Industrial Disease

This last weekend the really big event in town.  The event that had traffic backed up for hours. The event that packed Jber, was the military’s  war on the environment.  I asked a couple of airplane driver friends that were part of the assault how the event was, and they said it was HUGE.

My own personal Air Show came on Sunday morning.  I walked out on my front porch on my way to Koffee, it was very calm and quiet. The only sound I could hear was the primordial call of Sand Hill Crain’s. I couldn’t see them but their voices carry great distance, then just at tree top level two crains appeared, and did low level fly over, calling to each other the entire time. WOW! That was a treat! That was a Air Show!

Saturday Huckleberry and I got out of town for an exploratory mission to the valley.  I discovered that the roads are heavily lined with White Sweet Clover, an invasive plant species here. But the roads most places now are lined with this noxious weed. At our first stop for gas in Palmer I discovered that it was no bra day, well at least it was for the large women in the dirty Suburban, but then from the looks of them every day could be no bra day. Would not  want to meet that car full on bath day!

The Red Beet Bistro our stop for lunch with its organic  offerings, and fresh valley produce is quite a surprising place to find in the middle of the Palmer Wasilla highway. Good food and will stop again.

After lunch we head  west on Knik Goose Bay road. If the bridge to nowhere is ever built this is the nowhere it would connect to.  Our new $250 million dollar Goose Creek prison is on this road. The prison can hold 1500 inmates. Lots of those prisoners are now held outside Alaska, so bringing them home means they can be closer to family. Gee makes me feel safer already. The neon sign over the Sally Port is a real nice touch “Close a Factory Build A Prison Vote Republican” You can  hear  it buzzing as it blinks on and off. A real message for rehabilitation.

A ways west of the Prison the new pavement turns to gravel then a momentous sign and a gate blocks the road.

Stop young ding, and in the valley of all places  

We have come for what lies beyond the locked gate. The view of Anchorage from the new port to nowhere. We can hear our city in the distance, and that gate is not going to stop us. We grab our camera gear and walk around the darn thing. It can’t be far. A ways down the road Huckleberry asks if I brought any bear spray. No. No bear spray and not even a phone. We have carbon fiber tripods, that should be enough to stop a bear!

Down the lane that looks like it could be a interstate highway we go not far.

Then we arrive. It’s our city glimmering in the golden light of day

Anchorage from Port Mackenzi

The port is ready for ships. Ready to load our natural resources whether it be wood chips, coal, whatever the train can haul out there, well once the rail extension is finished in 20??

Progress?