We arrived in Anchorage on a Wednesday and were greeted with "typical" Alaska weather - white skies and off/on sprinkles of rain.   This lasted until we were part way through the trip to Seward on Friday.  Then the skies began to clear and we were blessed with absolutely clear blue skies for the remainder of our time in Alaska.  What a pleasant surprise - daytime highs in the low to mid 60's and overnight lows in the low 40's upper 30's (after all, we were in south Alaska).  Not bad for a Labor Day weekend.

Our first exploration of Alaska was a trip north from Anchorage to the towns of Eagle River, Palmer, and Wasilla.  We managed to capture a little of the scenery along the way as well as a look at some flowers and vegetables in a visitor center "garden" in Palmer.  During our time in Alaska, the state fair was being held.  Because of the rain and gloomy skies, we did not attend, but had we done so, the vegetables in the Palmer "garden" would have looked like "pikers".  The Alaska state fair always highlights extremely large vegetables grown in the Matanuska Valley around Palmer.  For example, the prize wining pumpkin for 2004 tipped the scales at 707 pounds.  And there were many examples of other vegetables similarly "Alaska sized".  To begin the 2004 Alaska trip review, click on the following link - Anchorage Area.