Big Bear RV’S Park to Anchorage – Day 16

07.16.12 Day 16 Big Bear RV’S Park to Anchorage 42.84miles, 891.3 trip miles 12.3 avg mph, ? max 3:28:54 ride time All pavement Clouds and some sun. 60’s Days of rain: 7 It was another damp morning today. My poor tent got put away wet once more under gray clouds that threatened of rain. We got a slight mist but that’s it. As the day wore on the sun came out and it became hot. The riding on the other hand just got worse until we found some bike paths. Today was a lot of highway riding and my nerves were high, like the speed of the cars going by. Despite the highway riding we did get to pass through the Palmer Flats. It’s a huge marsh land north of Anchorage where the Knik River is. It’s a birders paradise but I didn’t see much from the road. Mike did see a baby calf moose. I some how completely missed it laying 40′ from the road side. After the flats we found a place called Bobby’s Cafe where we planned to just get coffee and a snack but ended up getting lunch. By the time we finished lunch the sun was really coming out and the riding temperature was great. It was just after lunch that we were forced off the highway onto bike trails but I was fine with that. The highway was full of cars and the shoulder wasn’t very wide. We utilized bike paths to within a few miles of my friends house. On the AT I meet Everest, who I now know as Laura. Like most of the people I have met hiking I kept in touched with Laura and she put Mike and I up at her place. Laura was pulling triple duty as her mom was here too and she was also working. It was great to see Laura again after 11 years! Unlike my current hiking like appearance, like that of when I first met Laura on the AT, she was definitively not looking like hiker trash. After some planning for tomorrow we decided it was time to go to dinner. We went to The Moose’s Tooth. It’s a famous pizza place in Anchorage. Mike went 17 years ago and said he was amazed at how big it was now. We had to wait an hour on a Monday night! It was well worth the wait as the pizza was amazing. We enjoyed four kinds of pizza and had some beers. Back at Laura’s place we looked at pictures from her PCT hike and grizzly pictures she took from the famous falls here in Alaska (sorry I don’t recall the name). By 11 pm everyone was pretty tired so we all retired for the night. It was a long day but an even longer night as my stomach was upset all night. Laura and her mom Pam really made us feel like we were home. The gave us some great trail magic and neither Mike or I will forget it. Hopefully someday I can repay them for their generosity. Thanks ladies! Glove count: 34 Tie Down Count: 79 Scatman