~Thursday, August 11, 2022~
Day 788
Day 52 of Alaska Trip
With the power and water running out this morning, is somebody trying to tell us something? Is it time to move on? With all this overcast, it’s been a bit challenging keeping our lithium batteries charged with very little sunlight. When the battery power is emptied, everything shuts down….clocks, the refrigerator, the water pump, etc. Dying for a shower, Jeff was close to driving a half hour to get water in Sterling, but with the price of gas these days, thought it a waste since we already had plans to be in Sterling and Soldotna later in the afternoon. What’s a few extra hours without a shower, right? With gas prices the way they are, we certainly have to be more efficient with our errands.
It is the rainiest day that we’ve had so far in the Kenai area so what better way to lift our spirits than a visit to Starbucks for some nice warm drinks, free wi-fi and a place by the fire (most Starbucks in Alaska have gas fireplaces we were told). Jeff was able to enjoy some light reading while waiting for me to get some work done. We must have been there for about 3 hours. Of course one of the first things I did was check on the delivery schedule for our much needed part. So far it’s showing the delivery arriving in Anchorage this Friday at 7:00 p.m. Let’s hope that is the latest since the customer service counter closes at 6:00, and they’re not open on weekends. Everybody, cross your fingers!
About 5 minutes from Starbucks we discovered another great rainy day activity…..The Kenai River Brewing Co. It has a great indoor vibe and plenty of cozy seating areas outside next to ornamental looking fire pits,
warm enough to hang out under a covered patio
on this rainy day. The place was hoppin’ so that’s always a good sign. I ordered a Heffeweizen (my new favorite) and Jeff tried 2 new beers….an English IPA and a black IPA. He didn’t care too much for the black, but loved the English (an 8.5 out of 10). If you’re an IPA fan, make sure to check out the Kenai English IPA! And it was a good place to catch up on making a few posts and checking emails, not having reception at our campsite.
We drove back to our buddy Hank’s place (the owner of the Tesoro gas station) to fill up our collapsible water bottles. We usually have (10) 5-gallon bottles but we’re down to (7) after 2 blew away in the heavy winds of Moab and another unaccounted for at the moment. Hopefully when we empty things out of the back of the truck at some point, it will turn up. Thanks again Hank for our second water service! Then it was a last stop to our $4.99/gallon diesel place before our 2-hour drive to Anchorage tomorrow. Finding this Shell station has saved us about $50 so far (over $1/gallon cheaper than everywhere else).
As we pulled in, we noticed a few RV roofs succumbing to Mother Nature’s wrath by the number of tarps we saw. Today would have certainly tested any RV with all this moisture. Enough already! We had one excited greeting from our Sadie girl……don’t you just love those unconditional greetings? Now time for some ball catching dad!
Nice to have everything back in service…..full batteries thanks to our Honda generator and a full tank of water thanks to Hank at Tesoro. Now for some yummy dinner. Jeff was in the mood to make one of his favorite and involved dishes…..Chicken Piccata with garlic mashed potatoes. For me, it was a delicious stir fry (one of my go to’s when Jeff has meat). I’d say we eat pretty well!