It rained Wednesday, but
we had planned to visit
Palmer, a community in
the Matanuska River Valley,
about 40 miles north of
Anchorage. (See the South-
Central Alaska Map.)

The first place we stopped was
the hotel to warm up with some
hot chocolate. The help there was
preoccupied with something other
than giving service to customers.
But, eventually we got our hot
chocolate.

Next we went to the visitor center,
and the volunteers there, warmed us
with their friendly attitude.
They have a gift shop that features
some unique local crafts, and they
dispense great local information.