Day 41 and 42 Palmer-Anchorage Area

August 9^th and 10^th

Palmer is a smaller (~6,000 people) farming community, surrounded by the Chugach Mountains, 42-miles NE of Anchorage on the Glenn Highway. This area has the most fertile land in Alaska.

The 20-hours of sunlight and rich glacial soil allow this valley to produce gargantuan vegetables; but we didn’t get to see any of them! This is a cabbage in the garden at the Visitor Center.

One of our books said the record pumpkin weighed 1019 #s, record cabbage over 100 #s and the record carrot was 8 #s.

We toured a Musk Oxen Farm outside of Palmer.

All the indigenous Musk Oxen in Alaska had disappeared by the late 1800’s. In 1930 Congress funded a project to bring 34 musk oxen from Greenland to Alaska. Canada, though, has the largest population of musk oxen with over 100,000 located mainly on the arctic islands.

This farm's main goal is to domesticate their Musk Oxen and provide Native Tribes with qiviut - the soft under-wool of the musk oxen. Qiviut is stronger and eight times warmer than sheep's wool, and softer than cashmere wool. This yarn provides the native knitters with a cottage industry for additional income. The hats and scarves sell for $100+.

_____________________________

The early years of Russian influence in Alaska is evident by the presence of the Russian Orthodox Churches like this one in historic - “Eklutna” (outside of Anchorage), one of Alaska’s oldest inhabited Athabascan Native Villages.

In accordance with the church’s beliefs, Spirit Houses are placed on the grave 40-days after death.

The graves are taken care of for a one-year as it is believed that the spirit roams the earth during this time and then passes on.

______________________

I was out-voted – we stopped at the Alaskan Aviation Heritage Museum in Anchorage.

For more information, talk to Peter or William!

The PBY

A WWII Amphibian Airplane. The wheels pull up so it can land on water!

______________________________

We decided to take a drive to check out the small fishing/tourist town of Whittier (pop. ~200) which is only accessible on land by a 2.5-mile train/car tunnel through the Chugach Mountains. The ferry makes stops there also.

One of the few Tourist Traps in Whittier but the most ornate we've seen so far on our trip!

A little more Whittier history:

The town owes its beginning to the US Army. It was created as a delivery port to inland military locations. It was named for the poet John Greenleaf Whittier – I don’t understand that connection!

At one time the population reached 1,200 but declined after they closed the military operations.

_______________________

Ice chunks from the Portage Glacier floating in Portage Lake, on the route to Whittier.

The Portage Glacier viewing tunnel.
The glacier has receded so much it can longer be scene from this vantage point.


There are No Risk of fires – we’ve had rain almost every day of our trip!

__________________


We were hoping to see a HUGE wave as the tidal-conditions were right for a Bore-tide in Turnagain Arm. It didn’t happen!
Okay – What’s a bore-tide? I didn’t know. A bore-tide can only form where certain conditions are met:

1) there must be a natural obstruction at the mouth of the body of water where the bore occurs and

2) there must be a great range between low and high tides.

The Turnagain Arm bore-tide only occurs when the low tide is a minus 3.0-4.0.

This is what the last HIGH bore-tide looked like in Turnagain Arm according to a recent news article.

The bore-tides that occur in Turnagain Arm are the 2nd greatest in North America after Nova Scotia's Bay of Fundy.

__________________

Jacob's Ladder
This is the first time I have seen this wildflower even though it does grow in MN.