Day 14 Travel Day

                                               Friday 9/5/2014

       
                  Started out this morning watching 2 moose munching away and wading
                  in the water across the lake. What a great way to end the Denali portion of
                  our adventure! Moose count is now at 6!

Today is a travel day. No special plans other than spending the night in Anchorage. Our next stop is Homer (You know: Alaska the Last Frontier on Discovery channel, the Kilchers and Katchamak Bay!) on the Kenai Peninsula ( pronounce Key Nie) It's a 9 hour drive without stops and we were cautioned many times not to try and do it in one day. Terry and Mike fished for a bit and then we hit the road. It was overcast and rainy so a good day to take our time and relax. About an hour into the drive, we came across a Princess Tour bus upside down and the top crushed, in a ditch on the side of the road. It was horrible and put a damper on the day. It wasn't till later that evening in Anchorage we were able to get the news that fortunately the bus was not full but was transporting 2 employees from one Princess Lodge to another. Unfortunately one person died, a young girl from Malaysia who was working in Alaska. The report said that speed for the rainy conditions was a  factor.
We saw this Mercedes Benz RV in a parking area with German plates. My research shows this is an Expedition Vehicle and most likely custom made. And the price....probably on the 300,000-$500,000 range depending on its amenities!

 

        We decided to take the 14 mile side trip off the Parks Highway into Talkeetna for lunch. Terry had been here with his Dad 7 years ago and Mike and I had been  here just a week ago!  We all wanted to share the town with Kim! (Talkeetna was not on our itinerary at all..and yet we ended up there twice (in the rain!) and enjoyed it both times!)   

     After lunch at  Mile High Pizza Pie, we set off for Nagley's General Store in search of Mayor Stubbs who has served the town in that capacity for 17 years..and just happens to be a cat! They weren't sure where he was but we were welcome to look around the store to see where he might be napping. After last years assassination attempt (That's right an assassination attempt! A dog attacked Mayor Stubbs and he was seriously injured) he has been laying low and often disappears in the afternoons for a nap. (I did check out prices in the store and WOW! A box of cereal was $7.59, a Banquet Pot Pie was $4.25..and it's the small pot pie one would pay $1. for around home. I imagine  the locals shop elsewhere and stock up when they head to Wasilla for Drs. Appt etc.)
 Talkeetna is said to have been the inspiration for the fictional town of Cicely, Alaska, in the 1990s television series "Northern Exposure".
         
 Back in Anchorage, we headed downtown for some souvenir shopping. It was crowded and hard to find a parking spot as it was "First Friday."  I had wanted to get some stones or rocks for the grandsons and the souvenir shop did have some pretty cool stones but they said "From Brazil"...why would I want rocks from Brazil when I was in Alaska?