EMAILS FROM ALASKA
SENT FROM SURF CITY, ANCHORAGE

DAY 4

From: Pam Rentz
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 1998 17:11:34 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Day #4, Mile 600

Hi Everybody:

Bob showed me how to use simpletext to cut and paste so I don't have to deal with that kooky time-delay Telnet prompt. yay.

About 500 miles later. We are back in Anchorage after visiting the Kenai Peninsula.

We drove from Anch. to Soldatna, stopping at the Portage Glacier on our way south. The Portage Glacier has receded so much (global warming at work) that in another few years you won't even be able to see the glacier from the Forest Service interpretive center. We asked the Forest Service guy and he said that already they've got the funding and the timeline for re-vamping the center so it isn't so glacier-centric.

We arrived in Soldatna and parked at Bob's friend Susan -- he knows her from college. In the evening we went for walk at the wildlife preserve (sorry don't have the name handy) and then drove us on this sure-fire road to view moose. Sure enough we drove for miles on this dirt road and no moose. On the way back we stopped at the river (Kenai) to watch the fishermen and sure enough there was a moose having a little snack right on the road only about 300 ft. from the fishermen parking. She ran away when we stopped.

We went to the river side and watched the fishermen lined up every 4 feet throwing in their lines. The river is especially high because it is a bit warmer than usual and they got a warm, heavy rain which is melting the snowpack faster than normal. The Kenai is wide and fast and looks as though lit by fluorescent lights from beneath -- it is an eerie milky/icy blue color.

On the way back home Mama Moose was again by the road with a wee little calf -- we could just see its little head and twitchy ears. There is something so absurd and endearing about moose.

Yesterday we hopped back in the car and drove down to Homer and spent the day cruising around. We went to the spit and parked among about ten trillion RVs and walked along the pier-thing and watched the charters taking photos with the catch (halibut). We went down to the public dock where there is a cleaning area and chatted with a few of the fishermen. There are guys who hang out down there and will clean your fish for you. What a sideline.

We also went to the Pratt Museum which is an impressive set up with a mixture of local history, marine themed stuff and a huge exhibit on the Exxon Valdez oil spill that made me too depressed and I couldn't make it all the way through. They also had a local artist show and outside a log cabin built in, I forget when, I think in the 30's. There was a museum employee in there who turns out lived in the cabin back in the 40's for a short time when her first kid was born. Just the cook stove for heat , yikes! She's 89 and works at the museum under an Alaska Elder Program that pays her for her work. Really cool lady, told lots of great stories.

Last night Susan and her friend Jack, who are in a bluegrass band, played music for us. We ended up getting a late start so I didn't get to see the soccer game so I am hoping my VCR doesn't let me down. I hope Brazil won. We are cruising through town and on our way up to Palmer to spent the night. Then Mon/Tue we will be at Denali before heading up to Fairbanks and back on Thu.

BTW there was an earthquake here the day we arrived (this always happens to me I think I make them happen). The magnitude has been advertised at 5.7 and as high as 6.4 -- quite a discrepancy. We didn't feel it because we were in the car but when I heard I got paranoid about tidal waves because I saw this hysteria inducing special on TLC about tidal waves and between that and poor Tea Leoni in Deep Impact, it's remains a phenomenon I'd like to miss out on.

Time to roll on. We'll check in again if we can.

Pam

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