Down Time, and Little Stuff

Do you ever get to the point that you just can't absorb any more beauty, or information, without a little time off?  That's where I've been the last couple of days. Realizing that I'd driven up the Glenn Highway without really seeing it... Of course, I stopped at the photo pulloffs (marked with prominent signs, thank you Alaska Highway Department), but I'm sure there was other stuff I missed. Thankfully, I did miss the moose that came tearing across the road right in front of me, with a car not very far behind!

Matanuska River -- from a crumbling overlook that scared me a lot!

Manatuska Glacier

After leaving Seward, I drove to Palmer, a little north of Anchorage, as a good waypoint for the next leg of the trip to the Top of the World. I just wanted a place to spend the night, but when I started looking around, I found a Presbyterian Church, and the next day was Sunday, and this looked like a very interesting church. Service at 11.  It is a log church, built in the 1930's, logs both inside and outside. No pictures (such was the state of my brain L). The service was very familiar, and it was nice talking to the co-pastors after the service.

My goal on Sunday afternoon was Tolsona, near Glenallen. I stayed at this campground on the way up, and thought it was the most picturesque one of all the ones where I had stayed. I've got a stream gurgling right behind the camper (when I was here before it was roaring) and it's very restful at night, after I get rid of all the mosquitos that find their way into the car.  That's the only problem with this place, lots and lots of mosquitos.

There was a little sightseeing on the way up here – the Independence Gold Mine was touted in the Milepost as a place not to miss. They were right – I'm glad I took the time and energy to see it.  And the creeks alongside the road were beautiful.  I think they are my favorite kinds of photos – I call them the wet ones. 

Independence Gold Mine

A wet picture!

One of the things that I see very often along the road is lakes or ponds full of water lillys. They have all been the yellow ones, but they are really pretty.  Sometimes the lakes, and the water lilies, seem to go on forever.

I decided to stay here two nights, to really rest and recharge, plus I had to do a major laundry (sheets and towels too!) and I hadn't cleaned out the camper in a while. With the laundry in the washer, I unloaded everything from the van, except the bed and chest of drawers, cleaned it out as best as I could, and wiped down all the surfaces that had become terribly dusty. It's amazing how that stuff accumulates, and the nooks and crannies it gets into!

All along, the mosquitos have been pretty bad, and it's been quite warm in many places, making it hard to sleep. At one point I stopped at a Lowes hardware store and bought some fiberglass screening, thinking I could improvise screens for two of the windows and then leave them open at night.  Screening and duct tape!  I'd used them several times and they seemed to work, but it was a pain in the neck to put them up when I arrived at a campground, and remove them the next morning. So my bright idea today was to see if I could get them up and leave them up without danger of them flying off while I was driving. By folding the edges of the screening over the edge of the door and taping it down, I think this will work! When I get home, I'll do something more adaptable – kind of like an elasticized bowl cover that I put over the door, then close the door on it. I'll use screening and fabric for the cover, though. I just hope it's legal…maybe Eric can put in his two cents here!

One kind of exciting thing has been happening – my clothes are becoming way too big for me! I'm having a hard time keeping my pants up (but I did bring a belt…) Without all the junk, and keeping all the food in the back of the van, I'm eating quite a bit less and losing some of my unwanted weight. I hope I can keep it up when I get home!

Food on this trip has been both good and bad.  Because I'm using a cooler, and don't have long-term storage facilities, I've been a bit more limited in my food choices.  Have you ever tried to go the store and buy a package with just one chicken breast?  Nope… it's always 3 or 4 of them, and I can't eat them fast enough to finish them up. When stores have butcher counters, I usually buy meat there, and I can get the small quantities that I need. One steak lasts for two meals, one chicken breast, the same. I've had a lot of salmon – that I can get in the small enough portions, and I could eat that several nights in a row (and I have!).  There's been a lot of stir fry, or noodles or rice mixed up with some kind of meat. One thing I discovered is that I get really tired of salads every day.  But I really like cut-up raw vegetables with a little bit of dip.  I also love grilled vegetables, and I've done a lot of asparagus, or zucchini mushrooms and onions. Corn also grills well (I have a small gas grill that works on the regular camping propane bottles.)

I've ended up tossing quite a bit of chicken (when I had to buy a larger package), and bread too, because I can't eat it fast enough. But I decided that's a small price to pay for fresh food. I tried burgers one night, and they were so awful, I vowed not again on this trip. If I really want a burger, I'll go to a restaurant!