage is only 100 miles away from Talkeetna; however, we are invited to stop off at Art Isham’s home 20 miles north of Anchorage for lunch. This requires that we leave not too late to get there at a reasonable hour. Unfortunately, those who are scheduled for glacier flights this morning, woke up to find the sky overcast and flights of a doubtful nature. By the time we left Talkeetna, flights looked probable by 10:30, but landings on the glacier were not likely. Some of the group canceled their flights, while others held out hope and stared the course.

We ate with the Olsons at the restaurant where we had our dessert last night. We were on the road by 8:30. Our road took us to some areas that were known to me when I was here in the 1950’s. Not that I had driven there, but like Talkeetna and other places, they were names of navigational fixes we used when flying from Anchorage to Fairbanks. One of the names that popped to mind was “Willow.” When we went through this community, I told Joann that there was no village by that name there in 1951, just a runway. I had dropped of some Air Force personnel there who wanted to hunt and is was all woods.

We decided to drive to Anchorage via Palmer, which is an agricultural community in the Matenuska Valley that was set up by the federal government in the early 1930’s as an experiment in northern farming. It was interesting driving through there to see a number of hay fields, which are very unusual for this latitude in the US. They were restricted to a small area around Palmer, so I guess that the idea didn’t take hold generally. Alaskans are not much into farming.

Soon we got to the off ramp (we were on a “freeway,” in California parlance), that Art had designated as the way to get to his property. We followed Art’s map and soon came upon a wooded lot with many antique cars belonging to our group and the Anchorage “Mushers.” Art had people all over his place, inside and out. It was a perfect day for a picnic. He an his wife Tamea had a varied and delicious spread of food that would satisfy a gourmet, let alone antique car owners who are known to eat anything softer than inner tubes! The Anchorage club members and our group mixed and soon there was much “shop” talk and chit chat while we got to know each other and exchange phone numbers and email addresses. Like other of our tours, this people-to-people contact is an important part of touring. However, it was soon time for us to depart in small groups to continue to our hotel in Anchorage. We left some souvenirs of our visit with Art and Tamea and continued our journey.

We had a little difficulty getting to the hotel as the most direct street was blocked for some activity. We made it and checked in. Then Joann and I set out to see if I could locate the neighborhood in which I lived in 1950—1951. I had a hazy recollection of its location and the terrain around it, but no street address. We wandered about and finally I located it based on terrain features. Not surprising, it had change significantly in the 56 years since I had left. Time, progress and no doubt, the earthquake had all left their mark on this city. We returned to the hotel and found our room. We were surprised to find that it was a suite of three rooms and a bath! We decided that we would not go out for dinner and later ordered a meal in the restaurant and I picked it up as a “carry out” to eat in our room.

We had a cable access to the Internet in the room and I was able to update the web pages after writing up the Talkeetna and Anchorage entries. Checking my email, I was able to delete non-critical messages to free up the mail box memory and to answer a few emails. However, I was not able to up load the Anchorage page. My computer would try to connect through a “dial-up” instead of recognizing the fact that it had a high-speed connection. After several tries, I decided to wait until the next morning to try that upload to the web page. However, when I fired up the computer, I found that my web files had been erased! If I can find a connection to the Internet, I may be able to retrieve the files and continue. If not, I may have concluded this web site adventure.

Tomorrow it is Homer over 200 miles down the Kenai Peninsula.

PS (08/08/2007) I’m home now and have recovered my files and will attempt to update the end of the Alaska Adventure. My notebook computer continues to defy me, so I’ll use the desk top, if I can.