Talkeetna & Cantwell

I'm sitting here at the Talkeetna Roadhouse listening to Ralph give an interview to the publisher of the Alaska Pioneer Press. I've got an internet connection. Yay! The restaurant part of the Roadhouse doesn't open for awhile. We have a Meet n Greet here in an hour.



Last night we left the Willow Trading Post Lodge late and enroute to Trapper Creek we stopped at the Sheep Creek Lodge. What a beautiful lodge. It's a huge log structure made with smooth logs of a beautiful rich color. The food was fine-dining-type food. I started with the gumbo soup and then moved to the shrimp and linguine with a parmesan cream sauce. Finished well satisfied with the forest berry pie. We arrived in Trapper Creek last night around 10:15.



Sleeping in the borrowed motorhome . . . the little generator runs great. It ran the heater for about five hours until 4am. We didn't restart it. It was really quite comfortable. We woke up again at 6:30 and all the puddles had frozen with a firm skin over the top. It was a bit chilly in the motorhome, but it didn't take long to fire it up and turn on the car heater.



A LOT more people showed up in Trapper Creek than I was expecting. Ralph did a question-and -answer session with them. It was a very engaged group, sort of like last night at Willow. People have a lot of things on their mind and they ask great questions. Ralph's favorite question from last night was "What are you good at?" I tell you, he's been chewing on that one. It's an easy question for others to answer, but not so easy to answer for yourself. Ha. Great question.


Break . . .
Now we're in Cantwell. Ralph's talking to a group of people here at the Cantwell Lodge. They have such intelligent questions. They're a very informed group. This is a lot of fun to listen to. The overall feeling so far, is overwhelming support. Hopefully, it's not just my feeling.

Mt. McKinley was up close and personal on the way here from Talkeetna. I have never seen it like that, in winter on a clear day so close. What a wonder.

I haven't had any internet connection problems since leaving Houston, but power has now become my bugaboo. Have to wait until we're situated in a venue until I can charge the computer, etc.

I'm signing off now, we're going to Healy when we're finished here.

Houston & Willow

Our first stop of this morning was in Houston at Miller's Market & Coffee Shop. They are famous for their soft-serve ice cream. They have giant ice-cream cone statues around the property. You can't miss it when you're driving by. Today we spent a couple hours there, strategically parked in the emblazoned Samuels for Governor wagon. The weather was great. So sunny. I have to wonder, is it really break up? Or have I just jinxed us by writing it? We ended our time at Miller's with chocolate ice cream cones. Yummy!

Right now we are at Willow Trading Post Lodge. There are a lot of people here asking Ralph questions and chatting about issues. It's a very relaxed atmosphere. It would be great if the rest of the trip could be like this stop. While we were awaiting our appointed time here at the lodge, we parked at a gas station along the highway (once again strategically parked). A woman stopped by to talk to Ralph. She had seen the motorhome back in Houston, but was too busy then. Another car pulled up and a man invited us to a meeting at the firehouse later this evening. I'm liking Willow a lot! These people are involved.

One note . . . Willow has great internet service on the air card. I had a lot of trouble in Wasilla and Houston. I feel like I'm finally caught up. I may be addicted to the Internet. Who knew?

After we leave this lodge, we'll probably stop by the firehouse and then head to Trapper Creek to spend the night. Ralph has a breakfast event there from 7 to 9 am. Yawn. I will probably need a lot of coffee by then.

Still having fun on the road!

Beginning

THAT was a busy day. We started at campaign headquarters in Anchorage. There was a big send-off with lots of supporters waving signs. Ralph gave an on-camera interview on the way. [No worries . . . one of the campaign staffers drove]. Our first stop was an Eagle River coffee shop called Jitters. The crowd was a mix of regular supporters and the curious. Ralph drove us to the next stop which was the Chugiak Senior Center so he could vote in-person absentee for the municipal election, which is April 6. We'll still be on the road then. I voted last week at city hall. Smart girl, I know.

The Frontiersman newspaper in Wasilla was the next stop. My GPS is awesome! Yes, took us right to it using a shortcut. Woo-hoo. The last couple miles we were both wondering if we were going the right way, but then -voila- we exited a side road right in front of the newspaper office.

Finally, we had a meet and greet at Tailgaters in Wasilla. I snapped a few photos and videos, successfully. Old friends from King Salmon came out to say "hi." That was nice. There were also more curious people. It is so gratifying to hear, "I can't vote for someone I haven't met and talked with, but now I've met him and he's got my vote."

Now we are bedded down at a gracious friend's home and will be up and at 'em, headed to Miller's in Houston for a lunch-time meet and greet. I plan on at least one soft-serve cone while I'm there. That's what they're famous for.

Hunting & Gathering

I have a list. It's quite a different sort of list than when I went motorhome camping when the kids were little. Then it used to say things like "clam shovels, rubber boots, toys, and spaghetti-os." Today's list says things like "iPod, cell phone, Kindle, and air card." It's a serious product of the electronic age.

Yesterday, while gathering some stuff on my list, it snowed for about ten minutes. I wished I had started hunting through the shed a bit earlier, but then the snow stopped and I still haven't gone out there to choose a pair of snowshoes. A young moose has been hanging around my house for a few days. Trips to the backyard shed have been minimal because she (I think it is a cow) has not been startled off, even by the dog barking at her from his pen. We have had to wait until she's good and ready to meander away. Ralph thinks we may have time to do some snowshoeing at Delta Junction. That's on the flexible part of the plan.

My oldest daughter drove to Fairbanks (and back the same day - 720 miles round trip) for a wedding last Saturday. She said the roads were bone-dry. That is good news. My friend from Delta said we won't need snowshoes, but then decided we might due to drifting snow where we plan to go. We'll see.

Learning Curve

I was never very political, even though I've voted in every election for over thirty years. I knew the names of my federal, state, and local representatives, along with people whose names frequently appeared in the media, but I had never volunteered with a campaign. When Jay Hammond was re-elected governor in 1978 I was in Anchorage for a few days and went to election-night-central and a private election party to the wee hours. It was exhilarating!


That was the extent of me and politics. Now my brother Ralph Samuels is running for governor of Alaska in the Republican primary election August 24, 2010. I am shamelessly biased in his favor. As part of my sisterly volunteer contribution, I'm accompanying Ralph in a campaign motorhome north along the Parks Highway, south on the Richardson to Delta Jct., east on the Alaska Highway to Tok, then to Glenallen and home again. We're leaving Monday, March 29 and hope to return on April 7.

The campaign staff has tasked me with photography and setup duties. I don't think it necessary to divulge to them how my family's eyes rolled when told I was the trip photog. I understand computers better than the average person, but camera's . . . not so much. I do snap good pictures eventually. I'll be fine.

When Ralph first declared his candidacy my mother said, "I just don't want to embarrass him." Those are my sentiments exactly. So I'm hereby stating that I will not whine or talk too much or say anything derogatory during the trip. Or during the whole campaign.

I'm really excited about this trip. I've driven these roads a lot over the course of my lifetime, but never at so leisurely a pace. What new things will we see or old things remember?

The goal is for Ralph to meet and chat with a lot of people and I hope to help make that happen.
Wish us well!