Text 15545, 42 rader
Skriven 2011-09-10 02:56:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: 879 Alaska cotd
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The Windbreak in Wasilla is reputed to be Sarah Palin's
favorite restaurant. As such, it was a must-go or must-
avoid, I'm not sure which. We went. I had chicken-fried
steak and eggs - the meat was firm, more meatlike than
the usual ground and/or extruded stuff and had probably
been glued together with meat glue. It was extremely salty,
but its cream gravy was superior to the norm, made with real
sausage bits and possibly real milk. Worth the pills. Bill
had hash from a can and eggs - just like what I might fix
at home, for only about $8 more than I'd pay at the
supermarket. Both of these starchy dishes came with pallid
hash browns, especially redundant on his plate. While we
were there it started to rain, which put our outing into
question - Connie had suggested he show me Hatcher Pass
but declined to take the adventure herself. We decided that
even though the road is partially unpaved, we'd risk it.
As it turns out, at no time were we or the car in any kind
of jeopardy, as it's a pretty darn civilized gravel road,
during most of whose 40-odd miles you are within walking
distance of shelter at the least. The views are wonderful,
probably even better if it's clear, but in this case very
evocative of the mysteries and hardships of a long-gone era.
The road snakes through a high pass between Willow and
Palmer and past the tiny Summit Lake (protected as a state
park); why anyone would have wanted to go between these
two places is anyone's guess, but the answer lies hidden
in the mists of history. Speaking of which, we took a turn
to the Independence Mine, now a state park dedicated to the
history of prospecting in the state (you are allowed, if you
bring your own equipment, to pan for gold on premises). I
enjoyed this semideveloped area quite a bit; there's
something evocative about walking through a ruined minesite
while the Alaska sunshine drizzles all about you.

We were headed down to Palmer when all of a sudden things
clicked - in fact, this was the same infamous neighborhood
where my old girlfriend Sharman had, over a decade before,
made a misguided attempt to teach me to ski.

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