Alaska, where you can’t tell if a girl is a lesbian or just a local.

Homer Spit

If you go to one small city in Alaska, you gotta see the spit. It is a natural land spit that many shops, hotels, fishing charters are located, but there is only 1 salty saloon. The Salty Dog has hundreds if not tens of thousands of bills posted all over the walls, ceilings and every nook and cranny you can imagine.

I think just about every Alaska owns, used to own, or wishes they had a Salty Dog Saloon hoodie. 

Head to the Down East – outside HOMER

Hope and Hippies

There’s a small hippy town an hour and a half from Anchorage. The majority of people are strictly seasonal as well as the Seaview. Visit there in the summer with live bands, camping, and hippy atmosphere. I am sure you’ll see at least 1 VW bus a summer. 

 Creekbend Company (formerly Titos) is open year round. Grab a morning mimosa or bloody with some amazing biscuits and gravy. They also support live bands on weekends.

Out for blood(y’s)

I was raised in household that fished and hunted wild game. It’s a means to provide food for months, connect with family, connect with nature and see the beauty of ALASKA. 

In 2018, caribou hunting was very limited and the outlook was poor in unit 13. Still we wanted to spend the time at least attempting a successful hunt. We decided we would have a roadtrip/camping adventure regardless and if we happened to see a legal bull we would be ready. 

Started out trip leaving Palmer and headed up the Glenn to Glennallen. When you get to the Hub, you should definitely eat thai food at the food truck. Bomb pad thai!

Continue up the Richardson to Paxson. In the winter it had been the location of Arctic Man. Summit lake is huge and stocked full of fish. This is where we saw many piles of moose poop. This may be a good moose spot in the future for hunts. This was a great spot for a fall camp. Beautiful views and quiet atmosphere made sleeping easy peasy. The only issue…. we ran out of beer. I drank the last one right before bed. Booze will be priority 1 in the morning. 

Denali highway.

 This long, bumpy, gravel road is beautiful. So many surrounding lakes and rivers.  We saw a super cute baby fox; and 3 places to grab a beverage. We decided the odds of getting a ‘bou was super low, and that bar hopping would be a much better option for us. 

Tangle Lakes.
Grab some delicious breakfast and a nice simple bloody. They have cabins, fishing, liquor store, bar and restaurant. The bloody was perfect for that camping morning. Cold, and homemade mix. 

Clearwater Mountain Lodge (formerly gracious house).
Do you want to see a ton of dollars? This bar (not as many as in Homer) is filled with very organized bills varying amount and even countries. Make sure you see if the bearded puppet is wearing pants!

Three Bob’s Bar.
Cute family run lodge and bar. Open year round with limited road access by car in the winter but year round by snowmachine. Owned and operated by the family with 3 Bob’s: grandpa, husband and son. Basically father, son and holy spirit since grandpa has passed.

Cantwell Bar.
A little off the Parks highway is well worth it. Get a picture with an Alaskan Longhorn. Do a shotski with 2 others. Even grab some pub food. Its located at the train station in Cantwell. 

Sheep Creek Lodge.
Driving down the Parks we leave the hunting unit. Hunting is officially over, but the bar hopping has 1 more location in mind. Once you reach the Willow area you must cross Sheep Creek. This creek is awesome for salmon, just FYI. If you need some grub before or after slaying salmon, go to the Sheep Creek Lodge. There was a live band, good beer and an awesome patty melt. Definitely get the patty melt or the rueben. 

The trip and night ended with a full belly and a few casts in the creek. Although we only got 2 salmon, we had a great roadtrip. Many hours seated but we had good music, fun conversations and plenty of bars visit. If you get a chance to drive this circle, make sure you stop in and see these places. 

*disclaimer* one beer or bloody at a time with 30 to 60 min between beverages. No one was driving intoxicated. 

Sitka Rugby Adventures

We made our way to sitka.  Land of islands, fishing, big trees and rain. It really is a beautiful town t despite the rain. In a 5 minute timeframe we watched the clouds cover the sky, then collosal raindrops filled the streets, the clouds evaporated and the sun was beaming down from above. 

Such a beautiful sight. No where else in Alaska do they celebrate Alaska Day as they do in Sitka, Alaska. Growing up it was just a state holiday, that made offices closed and was more of an inconveiniance. Those in the City Borough of Sikta really take it seriously. Parades, games, speeches, floats, concerts, reenactments and many other festivities. Sure, it was the first capitol of Alaska until it was moved, but they remain proudof their history and heritage. 

The Sitka ruggers know how to have fun and how to drink. If you have a chance to experience the 14 mile of road, make sure you visit the P-Bar. The Pioneer bar has all the features of a good old Alaskan dive bar, and they serve Rainier beer. Which is one of my dads favorites. 

