Alaska Chat II (Ketchikan, Bethel, Wasilla: recreational, carnival, courts)

[lyoness]

Originally Posted by Classic Satch

Palmer and Wasilla have almost the same population. Wasilla just has the stores and restaurants close by. Palmer has eschewed the commercial development.

Thanks Satch I totally hate to shop (strange I know), really want the small town feel, wouldn't mind having to drive a ways to get to a Walmart if I really felt the need, so Palmer is starting to take the lead. Now I just need to investigate Soldonta & Healy.

[Barkingowl]

Originally Posted by lyoness

Now that's my kind a weather! Owl what do you think of Wasilla? I can transfer to just about anywhere in AK but I'm having a hard time chosing, narrowed it down to Wasilla or possibly Palmer, did you get a chance to go thru Palmer on your trip? I think Wasilla is just going to be way to big for me.

Wasilla has a small town center with most of its stores concentrated along Parks Highway. The stores, generally found in strip malls, give the feeling that the town is a suburb of Anchorage. I've found that most of the residential sections are situated far enough away from Parks to let the town retain its rural feeling. For example, the cabin we are staying in on E. Spruce is a bout a mile back from Parks. Its quiet & you can't hear the highway at all. But a quick 5-10 minute drive puts you within reach of a variety of restaurants & stores. We drove into Palmer briefly yesterday on our way to the fair & again when heading out to Hatcher Pass. Palmer seems to have many of the same amenities as Wasilla does, but its a lot smaller. Its commercial district is tiny compared to Wasilla's, but its about a 10 minute drive to Wasilla, so the size of the commercial district doesn't mean too much.

[lyoness]

Thanks so much, the description was perfect, I get a much better visual now. Thinking Palmer would be my choice, not that I couldn't move around once I get settled in. Glad you & the Mrs are having a great time, can't wait to see more pics!

[Barkingowl]

We spent the morning in Palmer. We had breakfast at the Palmer Hotel. The restaurant is open 24/7 & isn't overly spendy. We watched the fair parade march down Main St, I guess, in front of the hotel. My wife & I walked around in downtown Palmer & the commercial section, where you have shops that you can walk to seems to be a few blocks long.

You can get a better breakfast at The Noisy Goose on the Glenn Hwy right across from the fairgrounds.

My wife is starting to think about land & houses.

[warptman]

A tad warm here

Bethel, Alaska (Airport)
Updated: 36 min 49 sec ago
Scattered Clouds
70 °F / 21 °C
Scattered Clouds
Humidity: 32%
Dew Point: 39 °F / 4 °C
Wind: 8 mph / 13 km/h / 3.6 m/s from the North
Pressure: 29.65 in / 1004 hPa (Falling)
Visibility: 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
UV: 3 out of 16
Clouds:
Scattered Clouds 2500 ft / 762 m
Scattered Clouds 30000 ft / 9144 m
(Above Ground Level)

[Barkingowl]

It was getting chilly in Anchorage so we left. Its 64* here in the Valley & partly sunny.

[Sam64]

Originally Posted by Barkingowl

My wife is starting to think about land & houses.

Heh Heh Owl....good for you! It took me 15 years to get my hubby up there...and once he got there he saw why I loved it so much. I got my fingers crossed for ya!

[Barkingowl]

Thanks Sam. Everyone that we interacted with in the stores in Anchorage asked as why we were going back to the lower 48 & honestly I really wish I didn't have to go back.

Hey Satch! Pe King was excellent. We brought home enough food to eat for all our meals tomorrow.

[warptman]

Hey Barkley, tomorrow you should go drive the Denali Highway, I know you aren't supposed to drive on gravel roads, but what the hell. You would absolutely love the drive! Head up to Cantwell and take a right and continue on to Paxson and down to Glennallen and back to the valley.

[Metlakatla]

But don't stop in Cantwell for anything.