I added the Chiswell Islands to the map.
Then we headed off to Anchorage. Every once in a while, on a trip this long, we have to stop at civilization and get groceries, replacement parts, haircuts, and pizza. A one-night stay here takes care of that.
Here’s a thing.
It’s a restaurant called “the Bridge”, and it literally is, a bridge across Ship Creek.
Next stop, parts unknown to us. Glenallen.
North to the Glenn Highway. East through Palmer, Chickaloon, Glacier View, Eureka Roadhouse, Nelchina, Mendeltna and Tolsona. Except for Palmer, they don’t all add up together to more than a city block. A bumpy bouncy road to get here, but not a long day. Super scenery while we drove.
Here is our lunch stop.
The road along the Matanuska River.
Signs of approaching fall.
The surprise look down to the glacier below us at the head of the Matanuska River.
The river of ice doing its slow motion creep right in the middle of summer in an otherwise normal flat river valley!
A sampling of the local cuisine in town.
It’s a mobile grill, but it doesn’t look like it ever moves much. You walk inside the building and Ernesto from Mexico City behind the counter takes your order. He turns and hands it though an opening to the cook in the RV attached to the wall. The food comes out a little later and is very good. A charming experience.
A touch of evening light.
The morning view from the windshield.
A cool sprinkly morning; clouds drifting reluctantly past the trees. They seem to want to stay but just can’t quite hold on. It hasn’t rained here in a month. This is a rainforest. It’s supposed to be cool and rainy. We seem to have adjusted. Seventy-five degrees and sunny feels hot. We’re fine with sixty-five and cloudy.
The big lump near the top of the lone birch is an eagle nest with two youngsters in it. We sit outside and listen to the eagles talk.
The Chiswell Islands.
Rugged rocks.
We squeeze in tight in our little boat. Vertical cliffs soaring straight up from the sea.
Seabird rookeries.
A cacophony of sea and seabird sounds.
What a place.
