Anchorage and Palmer are both nice places, but Jim and I were so glad when we finally were loaded up and headed out of Palmer toward our next destination, Glennallen. The highway that would take us there is one of America’s Scenic Highways, the Glenn Highway. Jim and I were quite excited about this drive as everything we had read about it sounded beautiful. We headed out of Palmer early so we would have lots of time to stop at all the overlooks and take lots of pictures. Palmer is located in the Mantanuska Valley named for the Mantanuska River. This river is a braided river and in places is very wide and powerful. The Glenn follows the river between the northerly Talkeetna Mountains and the southerly Chugach Mountains.
As we headed out, almost immediately we knew it would be a special day. We stopped to take a look at the mighty river. The waters are milky with the silt from the glacier, and n the early morning light, it looked like molten steel threads weaving through the mud and rock. Overhead, birds rode the wind currents diving and circling high above us.
Here is a taste of our journey in pictures.
The mighty Mantanuska River here flows wide but narrow. In other places, it was deep and wide but no matter how deep or how wide, it is always braided. The body of the water breaks into fingers of water that weave and come together only to break apart once again. Amazing.
On the bluff above the river, two birds had a next. It was just out of our view, but the birds appeared to be bringing food and then soaring above the nest. The circled and swooped above us, screeching as they went.
These mountains of the Talkeetna's have such lovely coloring they stood out against the green of the vegetation below and the sky above.
There are many ponds, lakes and creeks all along the way. This one was surrounded by trees of all shades of green and the water was so still, the reflections begged me to stop and take pictures.
Another view of the lovely lake with the mountains in the background. There was a car parked near the water, its occupant asleep. Most any place in this area allows for camping. If you can pull off the road, you can camp. Now I am all for camping, but I do not think I could sleep in the call especially alone. But, different strokes.
The Chugach Mountains were wrapped in snow and often had glaciers visible. Almost everywhere we have been, if there are mountains then there are glaciers.
With views like this, it was a pleasure to make the trip. We stopped very often to look and of course, snap a picture or two. I have no idea how many pictures I have taken so far, but it is a lot.
The mighty Mantanuska Glacier. There is a recreation area where you can see and hike very close to the face of the glacier. At one time, you could actually touch the ice, but with the melting, it has become unstable and one cannot get that close.
The coloring here is a result of volcanic activity. While it looks like it could be copper, it is not. It is cooked up by the volcano from sedimentary limestone. It is iron-stained gypsum. I have to say, I have learned many things during trip a great deal of which I will probably not be able to remember. But I have plenty of pictures and other things to help me remember.
This series of lakes was matched by a series across the street. We stopped for lunch and met several groups of hunters. It is Caribou season. One group was pulling a boat. They told us they would boat across a couple of these lakes and then hike up for the hunt. It was cold and threatening rain. I guess hunting is for the hardy for sure.
The Chugach Range in the distance as we drove down a long, straight stretch. The Glenn is a good road with very little construction going on, it made for an easy ride.
The last few miles before we arrived at Glennallen. It was a wonderful drive!
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