Day 12 of our trip
Miles driven
today: 334; Total miles for Trip: 3,477.4
Gas Mileage
today 36.2 mpg, average of 31.6 mpg for trip
Total elapse
driving time 58 hours, 36 minutes
Our final
trek to Anchorage begins today. Up
around 6AM, slept well. Light late and
early, with twilight in between. The
small cabin has no blinds to keep out the light. We didn’t need the heater last night. We’re still full from last night’s dinner so
we take off down the Tok Cut Off road.
It’s a sunny day, partly cloudy.
Leaving at 8AM, the road is good and then turns to heave, going through
permafrost and lots of bog in between the Alaska Mountain Range and the
Mentasta mountains. We reach the Richardson
highway and head to the Glenn. We begin
to see two of the three area volcanoes, Mt Drum and Mt Sanford; they are 15K+
feet and fully glaciated. There is so
much snow on all the mountains with some laying in the lowlands. We stop at the Glenallen Visitors Center; the
same older lady is there who we have met many times. A longtime resident of Alaska’s remote towns
and a former teacher and librarian.
Quite a character. We get some
info from her and buy a couple things. I
think she gets paid for this parttime job.
We stop at the IGA, we have never been in there before. It is a well-stocked store with a good
variety of products and very nice staff.
They have a coffee bar and cold deli sandwiches and salads. We buy some to eat on the way for our noon
meal. The road has good stretches and
then goes into heaves that can bottom you out and some potholes. There is construction here and there. It’s not too remarkable riding with thick
forest on each side but then the mountains come into view. We enter the valley between the Talkeetna
Mountains and the Chugach. Both
beautiful in their own way. The Talkeetna’s
have some very strange formations and different color minerals coloring the
rock. The Chugach are high elevations of
craggy peaks; densely snow covered with many glaciers cascading downward. We reached Eureka Summit and can’t believe
how many people are building up there.
It’s still barely early spring there.
We follow the Matanuska Glacier for a while, still impressive and
long. The road is narrow and winding
often without guardrails. We follow the
Mat River all the way to its ending in Knik Arm. We stop briefly in Palmer to use the restroom
and get gas. It’s a very busy place and they are working on rebuilding the
library roof that collapsed under heavy snowfall 3 winters ago. We’re in sun in the high 60’s as we pass
Pioneer Peak there’s a lot of road construction especially around the
fairgrounds. The Knik River bridge is
having work done. The rest of the
highway is very familiar as we pass through the towns. We stop at a car wash on Dimond, we badly need
it. We passed through very little rain
and glacial dust is always present. We
arrive at the apartment around 4PM, glad to be home. We have brought a lot so lugging it all up
the stairs to the third floor is trying and it is very warm even at 70 degrees
and breeze. We finally get everything
inside and then the unpacking. Got most
of it done but very tired. Dean’s game
is tonight but we’ll have to forego until the next one. The laundry baskets are piled high since we
don’t do laundry along the way. Although
the ferry does offer a launderette for a fee.
Finish a few things tonight, get a good night’s rest. More tasks tomorrow and hooking up with
family.
We were in
Ak February-March, North Carolina in April, back to Ak in June. And lots of
home stuff in-between; time to stay in one place for a while. We are blessed with the ability and health to
do these fun travels to be with family and friends. We are grateful for the kindness of strangers
and for those who we will never know who provide services that keep us safe and
give comfort. This blog is being written
to reflect what is happening in the moment and provide memories. We check in with news as we feel it is our
responsibility to stay engaged. We are
very disappointed with President Trump and a Congress that does not provide
checks and balances. In these few short
months. we have traveled by plane, car and ferry from sea to shining sea. As we travel this great land, we are more
aware of our diverse population and our many shared freedoms making up our
fragile democracy. We are bound together
by the Golden Rule that requires tolerance, the Constitution, the rule of law,
the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. It is a proud heritage, worthy of our caring,
energy and prayers to preserve; long may it continue as our legacy for future
generations.
Nighty
night!
