June 15, Wasilla

June 15  Broken record time...another beautiful weather day in Wasilla- high of 73º and clear to partly cloudy skies.

I've noticed that one of our trailer tires is wearing irregularly with a couple of flat spots on its outside tread.  I'm guessing this tire either lost a wheel weight and is out of balance, or it might have a slipped belt.  Anyway, I replaced this worn tire with our brand new spare.  I've contacted several tire stores in the Wasilla area.  They are to get back to me about getting a replacement tire mounted.

I had called one tire shop in Wasilla, and they said they had 1 trailer tire of the size we needed in stock.  I had them put a hold on that tire, and said I would be in right after lunch.  When I got there they had no record of my call nor did they have the tire I needed in stock.  Grrrr!  Thus I made connections with other tire shops.

Grant has a nice collection of firearms.  He also has a good collection of what I call working, lever action, antique rifles.  He showed us 4 rifles that were manufactured in the 1890's and early 1900's.  A couple of these rifles he still uses for bear and moose hunting.  He also showed us a pistol that belong to his grandfather manufactured around 1872!

Being from Nebraska, I didn't appreciate the need for firearms in Alaska.  Grant had to shoot a black bear that was trying to break into a window on their house at night just a few years ago.  And as I mentioned in an earlier post, most Alaskans do not go into the wilderness unless they are armed for their own protection from bears and moose.  Both animals' populations are large, and they do pose threats to people.  When we were in Denali a week ago, you might remember that Grant and Debby had a moose jump the fence surrounding their house and hangar areas.  Fortunately, they were able to open the gate, and it moved on before doing any more damage other than breaking the top three strands of barbed wire on their fence.

Peggy and I talked about where we might take our next adventures.  We've decided to head down a short ways on the Kenai Peninsula to Whittier, AK, just southeast of Anchorage.  We will be camped on the Portage side of the mountains as there is a very long tunnel that must be taken to get to Whittier on the Prince William Sound.  The longer your vehicle and trailer, the greater the charge to go through the tunnel.  Camping in the Portage area will mean we only pay for our truck to go through the tunnel.

We have also made reservations for a 5 and 1/2 hour glacier cruise out of Whittier to see the Surprise Glacier and the surrounding marine environment.  It is claimed that we could see whales (very cool!) and other marine mammals like seals and sea otters.  Another big selling point on this cruise is that they also have a salmon/prime rib buffet!  Needless, we are looking forward to going south with our first trip to the Kenai.

Other activities on the upcoming week's trip could include hikes, a wildlife sanctuary, and an aerial tram ride to overlook the Portage Glacier valley.  We will leave Tuesday, June 18, and be back in Wasilla sometime the following Saturday.

Peggy and I have been getting a taste of home by watching the College World Series on TV.  Hopefully the weather holds for the tournament, and there are no storms.

Grant and Debby sold their "tug" boat to the neighbors across the street from them.  Grant said that he was glad to sell it to them as they have 2 young kids who will appreciate it and a young dad who has the energy to maintain it.  I'm glad Peggy and I got to ride on it when we did.