Houston, Alaska

Good morning, my friends. We find ourselves in Houston this morning. And I'll bet you thought Houston was in Texas. But no. It’s right here in Alaska. Welcome.

There wasn't much notable along the way. We've been over this road once before, and now we're heading back the way we came. We're here in Houston because it was the closest place we could find to Palmer...the closest that wasn't already booked up for the days we wanted. So the sight-seeing we'll do here is a bit of a drive, but not too far.

Along the way we crossed over the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Bridge. An article about this bridge notes:

During the Vietnam War, 2,002 helicopter pilots and 2,704 crew members were killed in Vietnam, and about 42 percent of the helicopters ended up destroyed — a total of 5,086. Helicopters were getting their first real test in battle during that war, and the pilots were trained, but no training could prepare them for what they actually had to do.

Indeed. My dad deployed to Vietnam three times during the war, and at least one of his friends was killed when his helicopter was shot down. So, bravo, Alaska, for honoring these heroes! Here's a picture of the bridge:

It crosses the Matanuska River on the Glenn Highway.

The park in Anchorage was one of the noisiest we've ever seen. I generally avoid complaining about things while we're living the experience. I figure why rub salt in an open wound? Now that we've left and moved on, I'll tell you that small planes flew overhead many times during the day. The most noise was from a train that passed by no more than 25 yards away. With an intersection right nearby, it blasted its horn every time it passed, and let me just tell you...those horns are LOUD!! Smitty ran and hid under the end of the bed every time they passed, which happened several times per day. He never got used to it even though we were there five days.

And so this park in Houston is a nice quiet change from that. It's probably just as well we had to choose a park farther out of town than desired. We're right alongside the Little Susitna River. This is the view from our window:

The kitties like the looks of this place.

We walked the few yards to the river's edge. Looking left, it looks like this:

Looking right, it looks like this:

There's swimming and fishing to be done here. A fish-cleaning table and some life jackets are located nearby for anyone who cares to do either. We got Smitty out for a walk fairly soon after we arrived. I carried him off to a place where he couldn't see other RVers, woofies, nor anything else that might offend his tender sensibilities. He snacked on some grass and had a pretty good walk. It was good for him to get out after such a harrowing experience with the trains in Anchorage.

Afterward, treats of valor and treats of appeasement were dispensed, and all was right in their world. 

So, we have a few things planned for our three nights here (two now)...all weather dependent, of course. I'll tell you more as we go along. For now, just sit back and relax. We'll do all the work at this end.