Anchorage, AK18 Jul 2012
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Carpe on Turnagain Arm south of Anchorage
Carpe along the Glenn Highway
Nelchina Glacier
| Wed, 19 Jul: We're parked back on Turnagain Arm about 15 miles south of Anchorage. When we awoke this morning we never would have guessed this is where we'd end up, but here we are! If you can't be flexible then possibly extended RV traveling isn't for you... Anyway, since we boondocked overnite getting ready was a snap. We didn't have any utility connections to worry about, Dinkun was still hooked up and ready to roll. And, we'd only had a few hours yesterday to get stuff out and strew it about. So, without really rushing about we rolled our wheels shortly after eight. We continued west along the Glenn Highway. This is a very rough stretch of road with considerable road damage and many frost heaves. Bob kept our speed to about 45 mph, occasionally slowing to 20 mph, and we had no problems. The air suspension really got a workout today. We again climbed to the Eureka Summit and enjoyed a great vista of the Nelchina Glacier and surrounding mountains. All of the rain we'd received during the past week left a fresh coat of brilliant white snow on all the mountains. And, it was clear again today so we enjoyed some pretty remarkable vistas. West of Eureka Summit the highway becomes quite narrow, hilly, and twisty. It is not the most pleasant 25 miles for the driver. Bob took care of that by letting Sandi take the wheel. We survived with no problems (other than Sandi's white knuckles). We stopped at a Tesoro station in Palmer to top off the diesel tank and, since it was lunch time, enjoyed a Taco Bell repast. Fueling Carpe and Swansons with one stop—that's efficiency! West of Palmer we continued toward Anchorage. At Eagle River we got off the highway and headed for the local Elks Lodge which offers overnite RV parking. They only have one power outlet which was in use when we got there. The balance of the lot was not very level or even very clear. We made a spot decision to continue on. We drove through Anchorage, construction and all, and continued south along the Turnagain Arm (see "Gridwood" entry). This time we are parked much closer to Anchorage and can be at the southern town limits in about twenty minutes. Bob checked with the Winnebago dealer who confirmed that the part is in Anchorage and scheduled for delivery tomorrow (Thursday, 19 July). Since the delivery isn't till afternoon there is no need for us to rush into town first thing in the morning. Suits us just fine as we love no rush mornings. Since the dealer is on the south side of town it'll be a snap to get there (see what happens when you plan ahead...) An update on the heater/ac problem we reported in our previous post. Here at Turnagain Arm the mosquito population is not a problem so we had time to troubleshoot. We found a vacuum line had come off of the heater plenum, most probably pulled loose when we disconnected the windshield wiper motor connector. We reconnected the vacuum line and all is OK! Now that'll put a smile on your puss... Trip Summary Miles this leg: 186.3 Total miles since Casa Grande: 5,112.4 |
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