Palmer, Alaska - My Favorite Things

We've lived in Palmer for a little over two years now, and I have to admit that it is a really unique and picturesque little mountain town. There's so much to love about it! I wanted to do a post highlighting all of my favorite things about Palmer, but I honestly had to edit quite a bit because it was going to get loooong. In the end, I decided to just focus on five of my favorite things about Palmer. 

Five of My Favorite Things about Palmer, Alaska

1.) Hatcher Pass. Hatcher Pass is a 300,000 acre state recreation area located right outside of Palmer, in the Talkeetna Mountains. It's truly otherworldly with how beautiful it is up there. There's a seemingly endless number of trails available for all skill levels, and in the winter it becomes a playground for skiing and snowboarding. It's also home to the Hatcher Pass Scenic Drive, which is a stunning drive up through the mountains, and in the summer you can actually drive all the way to Willow. This drive holds a special place in my heart. You see, when we first moved to town we lived right outside Hatcher Pass. Annika was a horrible sleeper as a baby (actually, she still is), so when she was a little I would sometimes take her for drives to get her to sleep. I got in the habit of grabbing a coffee from the nearby coffee stand and driving up into Hatcher Pass. It was a relaxing and scenic way to spend naptime. 

2.) Coffee, Coffee, Coffee. Palmer is home to some great coffee. Vagabond Blues is my favorite restaurant in Palmer and also my favorite place to sit and sip a cup of coffee while I get some work done on my computer. There is no shortage of drive-thru coffee huts here, which is something I LOVE about Alaska and haven't encountered in many other places. Brew HaHa is a little drive-thru coffee hut that is by my office that I frequent and I cannot say enough good things about it. There's also about a million other good places to get coffee.  

3.) Breweries. So many good place to get beer. Bleeding Heart is my favorite. It used to be set back on a really beautiful farm and beer was served outside in a cool, old farm building. The setting was amazing. They were moving/expanding this summer + COVID, so I'm not sure what their current setup is. I love their beer though. Matanuska Brewing is another great one. They have a quirky little brewery right underneath the famous Palmer water tower. I highly recommend stopping by there too. Or, if you want food with your beer, check out the Palmer City Alehouse. In non-COVID times the alehouse often has live music and events too (my personal favorite is their weekly Yoga & Beer class during the summer!). 

4.) Little Shops. So many cute local shops. Palmer is one of those unique towns that hasn't totally sold out to big business and it shows in a big way. The downtown stretch of Palmer is so scenic - big mountains rising in the distance and tiny shops lining the streets. You can get food at any number of local restaurants, buy books at Fireside Books, or get some locally made goods at Alaska Chicks, Cobb Street Market, Poppy Lane, or any number of other spots along the main drag and beyond. 

5.) Community Events. Palmer is all about the community events. There's the Palmer Wine Walk, Friday Flings, Food Truck Fest, Vintage Home Market, Yoga & Beer, Colony Days, Colony Christmas, Halloween Hollow, the Alaska State Fair, and so many more. Seriously, I can't even begin to describe how many cool events we've been to since moving here. There is something new happening every week. It's really neat to be a part of a small community with such an active group of residents constantly working together to make events happen. It really makes Palmer a cool place to live (or visit!). 

Currently listening to...Taylor Swift - Cardigan 

Denali Road Lottery - September 2019

As I dip my toes back into the world of blogging, I thought recapping some of our adventures over the last two years might be a good place to start. It is doubtful that these adventures will end up being in any sort of chronological order, because let's be honest - organization has never been a strength of mine. I'll try my best to label the posts with dates though to provide a little bit of context to our adventures.

In the summer of 2019 (Annika was 1.5 at the time) we found out we'd won a ticket for the Denali Road Lottery. Cody and I were so excited! You see, personal vehicles aren't allowed in Denali National Park. Generally, you have to book a tour on one of the park buses if you want to see the entirety of the park. The exception is the Denali Road Lottery that happens each year. In order to qualify to drive your car into the park you have to enter a lottery ($25ish per ticket) and hope for the best. Miraculously, we won the first year we entered, which we are told doesn't happen very often. The park assigned us a single day in September that we were allowed to drive the park road.

