Palmer, August 23rd

At a pull-out that we hiked at

Our drive from Soldotna to Palmer was spectacular and at one point we pulled off and took a fabulous hike on a trail that was set up for cross country skiing. We noticed today that the trees have started to turn colour  and the leaves are dropping, it is going to be sensational soon. On a side note,  we have been told by many Alaskans that they watch the Fireweed so that they know when the seasons are changing. Fireweed is a perennial flower that grows literally everywhere from yards, to fields, to sides of the road. This flower blooms from the bottom up and when it starts to bloom Spring is arriving, when the very last blooms are gone and the Fireweed gets fuzzy and goes to seed, the start of Winter is two weeks away. The implication is that there really is no fall…. they move from Spring, to Summer, to Winter!  The Fireweed is pretty much gone at this point!

The Hike

Fireweed almost finished blossoming

Fireweed with no blossoms

Relaxing on the Hike!

Baylee found a pond to play in!

While here we went to the Headquarters for the Iditarod race and took a short ride with the dogs… it was an absolute blast, though we all wished it was a longer ride - on snow!  The dogs were adorable, and we got to meet and hold three 6 week old Husky pups…. cute as a button!  Good job we have no  more room for dogs!

More Beer to taste

 We also managed to find the local craft brewery, The Last Frontier, and spent a couple of hours tasting their beers - the Barley Wine was our favorite. We ate lunch and I had - again - the biggest Reindeer Chili Dog ever. We have decided that portions are getting bigger because the Alaskans are getting ready for Winter!

We had a gret Rv park while in Palmer, but it rained all but 4 hours of our 48 stay!  We are getting used to the constant rain (well, kind of!)

On another note….. we continue to be absolutely amazed at the scenery we drive through every time we get on te road. It is hard to describe how vast the land is, how huge the rivers are, how all the mountains are covered in trees right to the tippy top, other than the ones covered in glaciers and snow. We talk constantly about our admiration for the pioneers that made their way through this state, and how they managed to not only exist, but flourish.