A Day in Palmer

Robert, Friday, July 25

I got up this morning and got the oil changed in the truck. I drove to Wasilla, which is about 10 miles from Palmer to get it changed. On the way back to the trailer I drove by an outdoor market in Palmer called Friday Fling. We had been told about it and I just wanted to see if it was worth going to see. It looked like it was worth a visit. I got back to the trailer and Leslie and ate lunch. Finishing that we set out for Friday Fling. Worth a visit? Yes. Worth much more than a visit? No. We wandered through the 20 or so vendor tents and had seen enough. The Palmer Visitor’s Center was right next door so that too got a quick visit. We then drove to Wasilla as it seemed to me to be larger than Palmer. It is larger but that is about all I could say for it. We stopped by the grocery store on the way back to the trailer. We really didn’t need much but if we spent another $54, we could get 10 cents a gallon off on fuel. With today’s prices for groceries, it doesn’t take much to add up to $55. One thing that caught our eye and made its way to our cart was a filet of fresh salmon. When we were a quarter mile from the campground, Leslie yelled, “Moose!” Sure enough, there was a small bull moose about 20 feet from the side of the road. It was in the bush but we got a good look at it and Leslie got a few pictures. By the time we got back to the trailer it was close to five o’clock. Next door to the campground is a truck farm. On Friday they pick vegetables for the Saturday Farmer’s Market in Anchorage. Between 5 and 7 on Fridays, they sell vegetables right there. We went and got some of the fresh stuff. When we got back to the trailer, it was lightly raining so I put the awning out. By pulling the picnic table under the awning, it provides a dry place to grill the salmon. The salmon was great. This was Sockeye salmon. By now we have eaten enough fresh salmon to start grading the various types. We like the Kings best. That is followed by Sockeye and Humpbacks in the order. We haven’t eaten Coho so I can’t rate that one.