Palmer, Alaska
Hatcher Pass, Independence Gold Mine, Reindeer and Musk Ox
The Reindeer Farm was on our radar. So, the next day we found the Farm easily as it was on the same road as the Bodenberg Butte that we had climbed the day before. The trip around the farm was about feeding the reindeer up close and personal. Cathy fed and petted the Reindeer. Brad took pictures. Reindeer slobber is not so bad and the reindeer are very gentle. They do not have upper teeth, just the lower. They do not bite. The Farm has several animals. They had raised a pigmy plains bison named Dolly. She was a baby when the Farm took her in. Dolly became attached to a Moose as a companion since her Mother had abandoned her. There are Elk, a small pig and various fancy chickens and rabbits. They also have horseback riding to the Butte. We enjoyed all the information about the animals and, as always, have a great time. We drove around the Bodenberg Loop and made it back home for cocktails.
A hike up Lazy Mountain was an afternoon event. Great views of the town and the Mountains. There were a bunch of folks walking up the trail on the holiday weekend. We were somewhat cautious as 3 young men came running down the path stating they had disturbed a hornet nest. Otherwise, a good hike up.
We visited the Musk Ox Farm and got up and close to the Musk Ox. The point of this project is to domesticate Musk Ox for farming in the north. It takes 200 generations to become domesticated. This farm is at 60 generations. The idea is to look for a change in the genes to prove and create a domestic animal for agricultural purposes. There are about 100 animals here and they are slower moving, most of the time, happily feeding and enjoying their lives. Is there a lesson here?
After several trips to Wasilla, we felt like we know our way around. (Regarding all the repair work done at the Ford Dealership) We found shopping and the Movie theater. It feels like we have had a lot of gray days with the sky sharing rain on most days, however, usually not a down pore, sometimes just a sprinkle/drizzle. On a real rainy day, we find a movie is a good way to spend a couple of hours. It makes us feel like we got something done????
Hatcher Pass and the Independence Gold Mine was our kind of place. The Gold Mine was a good walk around. Independence was a very productive mine. The information about how men worked here and slogged through the mud and did very physical work for $7.00 a day in 1930-1940. The mind ended as the war effort got underway. What a tough life. The food seemed to be the best part and is what probably kept things going. Mining is a hard way of life and in this digital age, its seems like the dark ages. When you think that this was only a lifetime ago it puts our lives in perspective. How good is it to be alive now during all the innovation and change that is taking Place. Although it feels uneasy sometimes Life is good.
The drive over Hatcher Pass was on a gravel road and it went up fast. The views were worth the effort and we got to the top and had a look around. There were trails to follow and more climbing very steep grades for even more excitement. The view of the valley and the long narrow road across the Valley floor seemed like a challenge. We made our way down through and found the trip to be fun and exciting. The drive over a mix of good and bad sections and across the highland and down into the low river land was about 20 miles of back land. For most of the trip, there was just nature and very few people. Toward the end, we found boon dockers in small campsites cluster together with atv and what looked like miles of off-road trails. It was the 4th of July weekend and there were a lot of folks at the end of the trail.
We woke up to a cloudy day with rain forecast for the whole day. It seemed like a trip to Anchorage might be a good idea. We got underway around 11:00 . It is about 45 miles and it is a good highway to drive. We drove through the city and found our way to the parks that run along the Cook Inlet and made our way down toward the airport. On the airport road, we saw a large female Moose grazing on the side of the road. There were a lot of car around and the moose just crossed the street and continued to grazing and was not at all concerned about the cars or people. We think this was a city moose. We were able to find our way over to Costco. We just can’t get past a Costco without a quick stop. Costco was packed. There was barely standing room. We got a few things and decided that it was beyond our stress level so we checked out and headed back to Palmer.
We are working on our blog just about every day. It takes time each day to tell our story and get it into the computer. The time we have spent in Palmer has been good and we were able to get around and see the town. The Airport was interesting as there were several old DC3 aircraft along some other planes that were old military transports. They seemed to be in service flying out of Palmer.
We are ready to move on and since our truck is ready. It is a big relief to have Big Red back. (our Truck) We have been here 8 days and we have enjoyed the park and our neighbors. As we travel from area to area, sometimes we run into a place where it is very nice and comfortable. We found this campground, the visitors, and the staff were very, very pleasant. Everything has worked out and we got great service. We have launched toward Seward and Soldotna. We don’t have a campsite reserved as yet. We couldn’t make up our minds to go to Seward first or Soldotna. We will figure it out, along the way, either finding a campground or boondocking. It’s all about the Journey!!!!
