Not Quite to Homer, Yet, May 28, 2011

Soldotna, AK, May 28, 2011. Angie, Mikki and BJ came with us to Alaksa in 1998. Casey was employed and didn't feel she could take the time away from work. We drove to Seattle and flew into Anchorage. We stayed at a bed and breakfast owned by Jack and Rosemary Hansmeyer. We also rented their RV for about ten days to drive around the interior.

Jack had just retired as an architect at Elmendorf AFB just outside of Anchorage. Jack and Rosemary were very nice people and we enjoyed our stay with them.

Today, we thought it might be fun to look up their address and drive by. I searched the Internet for Jack's name. I was saddened to learn he had died in 2006, at the age of 78. I found his obituary. Jack and Rosemary had eight children, fifteen grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Jack was involved in the lives of his children and grandchildren, serving as scoutmaster for his five sons and attending the activities of his grandchildren. He was also active in his church. I forwarded the obituary to the girls and asked if they remembered him. BJ wrote back and observed that his was a life well lived. I couldn't agree more.

We visited the Alaska Native Heritage Center today. Did you know that Alaska was originally inhabited by five different groups of native people? Those you may know about are the Athabascan and the Inupiaq. The former inhabited the vast interior of Alaska and the latter, the extreme north.

The Alaskan natives don't seem to have the same social problems as those native Americans in the lower 48 states. I don't know why. There does seem to be a strong emphasis here on preserving the native culture and many of the original groups remain intact. Maybe there is less effort here to "Americanize" them. In any event, it is heartwarming to seem them thrive and doing well.

We attended a performance of native dancers, took an interpretative tour of dwellings representative of the five nations and wandered among artifacts which were well preserved and well presented. Our guide was Sandy, a well-spoken member of the Athabascan people. You will see her above holding a native baby carrier fashioned from birch bark. The arches shown are the ribs of a whale. It was worth the time and modest cost of admission. However, we were late leaving Anchorage and decided to stop in Soldotna tonight, 60 miles short of Homer. You will see several pictures of the Cook Inlet, approaching the Kenai Peninsula. It is a beautiful drive, perhaps the prettiest we have had to date.

Fred Meyer stores compete with Sam's and Cosco in Alaska in attracting the frugal shopper. Fred Meyer started the chain in the 1920's in Oregon, spreading to Washington and Idaho. Meyer died in 1978 and twenty years later, the chain was purchased by Kroger. However, while it operates as a division of Kroger, the stores maintain the Fred Meyer name. I've told you that so I can tell you this. Tonight, we are camped in the Fred Meyer parking lot in Soldotna. The store promotes the use of its lot, even providing a sanitary dump station and designated spaces. I wonder if Fred Meyer learned from Walmart or the reverse? We are learning, too. This free parking only cost us $72.00.