After leaving Gulkana River, I headed west to get closer to Anchorage for my Monday mechanic appointment. I need a shower before entering civilization again, so I decide to pay for an actual campsite in Palmer which is about an hour out of Anchorage. I find a nice, cheap municipal park on Yelp in Palmer, set it into the GPS, and head out. The drive was fine, but road construction was everywhere. Good thing I don’t need to be anywhere at a specific time! When I roll into Palmer, It’s around 2PM and I’m starving. I wanted to go to the Matanuska Brewery here, but I need to eat before that happens. All I need is to get sick off 2 beers! A google search brings up Palmer Ale House. Not the normal Ale House chain, this is a local business with great food reviews.
I pull up to the restaurant, and find a spot at the bar. Professional lacrosse is on? Weird. Maybe no other sports are on the TV today… It’s overall pretty entertaining, but man it’s a brutal sport. All I can think about is Paula’s ex-boyfriend Crazy Larry…. I order a local beer, and an entire pizza called the jalapeno popper. Basically cream cheese, bacon and jalapenos. It was amazing. It took everything in me to not eat the entire pizza while sitting at the bar.
After lunch/dinner, I pull up to the municipal RV park in downtown Palmer. It’s great because I can set up my stuff, then walk downtown to the brewery after I digest. I get in, and find a spot at the campground. Man, this place is full of kids. So so so many kids running around, like wild packs of animals on scooters and hover boards. Ugh. I walk to the bathroom before going to pay for my spot, and find the showers are out of order. Well shit, this was the entire point of paying for a camping spot! I go back to the truck, leave the children infested area, find another RV park on Yelp, and leave downtown. Screw it.
I pull up at Big Bear RV which is right off the Glenn Highway, and find a spot. No kids, quiet, and beautiful bathroom with working showers. This is what I was looking for! Instead of partaking in a brewery, I finished my amazing pizza, read some, and went to bed.
The next morning, I head west again to the town of Eagle River, just 20 miles outside of Anchorage. There’s a trail head (Mt. Baldy Trail head) near town that is described on freecampsites.net that is just what I need. A place to park AND a place to hike. I get there around noon, and decide to go for a hike.
Man, this place has some awesome views, and some serious elevation changes during the hike. The trail is basically straight up and down, muddy as hell, and not well marked. Regardless, tons and tons of people are here! It’s father’s day, and lots of families have decided to go hiking today. Good for them! Except I hear multiple families with kids complaining about the hike. Children complaining of being tired, wet, and muddy, it’s pretty hilarious. People trying so hard to do what dad wants to do for one day, but just can’t muster doing it without constant bitching.
I get to the top and hang out for a bit. Wanting to waste some more time and not sit alone in a parking lot all evening. I find a coffee shop in town to get some WiFi. I find the Sleepy Dog Cafe, and settle in for awhile.
After my chill afternoon drinking coffee and muffing around on the internet, I head back to the truck and prep for my day at the mechanics. I decide to take the skid plate off my truck to aid in diagnostics tomorrow, and find a pretty substantial coolant leak. Shit. This stuff is all over the place, and doesn’t look to be coming from something easy like a hose. Just one more issue to deal with unfortunately. Guess I’ll be bringing up 2 issues to the mechanic tomorrow. I settle in for the night on the flattest piece of ground I can find in the parking lot, and hope for the best with my truck.
I should also mention there’s no bathroom up here, and it doesn’t ever get dark enough to hide in the cover of night. I just have to look both ways, pray no one is coming, and take a squat. Not the best situation, but at least I’m not parked at a Wal Mart. Not too many options in this area unfortunately.
