Wasilla and Palmer are two Alaskan towns that neighbor each other in the Matanuska Valley region of Alaska. A recent article from the Wall Street Journal made a correct observation when noting the difference between the two towns:
On Wasilla:
"...these days, the Alaskan town that launched Gov. Palin's political career feels more like the latest suburb than the last frontier".
"Wasilla has neither a planning nor a zoning board, and it shows".
On Palmer:
"Wasilla's smaller neighbor, Palmer, chose another path. While Wasilla has no Main St. business district to speak of, Palmer officials have preserved the small-town feel that President Franklin Roosevelt's planners envisioned". source
Anyways we'll start with Wasilla:
Looking towards the city center
Main intersection
Sarah Palin's former church
heading back to the center and taking the Palmer-Wasilla highway to Palmer
the sports arena that came during Palin's term. [edit: nevermind, this is NOT the sports facility built under Mayor Palin]
Palmer, Alaska
And now 35 miles south to Anchorage
home sweet home.
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Whatever happened to edsas? Cool guy, that one.
bwa ha ha! I knew it was only a matter of time! Thanks for satisfying my curiosity!
I'm always amazed at how awful these suburban strip malls look when juxtaposed against the natural beauty of the west. It's almost as if the more majestic the landscape, the nastier and more agoraphobic we strive to make our man-made modifications. It's like we are threatened by the beauty and need to mitigate it. Go figure.
oh well at least Palmer looks decent. Wonder if that Obama sign was knocked down intentionally.
No wonder folks in Wasilla, and their kids, are spitting out babies right and left! Can't believe the cost and controvery about the AT&T sports center, it is hiddeous. However, thank you Mthq for the post!
10 acres and a free house for $105,000 ? That seems like a pretty good deal. I wish I could get that without having to live in Alaska.
Nice Pictures. Thanks.
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I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.
Wasilla does kind of represent the Republican ideal...so it's fitting. Hopefully, I'll never have to think of Wasilla again. Thanks for the tour though! Palmer is definitely a neat place.