We departed the Russian River to get to
our destination at Grandview. We once again were at the Turnagain Arm inlet and
passing the Portage glacier which was hidden by rain. We stopped at Bird Point
to see the Beluga sculptures and view the massive river for one last time. They
have these in the parking area of the overlook so you’ll know what these whales
look like in the inlet. Pretty smart,
huh?
Shortly after departing the point
we spotted a moose grazing in a field. We still stop for moose, what can we say?
After that we were in the traffic flow
in and around Anchorage. After being on mostly “country” roads for so long, to
be mingled in traffic again was quite challenging.
We arrived in Palmer which is about 30
miles north of Anchorage. We stopped at the visitor’s center in town and spent
some time at the gardens that are part of the UAF (University of Alaska at
Fairbanks) agriculture program. This is
located in the Mat-Su Valley which is the fertile planting grounds of Alaska. Back
in the 40’s, they actually started a “colony” here with farmers from Minnesota,
North Dakota and Wisconsin. Figured
these strong, hearty farmers could make a go of it here. They have such a short growing season but the
sun is up over 20 hours a day during their summer. They raise some of the
largest vegetables in the world. We thought the things were big in Texas! The flowers are just gorgeous. The colors just
pop out at you, they are so brilliant.
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| Can you believe this? Planted 6-1 and look at the size!!! |
On the way up to Hatcher Pass we passed a log carving stand that was owned by one of the participants in the chain saw, Sawfest when we were in Soldotna a week or so ago. You will recognize the totem. The name of her business is the Mad Hatcher. Get it- Hatcher Pass.
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| Matanuska River where we left the RV's |
We headed out of town, parked the RVs and took the cars up to Hatcher Pass. It was about a 17 mile trip and the scenery was spectacular. The Susitna River cascaded over large boulders that ran along the road we were traversing. We only went as far as the Pass. The entire road was 41 miles long, but 25 of it was gravel and we felt we'd seen the most spectacular part. We made it to the pass and enjoyed the beautiful view.
As we got closer to our destination for the evening we stopped at the Matanuska Glacier. It was very different that the other Glaciers that we have view on this trip. The pictures will speak for themselves.
We made it to the Grand View RV Park and settled down for the evening. The vista was awesome.
We saw so many beautiful sights throughout the day it was like coming off a high.
Enjoy the pictures we surely have.
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| through the telescope at the lookout |
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| Hatcher Pass |
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| Matanuska Glacier |
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