As we continued our way North towards Anchorage we arrived at the Girdwood gas station. It became quickly apparent that we were entering society again… 😂
We were headed North up to Wasilla, and the plan was to go to the Knik Salvage Yard to buy a “new” stock air filter for Our Ohana.
I had gotten feedback from multiple people that our current oil canister filter wasn’t the best choice for our rig. So a few hours later we arrived in Wasilla.
On the way up we had noticed the rigs exhaust was sounding loud, so as I looked below the rig the culprit was very obvious.
The oxygen sensor was dangling completely loose from the the rear-most port. There were no nuts on the threads to speak of. Also, where the sensor connected to the cable run had been touching the exhaust and it was parially melted. So I was headed over to the closest O’Reilly Autoparts to see what I could do.
After some back and forth I found the nuts and new high-temp gasket we needed. I layed down in the parking lot and proceeded to snap both threads! Yep- the 30 year old threads, even with lubrication sheared right off.
My only idea to hold it on now was some metal worm-gear pipe clamps, but that sounded too easy, so I called someone that might know- C&M Muffler down in Soldotna.
They explained to me that the bolts corrode off at that point on older rigs often. If I wanted new exhaust pieces with new ports built in they were expensive. If I could find a donor Toyota exhaust they would happily weld in the ports, but the easiest solution for now would be to pipe clamp it. 😊
Even if I just tucked up the sensor it would be okay for now- but I opted to strap it into place until we could tend to it later. Another project for the future. 🤷
It turned out we had come to Wasilla a day early. When Laura had scoped the business hours- she had looked up Knik Auto online- not Knik Salvage. Easy mistake! So… we decided to make the best of it unitl we could go to the slavage yard the next day. That’s the beauty of having your home with you!
The highlight of our day was to discover the local game shop, Game Theory, was open! They were cool with us playing at one of their game tables, so we spread out our copy of the game we are currently campaigning through; Firefly Adventures- Brigands & Browncoats. We taught someone the game and they played with us, and we had a few people watch with interest in a game they hadn’t seen.
Don’t worry- we had a successful mission in our game, and a great time! Thanks for being so open to new players using your space Game Theory. 😄
That night we were able to stay at our friend. Josh Krull’s, house. He was busy that night but he had graciously directed us to where we could park and plug in our shore power that night.
We learned a few things that evening:
1) With our new solar generator, I definitely wanted to run the cables throughout the vehicle for charging it. I hauled it inside and put it on the kitchen counter to charge it this time.
2) We needed a longer and better extension cord to carry with us for shore power.
3) That night I was adjusting the sconce light above our bed, when the old light lost ground and broke the fuse in the charge controller panel. It became apparent I should figure out a new setup. This also reminded the big overhaul of power system was coming soon.
So that night I replaced the fuse and left that particular light off hence forth. The next morning we headed straight over to the Salvage Yard.
Now we were greeted by more unexpected news. They still had our part, so that was good! It was the only one I could find in this half of the state. But- they had just re-opened from being closed for a week. So when they asked when we needed it by and we mentioned that day, they informed us it would be more like 3 weeks! 🤯 That would have been some nice information to have been told when I had called up a few weeks before and spoken to them, maybe or before we then drove all the way up here. 😤😆
Nonetheless, Laura and I rolled with it- and resolved to return at the beginning of August. We would pick up the air box then, and had a nice reason to travel. So with that, we turned our heels headed on South once again.
One of Laura’s last big wishes for her birthday weekend (and honestly the last few times we had been in the Anchorage Area) was to order some high end “special” pizza from The Moose’s Tooth.
This had been a multiple attempt exploit to try and get a pizza from the Moose’s Tooth, but with each attempt a call ahead resulted in hours of wait time and us changing the plan. But this time it was Laura’s Birthday- and we were going to get that pizza. So after another phone call made between Wasilla & Anchorage and dissapointing results, Laura sadly wanted to throw in the towel on this endeavor.
With some gentle coaxing, I talked her into attempting to pick up a slice of pizza instead of a whole pie- just so we could accomplish this dream in some manner or form. After we arrived at the Moose’s Tooth and waited and additional 30 minutes- her dream was (mostly) complete!
So easy to pick up a “slice” these days! 🍕🤣
And excuse me for being the blasphemous one here- but the pizza was “just alright”. We ulitmately might have been just has happy with the fast, affordable, and myriad of other pizza options available in Anchorage- but you gotta chase your dreams! 😉
Yet, we weren’t done with this Birthday weekend yet! One more to knock off the bucket list. South of Girdwood there is a tourist attraction…
…we have always driven by, always talked about, and always decided we’d try next time.
But last time I promised we would try it- and I am super glad we did. We finally decided to visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.
Just off of the highway- this spot didn’t feel close to traffic once we had entered the center. The weather had turned out to be perfect for our little adventure!
The Entry Gate 
An Ohana Among Cars 
A Very Active Porcupine 
Strutting His Stuff! 
Beauful!
The area was in a gorgous open area surrounded by mountains. We wandered along, visiting each animal area as the animals happily went about their daily business.
Here is a baby muskox we watched enjoying scratching himself on a stump! 🤣
Next we would come across wolves, a black bear, coyote, elk, lynx, and full grown muskox.
Though you can drive the majority of the premises, there are a ton of things you miss that way- so we walked everywhere.
Next we wandered down to check out the brown bears, and I boosted Laura up on my shoulders to get some good pictures. The brown bears weren’t near as interested in coming up to the fence as the black bear had been, but I preferred them that way. The last time I had been even closer to one than this can be a bit of a nerve-wracking experience. 😅
The male elk with their racks were super impressive. I got to chill about a foot away from one while it calmly supped water from a drinking basin.
Next the path ran along the very inner pit of Turnagain Arm as it looped and surround the open areas for the great “Danger Bison”.
FYI: They weren’t actually called that, we just thought it was hilarious that the giant areas were avidly surrounded by signs that simply said Danger: Bison. 😂
☄️ The More You Know ☄️
A few hours later we returned to our happy Ohana- and it was time to hit the road again.
We did our usual cruise South down the Kenai Peninsula.
When we fueled up Soldotna we realized one of our hoses under the hood had blown out on the end and was hanging loose. A simple snip to where the hose was still strong and she was good to go again!
To finish Laura’s “off diet” week for her birthday we decided to try out a restaurant our mechanic, Robert from Sunny Automotive, had recommended: Senior Panchos.
We split a plate, and man was it good! Talk about an awesome little hidden gem for Mexican Food! Try this place out if you’re cruising through Soldotna!
The rest of the trip down to Homer was very chill. We chased the highway along the bay with the sun beaming upon us from our right the whole time. As it sank down slowly the sky had turned to hues of pink and purple by the time we arrived home.
It had been an amazing week celebrating an amazing person! Hope You Had A Happy Birthday Laura! 💖
Geoff Murphy 8/15/2021