Today’s mileage from Homer, AK to Palmer, AK was 313.7 miles. I left the campground at 7:15am and it was 44 degrees out overcast and light rain at times. In the afternoon it was high 60’s and partly sunny.
In the late 1800’s a man name George Palmer established a trading post. The area was also rich in coal and with World War I the US Navy constructed the railroad in order to deliver coal to the navy ships. This railroad opened the area to homesteaders, farmers and miners.
With the soil being fertile and having 20 hours of sun in the summer, Palmer boasts that they produced huge, record-setting vegetables. A 138-pound cabbage, a pumpkin that weighed over 2000 lbs. and a 64-pound carrot. “Vegetables that grow under the Midnight Sun”.
On my way into Palmer I stopped at the visitor center and learned a little bit about the history of the town. I saw some neat dairy items on display too.
In Palmer we had a campground cookout. Our group also had two activities planned. One was to visit a Musk Ox farm and the other was to a Reindeer farm. I opted out of the Reindeer farm and instead took a drive to Hatcher Pass.
Musk OX Farm
Hatcher Pass Visit. Hatcher Pass is located in the Talkeetna mountains. It has a beautiful scenic drive and lots of trails that can be hiked. I stopped at several overlooks along the way to the top of the pass.
Driving to the top of the Pass it brings you to the Independence Mine Historical State Park. This mine was the site of a hard-rock gold mine.
There is a not well-kept dirt road that goes even higher up on the mountain, but I opted not to take that road in my van.
We visited the schoolhouse. This was located on the first floor of a building which house the bachelor men on the second level. The story is that a female teacher was fired because she couldn’t keep the children quiet while the men slept during the day.
I visited the house the mine manager Walter Stoll. It had lots of artifacts from the time the mine was active.
This historical site had many original buildings that could be visited. I asked if there was room on the next tour that started in 10 minutes and was told there was. In the end I was the ONLY person on the tour and had a personal tour of the inside of buildings and information on the historical site.
The tour started off in the main building which used to house the managers in rooms on the second floor. The first floor was used as an area to show movies and for playing games.
Other housing photos and the dining hall/kitchen
The original mill and sorting plant is still present but in terrible condition. The tour guide told me that they took out walls in order to remove equipment.
Next up is Turner’s Corner