Not many places for a morning eye opener, so pack your own liquor or make your way to the Sitka Hotel and the Raven Lounge.

Anchorage sucks…. except Muldoon surprisingly

Anchorage Alaska. A city that no longer feels safe to walk the streets. A city that fits its motto, Big Wild Life, and not because of the wild Alaskan animals but for the crime and street life. Although I refrain from going to Anchorage unless absolutely necessary, I do enjoy 1 spot immensely. 

I don’t know what you think of with Muldoon. I used to think homelessness, gunshots, theft, drugs, Mul-Doom, douchebaggery, and just an awful part of Anchorage. Now I think of Pizza on a stick. Or I think of sliders on a stick. Basically a meal on a skewer inside a bloody mary. This is what you get on Sundays at the Cabin Tavern.

 Cabin Tavern on Muldoon is bigger on the inside than it appears to be. It is meant to look like a little shanty but it’s actually quite nice for a little dive bar. The parking spaces are rather small and kind of a pain in the ass to navigate.

Bartender there on Sundays wanted to make something a little different with the bloody marys. And the price is actually quite cheap considering what you get. About $10 and you’re going to get a full-course meal along with your bloody mary meal. One time I went in there and he had beef sliders kebab as well as cheese and pickle in my bloody mary.

Those little mini corn dogs you can get from Walmart  on a skewer in your bloody mary is so fun to eat as well as delicious. He says that he enjoys making the food and coming up with new ideas of things to put in his bloody marys. He didn’t have the energy to cook a bunch of food another time and he ordered a pizza and was able to cut slices smaller all them up put them on a skewer and put them in the bloody mary. This guy is phenomenal. Always my favorite bartender there. The sad part is I have no idea what his name is because I keep thinking he gives me a fake name. I want to call him Sammy.

Oh Sammy. Continue making your bomb-ass bloodys and continue being a funny tender of the bar.

Build Your Own Bloody!

Humpy’s in Anchorage. Weekends. The perfect brunch days. Get that buzz and keep it going. 
They start you with a class with your choice of Vodka and some ice. The rest is up to you. Seasoning, salt, hot sauce, bacon, cheese, olives, clamato, V8, celery, green beans, asparagus. You want it, you can add it. 

Cattle Company Crushes the Cocktail

Jamie and I are having an awesome business meeting at the Cattle Company in Anchorage. I had never been there before, but this is where the asscociate wanted to dine and I was up for a new food experience. 

OMG! It was delicious. We shared the cowboy dinner for 2 ($64) that comes with 1 appetizer, 2 sides each (4 total) 1 entree each and then a yummy dessert. We both had the filet mignon with the bleu cheese buttah! So very good. 

Now, the real reason I’m talking about the Cattle Company. They have a house seasoning on their bloody, and the garnishes (nothing too fancy) were fresh and crisp and went well with my liquid adult salad.

This is a bloody worth tasting. 

Gay men: There are some delicious cowboy decor to observe. 

Mat-Valley

Klondike Mikes!

One of our favorite local bars. They have music, they have food. They do events and shows. Its fun.

Tailgaters!

Local and fun sports bar, restaurant and karaoke joint. They have posters, jerseys, photos from teams all over the state. Some don’t even exist any more. They make a really really declisious nacho plate and they have a great selection of goodies in their bloody mary.

Bier trinken

Are you in the mood for some German beer? See the Schwab. 

The odd shaped building on top of a hill may be hard to reach in 2-wheel depending on the ice. This Wasilla based pub has some good German flavor. 
Shwabenhof recently reopened and for good reason. Many years ago when it first opened it was a great restaurant, focusing on German delights with different sausages, cheese and beer. Then things took a turn. It became a dive bar. No food. Lame beer and only the same bar flies seemed to enter the establishment. 
New owners brought new air into the log building. It has wonderful views of the Talkeetna Mountains as well as friendly bar staff and big sausages. 

Just recently, 2020, they have brought back their old original recipe. Now its being brewed by Lazy Mountain Brewing in Palmer.

Its darker and high ABV but low bitterness. It will get the job done!

NO. Just No.

Matanuska Brewing formally Palmer Ale House

PIZZA MAN! Eagle River!

Locals, is not always where the locals go.

If you go to the highway just up from Sears and Walmart, you’ll find a restaurant. There you can get beer, bloody and food. The Honey Habanero wings are amazing, and their pizza isn’t horrible. The only issue is sometimes their service is lacking.

We once waited over an hour for a pizza and there were 2 people at the bar and about 3 tables with customers. An hour… for a small pizza.

They do have some good beer selections though and their appetizers can fill you up.

Hatcher Pass. Not Hatchers… not an s.

This is my stomping grounds. Hiking and trails for miles and miles. Hiking to old cabins, glaciers, bomber sites, peaks, rivers and mines.

Come to the lodge for a lunch or an early dinner.

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