A new supply!
After enjoying a relaxing week along the Susitna River near Talkeetna, I decided to drive to Anchorage to start my exploration of the coastal area. The morning was a little drizzly but I managed to get everything loaded without taking too much of the wet river sand with me. It was only 120 miles south on good road with cheaper gas along the way to the sprawling city of Anchorage, and I arrived at Cabelas shortly after noon.
Cabela’s allows RVs in their parking lot for 48 hours and they even have a dump station. I took care of the regular chores whenever I get to a big city – laundry, groceries, dump, and water – and gave Renee( who will always be known as Kleenex to me) a call to let her know I was in town. We agreed to meet later and go out to eat.
Castaway and Kleenex
It was such a joy to see my friend and trail companion. It has been 5 years since I last saw her and we both agreed the time has in some ways flown by. Kleenex has spent the majority of her time since the trail as councilor and mentor to young adults in an organization called Service Adventure, an organization that helps kids with a positive start in life. Alaska has really taken hold of her heart and I think it will be her permanent home for the foreseeable future.
At Earthquake Park.
Kleenex has a Costco membership so she took me in her car to purchase the much needed staple of maple syrup. I have been looking for good fruit here in the north but so far been disappointed with what I have purchased. She said that Costco here in Anchorage has the best fruit so I stocked up on that too.
I told her I have been hungry for pizza. I usually go to fast food places when I go out to eat and frozen pizza that you cook at home doesn’t cut it. She knew of a couple good places to get pizza. The first place was pretty crowded but we only had to wait 20 minutes to get a seat at the next one. It was a great time of catching up and reminiscing about the trail. After dinner she drove us to Earthquake Park and we walked around reading the signs and looking out at Cook Inlet until the mosquitos chased us back to the car.
Kleenex has to work and “house sit” for the next two weeks so we can either spend a little time together between her commitments or maybe I will continue on down the coast and come back when she has a couple days off. Once again my plans are set in jello.
Thank goodness for Renee’s Costco card!! I know we were all worried about your maple syrup supply and the devastating effect the loss was having on your life.
The last paragraph of my comment got cut off when I posted it. I just said how great it must have been to catch up on the last five years since your life changing hike and that I hope you get to do a day hike together while you are up there.
That’s right! There are some things you just can’t live without;)
Great to see you reunited with your Trail Buddy. How cool!
Glad you are resupplied with the necessities. Plenty to do in the Anchorage area and short drives from there. You could easily hang around for several days as long as you can fine free places to camp.
When I saw you were out of maple syrup, I was afraid you might have to cut short your trip to Alaska. Glad to see you are safe again.
Just got caught up with your posts that I’ve missed – you’re having quite an adventure! I’m glad you’re doing some special things along with the normal sight-seeing. Have fun with your hiking friend. It’s nice to have someone in town who knows where to go and can do along with you. I’d have loved seeing the sled dogs. 🙂