Wednesday, July 24 - After breakfast it was out for a quick stop at the Ulu Factory and then off to Alyeska Resort and the tram ride to the Seven Glaciers viewing deck and Restaurant near the top of Alyeska Mtn. Alyeska Resort is located east of the city of Girdwood, about 25 to 30 miles south of Anchorage on Alaska Highway 1, then east on the Alyeska Highway. Alaska 1 follows the Cook Inlet toward the Kenai Peninsula. As our luck would have it, it was overcast and misty.
Took a hike up hill above the tram stop to the end of a ski run. There we found a bowl in the mountain which contained a slowly melting Alyeska Glacier. It was interesting watching the clouds move in and out around the mountains as the sun began to break through and drive off the clouds.
On the way down the mountain, we stopped at Girdwood Brewing Company for... a brew. This is a nice location, with an eclectic menu and brews.
On the way back, a stop was made at Bird Creek where the bank was lined with fishermen. Witnessed several fish being carried out and several being caught.
Another stop at McHugh Creek to take photos of the creek and it's waterfalls. McHugh Creek was the site of a railroad construction camp. The camps were located every 7 to 10 miles along Turnagain Arm. The effort was to build a rail line between the deep water ports on the Kenai to inland Alaska to get supplies for the gold miners.
This was followed up with an early dinner at Hard Rock Cafe in Anchorage and the gathering of memorabilia of yet another Hard Rock visited.
This shop was located across the street from the Hard Rock - great decorations to get people to come in.
Still in Anchorage. Apparently nothing much happened as I have little narrative - must have been a relaxing day. We did venture out to have breakfast at Gwennie’s Old Alaska Restaurant.
The online menu indicated that Gwennie’s served sourdough pancakes. Probably figured out that we were on a quest for the best sourdough pancakes and the best cinnamon roll. Gwennie’s is in an older building on two levels. We choose to eat in the basement or lower level. The interior stone walls all appear to be original. Of course the motif is “Old Alaska.”
A nice place though they did not have sourdough pancakes. They decided not to make any starter this year apparently.
At the RV Park, I talked to the owner of the Motor Home parked next to us. He, and his wife had just returned from a cruise from Anchorage to Vancouver, BC. They are from New Zealand, and for the last seven years have come to the US to spend the summer. He purchased the Motor Home on the first trip. They come and explore a section of the country and when it is time to go home, put the Motor Home in storage and then fly home to New Zealand. The next year they fly to where the Motor Home is stored and start their adventures from there. This year their daughter flew to Anchorage, met them and they took the cruise to Vancouver BC. His daughter flew home and they flew to Anchorage to continue their trip. Pretty nice way to explore a foreign country.
Friday, July 26 - Today the drive was from Anchorage to Glennallen on Alaska 1. After unhooking the utilities, bringing in the slides and lifting the jacks we were on the road by 10:30A. The road from Anchorage to Palmer was relatively good. There was construction through Palmer and then the road became a narrow two lane that wound its way up over the top of Tahneta pass.
Along the shores of Echo Lake and Kepler Lake, then along the Matanuska River, over Eureka Summit, the road then drops down into the Matanuska-Susitna Valley.
Then, after crossing the Matanuska River, the road widens out and becomes a frost heaved wide two lane road with wide shoulders and a cleared Right-of-Way. We passed through such towns as as Moose Creek, Sutton, Chickaloon, Eureka Roadhouse and Nelchina. The road provides many views of the Matanuska Glacier, as it runs in parallel to it for several miles.
Along the way we passed the access road to Lake Louise, AK. This lake, bearing the same name as the one in British Columbia is located about 20 miles off the Glenn Highway.
After fuelling in Glennallen, we continued to the junction of Alaska 4, also known as the Richardson Highway, and turn south toward Valdez. We decided that we would find a place to pull off the road for the night and continue to Valdez in the morning. After crossing the Tazlina River, which flows into the Copper River, and passing the turn offs to Copperville and Copper Center, we found a pullout for a scenic view of Willow Lake and Blackburn Mountain. We pulled to the lake side of the pullout, put the jacks down and the living area slide out and settled in. This areas mining treasure was not gold, but copper. Hence the name the Copper River and the Copper River Delta.
Satellite dish up and to our dismay, Dish Network and Fox Sports SW are in a dispute and so Dish dropped Fox Sports.
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