Palmer Fair, Farms and a MOOSE

Leslie Friday, July 25, 2008

We had heard that every Friday in Palmer they hold Friday Fling. It was supposed to be a street fair with music. After lunch we headed out to see Friday Fling. It was a “Farmer’s Market” type venue with around 25 booths. Most of the venders were selling things other than vegetables such as pottery, tie-dye shirts, and jewelry. There were also booths selling hotdogs and cotton candy. We didn’t buy anything.

The Visitor’s Center/Museum and test garden is located across the street from the fair. The Mat-Su valley, in which Palmer is located, is the area known for growing the huge vegetables often seen on television – such as a 40 lb head of cabbage. While the vegetables in the test garden aren’t that big yet, we could see where they are going.

I did a quick tour of the museum. During the 1930s depression “Colonists” were sent to the Mat-Su valley from the lower 48. Each colonist family was given between 40-80 acres, a house, barn, and one outbuilding. Carpenters were also brought up to construct the buildings. The carpenters were not invited to stay and even though the colonists arrived destitute, they treated the carpenters as second class citizens. To ensure that the uninvited carpenters didn’t stay, part of the carpenter’s wages were withheld until the carpenter returned to the lower 48. Palmer was the trading post for the colonists. For a period of time, the US government issued script that was known as “Bling.” The colonist venture was considered a success and most remained on the farms.

Next to our RV park is a small organic farm. On Fridays between 5-7 pm they sell vegetables to the public. We had missed the time the last time we were in Palmer. The farm has a small metal building from which they sell produce picked that day. We bought zucchini and broccoli for a planned stir-fry meal.



Several times the goats from the organic farm have wandered into the RV park. Here’s one of the younger goats.



Our last mission of the day was to find a moose. As we drove along a wooded area not far from the RV park, I suddenly spotted this moose in the woods.



It may have been the same moose we saw yesterday. Now that I have a few pictures of female moose (cow?) I’m hoping to spot a male.



We than grilled wild sockeye salmon for dinner. It was excellent although I think that I like King Salmon even better.

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.