It’s said that people who live in the Mat-Su Valley often go to Anchorage, but that those who live in Anchorage seldom come to the Mat-Su Valley. What they see is one town (Palmer) that’s slowly becoming a strip mall, and another town (Wasilla) that is a strip mall. Why venture in our direction if you live in a place that is already a strip mall?

Sad to say, Palmer’s small town character has been eroded by the construction of a huge grocery shopping edifice. The parking lot and two main intersections are now always full. Add to this, it is tourist season, so there are even more cars. There are no other thoroughfares that we who live around here can take to get to our destinations. Palmer will soon be just

Hrimmi doing crunches

like any other congested area down in America. A real shame. The human race is at fill tilt boogy, and the humans are losing.

Every so often we go to Anchorage to get essentials that we can’t get here. Our trips are few and far between, a good thing because, as Pete and I agree, there are far better ways to spend our time.

Going to town is like drinking Coca Cola. Do it, say, once every five years, and it’s a treat. Okay, right now I am at a loss for a better analogy.

I went for a ride this morning before we headed into the big city. It was a very good ride – my little pony was very energetic. So we ventured out of here at 3 p.m. We first went to Alaska Mill and Feed where Pete picked up three containers of Alaska Equine Gold, a local horse supplement. The supplements were CTR donations.

We next went to Alaska Industrial Hardware – it’s such a guy place. There are things for every man cave on the planet. Pete purchased outlet plugs (I think this is what they are) to fix two worn out extension cords, and we both purchased gloves. I am not going to lose this pair.

Speaking of which – he found my missing wallet – I am determined not to lose that again, either.

Costco – the less said about this big box store the better. Not a wise idea, going there on a Friday late afternoon. In my mind, this place is yet another Walmart. If an alien came and visited and went in there they’d retreat post haste. Beam me up; there is no intelligent life here.

Our next stop was The Hoarding Marmot, an outdoor gear consignment shop. I purchased a rain jacket. And after that, we went to REI where I purchased a new Camelback, a water dehydration system. Pete and I also deliberated for some time about map cases – we decided that I’ll use a clear plastic page sleeve for my CTR map.

Onward, to Title Wave books. Amazingly, this time I did not purchase any books because I could not find any that I wanted to read. This was good – I am still playing a furious game of catch up here.

Dinner, then the last stop was the Natural Pantry where we purchased – you guessed it – chocolate. A good way to end a shopping day.

But as I contend, the best way to see Anchorage is through your rear view mirror.

Next: 177. 6/26/18: Riding into the Sunset