The second week of September we packed up our Jeep for a long weekend spent in Healy, AK (the town right outside the park). We booked the best little AirBnb (here's the link!). It was a secluded cabin probably 15-minutes outside the park. We really loved the location because the front porch hung right off the mountainside and we could sit out there and drink coffee while staring out onto the most beautiful scenery. They also had a great grilling area and lots of flat play space for small children (Annika pictured below running around behind the cabin).

The day that we drove the park was a little crazy, but in a good way. It can take 10+ hours roundtrip to drive all the way to Wonder Lake (mile 85), which is the final stop on the Denali Park Road. With a toddler in tow, we didn't even entertain the idea that we'd make it that far. Our goal was to make it to Eielson Visitor Center at mile 66 of the park road. Driving 60 (or 80) miles might not sound that far, but you have to consider the condition of the park road. The Denali Park Road isn't like your typical road. It's extremely primitive. There are no road markers, traffic signs, or even any pavement. The roads are roughly graveled (in some places VERY rough) and often only one lane through mountain passes. At one point, we actually traveled a section of road that was one lane, covered in orange cones, and had a handmade sign asking us to "stop, get out of the car, and make sure you don't see any oncoming traffic before proceeding." Turns out that particular stretch of road collapsed the following winter.

We succeeded in making it to the visitor's center at Eielson. It was a bit of a long day for Annika, but lots of stops and playing at the different campgrounds was helpful. Eielson was gorgeous and we are so glad we made it that far. It took us just over eight hours roundtrip. Unlike many visitors to Denali, we didn't really see much wildlife along the drive. We did see a couple of moose, but they were pretty distant. We weren't hugely concerned though because after years in the bush, we'd seen more wildlife than most people will in a lifetime.

One other cool thing about the trip was our dinner at 49th State Brewing Company. The brewery has a great location in Anchorage too, but we just adored the one in Healy. It was much more rustic and the outdoor seating was great. They also had a decent vegetarian menu, which is a huge bonus for me. Our favorite part was the bus though. I was a big fan of the Into The Wild book and movie in my younger days, and they happen to have the movie set replica of the bus at the brewery in Healy. Cody and I loved exploring the bus and taking pictures in front of it. I'd definitely recommend hitting up the restaurant and seeing the bus if you're headed to the park.

Currently listening to...Woodland - The Paper Kites 

It's Been Awhile

It's been awhile! A long while. I'm not sure if there's any readership still on this little corner of the internet where I poured my heart for many years, but I thought I'd give a little update in case there is.

The last two years have been a whirlwind. Having a baby, becoming a mom, moving to a new city, starting a new job...there's been no shortage of changes in the Middleton household. That is likely why this blog fell by the wayside. I also felt like I didn't have much to write about anymore. This blog was sort of fueled by Cody and I's lives in remote corners of the world that were primarily unknown to the general population. However, our lives in the bustling Matsu Valley in Alaska don't seem nearly as exciting. We are still having wonderful adventures, but we no longer rely on 4-wheelers for transportation or await the mail plane for our Amazon boxes that we ordered 6 weeks prior. We go to work, we eat at restaurants, we go on playdates at the library and the park (well, before COVID hit that's what we did), we grocery shop weekly instead of once every six months. It's a much different life.

Annika, 2018

A big part of our new life is our sweet baby, Annika. Her start to life was bit tough, as she was born with some health issues that kept us in the NICU for awhile. Thankfully, between excellent doctors and lots of love from her family, she made a full recovery. Now she is a spunky, opinionated toddler who is happier in the mountains than she is in the house. Cody and I really got lucky with this kid. She is such an adventurer and we can barely keep up with her most days. She is truly our little Alaskan wild child.

Annika, Summer 2020

We've slowly settled into life in the Valley. Although, if it were up to me we'd probably still be living in a village somewhere - growing our own food, set netting for fish off of the beach, hunting caribou out on the tundra, and enjoying a good steam on the cold Alaskan evenings. Ah well, a girl can dream about her husband building her a little cabin and living off the land, right??

I might try to start writing again, regardless of whether or not anyone reads. Writing is such an amazing outlet for me and I've really missed it. Hopefully I can work it into my routine in some form or fashion. Until then - happy adventuring!

Currently listening to...Stay Wild - Shook Twins