Wasilla is a larger town than we expected and Barb was able to
do some shopping. The coastal mountains are again in view and make for some odd weather patterns. We looked up one day to find the sky half raining & half sunny. We were on the sunny side! There was a parade and a community picnic for the 4th of July. The funny old time
r
sitting next
to us warned us that there wasn't much organization to the parade. It had some starts and stops, but was great fun. Included in it were a septic tank pumper, unicycles, a motorized bar stool, tons of cute kids, guys "walking
on their hands" and
what appeared to be equipment from every fire department in a 50 mile radius. The picnic was sponsored by the city and we enjoyed a hot dog, soda and slice of watermelon. There were kids' games, a few inflatables,
a band, a pony ride and a train ride. It was a really fun day and great weather. We didn't bother with the 11PM fireworks since it was still light out. We decided to pre-screen the RV parks in Anchorage since none have good reviews. Turns out the reviews were accurate, so we'll m
ove to the Eagle River campground in a state park just 10 miles from downtown. It is beautiful and the sites are huge. However, this sign makes us want to be extra careful about turning onto the correct side street! Mom will arrive early Friday morning, so we wanted to be sure to have a nice place to kick off her vacation - the campground, not the jail! We stopped by the village of Eklutna, which is a combination
of Athabascan natives and Russian settlers. So, you end up with a Russian Orthodox church and spirit houses in the cemetery. The old 1870's and new 1962 church both stand on the grounds. Spirit houses were built over graves 40 days after burial so that the spirit of the deceased can reside there. There are no names and dates on these bu
t speculation is that some go back about
100 years. We suspect the trim along the top of the roof signifies something, but waves were the only symbol we could identify. The spirit houses are painted in the family colors. The most prominent family's colors are red & white. It appears someon
e went all out for grandma when she died in the 1970's. Although her last name was Rosenberg, the color scheme tells us she was part of the Alex family. The church's policy is to leave the care of these spirit houses to family members, many of whom have moved away. We used our fantastic coupon book for dining out today and ended up with cheese steak & cheesecake! Two different places & we didn't realize how funny it was til we were back in Wasilla. Also used coupons for his & hers haircuts. We've saved $99 so far on our $50 investment and
the big ticket items are ye
t to come! Our final stop in Wasilla was the Iditarod headquarters where we watched a movie about the 2009 race and the science to breeding the dogs. There was a team of dogs to pull around tourists in a cart and a litter of future champions. Decided against looking for Sarah Palin after she didn't turn up at the parade or in Target. Maybe she's sweltering at the new house in Scottsdale. And now...the hunters have become the hunted! Chuck & Cindy appeared in our RV park tonight. Just as Barb was finishing up this blog entry, she looked up & saw Cindy walking Lucy. Dennis, of course, thought she was hallucinating. A quick yell was followed by a good visit. The blog is never done. We all went to the farmers market and found some yummy treats. Who knows when we'll meet again!
do some shopping. The coastal mountains are again in view and make for some odd weather patterns. We looked up one day to find the sky half raining & half sunny. We were on the sunny side! There was a parade and a community picnic for the 4th of July. The funny old time
r
sitting next
to us warned us that there wasn't much organization to the parade. It had some starts and stops, but was great fun. Included in it were a septic tank pumper, unicycles, a motorized bar stool, tons of cute kids, guys "walking
on their hands" and
what appeared to be equipment from every fire department in a 50 mile radius. The picnic was sponsored by the city and we enjoyed a hot dog, soda and slice of watermelon. There were kids' games, a few inflatables,
a band, a pony ride and a train ride. It was a really fun day and great weather. We didn't bother with the 11PM fireworks since it was still light out. We decided to pre-screen the RV parks in Anchorage since none have good reviews. Turns out the reviews were accurate, so we'll m
ove to the Eagle River campground in a state park just 10 miles from downtown. It is beautiful and the sites are huge. However, this sign makes us want to be extra careful about turning onto the correct side street! Mom will arrive early Friday morning, so we wanted to be sure to have a nice place to kick off her vacation - the campground, not the jail! We stopped by the village of Eklutna, which is a combination 
of Athabascan natives and Russian settlers. So, you end up with a Russian Orthodox church and spirit houses in the cemetery. The old 1870's and new 1962 church both stand on the grounds. Spirit houses were built over graves 40 days after burial so that the spirit of the deceased can reside there. There are no names and dates on these bu
t speculation is that some go back about 
100 years. We suspect the trim along the top of the roof signifies something, but waves were the only symbol we could identify. The spirit houses are painted in the family colors. The most prominent family's colors are red & white. It appears someon
e went all out for grandma when she died in the 1970's. Although her last name was Rosenberg, the color scheme tells us she was part of the Alex family. The church's policy is to leave the care of these spirit houses to family members, many of whom have moved away. We used our fantastic coupon book for dining out today and ended up with cheese steak & cheesecake! Two different places & we didn't realize how funny it was til we were back in Wasilla. Also used coupons for his & hers haircuts. We've saved $99 so far on our $50 investment and 
the big ticket items are ye
t to come! Our final stop in Wasilla was the Iditarod headquarters where we watched a movie about the 2009 race and the science to breeding the dogs. There was a team of dogs to pull around tourists in a cart and a litter of future champions. Decided against looking for Sarah Palin after she didn't turn up at the parade or in Target. Maybe she's sweltering at the new house in Scottsdale. And now...the hunters have become the hunted! Chuck & Cindy appeared in our RV park tonight. Just as Barb was finishing up this blog entry, she looked up & saw Cindy walking Lucy. Dennis, of course, thought she was hallucinating. A quick yell was followed by a good visit. The blog is never done. We all went to the farmers market and found some yummy treats. Who knows when we'll meet again!
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