Sunday, June 26, 2016

2016 Epic Road Trip - Day 43

June 25, 2016

Day 43 - Soldotna, AK to Wasilla, AK - ___ Miles




I left Soldatna today and headed around to the east side of the Kenai Peninsula to Seward, AK,  Like the other side, the mountains come down to the water, lake/inlet/river/sea.


This is the home of the Kenai-Fjiords National Park.  It was a rainy, foggy day.  The National Park is best known for its scenic boat tours or wildlife tours.


There aren’t any roads through the park; it’s all by waterways.  I figured since I couldn’t see much driving, there wasn’t much point in paying for a boat tour on such a dismal day.  There is one glacier accessible by vehicle, so I drove up to see it.

Exit Glacier at Kenai-Fjiords National Park
Glacier run-off from Exit Glacier
Seward was the hometown of Billy Benson.  In 1926, little Billy was a 7th grader in Seward, Alaska territory, and the school asked all the kids to design a flag for Alaska.  Billy chose a design with 8 stars on a blue background.  Seven stars were in the formation of the Big Dipper and the remaining one represented the North Star.  Billy’s design won, and he was awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

I tracked down the headquarters of the Iditarod Sled Race at Knik, AK and received a lesson on the history of the race.  There were some nice photo-ops, too.






Next I headed up to Wasilla and thought I would be able see Russia--I couldn't even though Sarah Palin said she could.  Must have been the fog.

By the way, the WalMart in Wasilla is the largest WalMart in the state of Alaska AND it sells more duct tape than any other WalMart in the World!  I can believe it.  The campground tonight caters more to locals than tourists...


Thank goodness, it’s only for one night and not much different than staying at the big WalMart for the night!

A shop in Wasilla.
  This is a food cache, a place to stash your food so the bears don't get it. I have seen these quite often, especially in parks or trail heads.

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