On the way to Palmer, we made a quick stop in Eklutna at the Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church and Eklutna Historic Park.
There's a strong Russian influence in Alaska, especially certain parts of Alaska, since the US purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867. The Eklutna site is a blend of Russian and Athapascan culture.
The site was closing or we would have looked around more. Since we didn't get to look around much, this is straight out of the guidebook. This is a cemetery with spirit houses, which are about waist high. "In place of the familiar headstone, tradition requires that when an Orthodox Russian Athapascan dies a new blanket is placed over the grave and a three-bar Orthodox cross is planted at the foot. Forty days after burial, the deceased's family builds a "spirit house" over the grave using the family's traditional colors to denote who is interred." (From the Rough Guide)
In an odd little twist, the priest who ushered us out showed up again about a week later and 150 miles down the road. Deb and I drove past a little roadside recreation area and saw him in the parking lot.
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