We went into Home for pizza at Fat Olives on the 4th and took in the outdoor market they had set up. Some folks were shooting off fireworks down on the beach below the bluff at Anchor Point in the evening. It's starting to almost be dark about midnight, though I admit I haven't been up that late on purpose.
 |
| 9:30 pm from bluff |
On the 5th we soaked up the quiet and got packed up to move on. We went a short distance back to Soldotna where we stayed the night in the Fred Meyer parking lot and took a stroll along the Fish Walk - a boardwalk that parallels the river and has steps down to the water at intervals for folks to fish from.
We left this morning (Saturday) and explored the little town of Hope on the far side o the Turnagain Arm. The historical museum was packed with artifacts and had several cabins depicting life in the early 1900's. Mike said this stove reminded him of one in his house as a child that he had to fill with wood for heat in the morning
I had to snag pictures of the crazy quilt stitched by one of the two women who were there at first and of the recently completed memory quilt. We drove on toward Anchorage and stopped at John's gold panning where Mike panned out a bucket and got some gold flakes. The Resurrection River was running high and most of the snow is gone from the mountain tops as the weather has been in the 70's for about a week. The local visitor center guide told us it was quite unusual for them to have such a stretch of sunshine. The prediction is for cooler temperatures and windy conditions.
We're going to stay at Elmendorf Richardson base on the edge of Anchorage for the coming week and then head out for the other side of the Kenai Peninsula - Valdez - before our reservations the end of the month in Denali National Park.
