Chickalooon

After putting all my stuff inside my tiny little cabin a went for a walk down to the river to check out the sights and what a sight it was.Under the shadow of the mighty King Mountain the Matanuska River was flowing fast and fierce, stained grey by the huge amount of soil that was being washed down toward the coastal plain near Palmer where I had come from earlier that day.I thought that a nice dip in the water might do me some good,although with the amount of silt in the water I figured any grime washed off would be replaced ten-fold.The initial bold strides from  the beach soon became timid little shuffles as the frigid temperatures of the flow soon took hold of all motor control in my lower body.It was bloody freezing!!Not surprising really when you consider that there the massive Matanuska Glacier shedding iced water a days ride further up the valley.Instead of a long swim I was relegated to doing some rehab for my legs and knee and just sat in the shallows freezing my bits off.

 Refreshed and renewed I thought I'd have a look around and then do some of the dry land swim work that I would have to do on a daily basis so my Ultraman swim in a month wouldn't suck completely.I did about 40 minutes of resistance band work before heading off to the bar to do plug in my laptop and re-connect with the world.It didn't take long before I was talked into having a beer by the barman,who incidentally was my cabin neighbour.Allen told me that they were trying a new beer and gave me a sample of some dark,coconut ales that actually wasn't too bad.As this is a very small community who seem to know everything about everyone,the chance to get into the

business of some new blood was just too much to resist and I was soon fielding questions all about where I was from and what I was doing.It was a load of fun and before too long there I was caught in the serious business of pool table domination with half a dozen locals.I hadn't hung out in an old school bar like this for years and it was just hilarious watching the social dynamics between the real locals,the locals who had only moved here recently to build a rafting business and the drop in tourists like myself.

   I had a great time and got to meet some quality folk who were living many and varied lives in the local community.One girl was working with her full blood Indian husband at bettering the local tribes access to pretty much eveything from schooling to transport to medical care,another was a busy trying to organise the best way to get gravel to the new house she was building and was inundated with information overload from the dozen or so self-proclaimed experts at everthying.There were rafters bragging about rivers conquered,campers talking up wildlife encounters, myself soaking it all in and the local bar staff who were just watching the world drive by each day,happy with their little slice of heaven.It was one of those moments when you have to make a choice,does one go to bed early and alone and miss meeting these people because I have to be up at the crack of dawn or do I take the opportunity to sit down,have a beer or three and maybe meet some really nice, simple people.It was a great night and I'm very glad I stayed and it just showed that sometimes you have to let go the plans and just let things happen.Those have always been the best experiences for me and that night was no different.If the rest of my journey was going to provide experiences like these then it was going to be,as they say, one hell of a ride!