Alaska: The Last Frontier, But Not the Last Stop

After leaving the Homer area, we assessed our Alaska “to do” list, and the only thing left on it was the ferry cruise on the Alaska Marine Highway down to Bellingham, Washington.  Everything else we’d wanted to do and see in Alaska had been accomplished.  We still had three weeks before our cruise date, and we were trying to think of where to kill time without spending a ton of money.  The weather forecast for the coming week was rain pretty much everywhere in the state, which meant we would continue to be cold and wet, or part with a small fortune in order to be warm and dry.  Neither choice was satisfactory, so we went with option C – leave Alaska and begin the second half of our adventure.  The decision was fitting, since we’d been pretty much flying by the seat of our pants for most of the trip so far, in spite of the fact that Ken spent hours upon hours meticulously planning this trip for months in advance.  It was with both a tiny hint of sadness and the feeling of great anticipation and excitement that we left Alaska behind and set course for the unknown adventures that still lay ahead.  One thing we knew for sure was in our future was hot, dry air somewhere in the lower 48, and we were getting a little anxious to find it.  We practically drooled at the sight of every RV we saw since Glacier National Park, enviously aware that those folks were not at the mercy of the weather.  We stayed one last night in Anchorage in order to shower and re-stock our supplies, called and cancelled our cruise reservation, and got started toward Canada.

At some point during the first day of driving, I finally decided it was time to dive into taking my pictures in manual mode instead of the semi-manual modes I’d been using thus far.  I knew it had to happen sooner or later if I wanted to have a chance at getting great pictures, and I had grown frustrated with the often so-so results I was getting in the other modes.  (Lightroom has saved many of my photos!)  This would lead to lots of redundant photos while I fiddled with the settings trying to figure out what I was doing… all while flying down the highway at 60 mph behind a bug-spattered windshield!

Taking the Glenn Highway from Anchorage, we were fortunate to have fair skies – seems like that’s always the case when we decide to leave a place!  This is a breathtaking ride, winding along the Matanuska River and then northward through endless mountains and offering fantastic views of several glaciers.

The enormity of some of these mountains as they disappeared into the clouds left both of us awestruck and near speechless!  Words cannot come close to describing the beauty and magnificence of the scenery here.

We opted to get in one more night of camping in Alaska since the weather was so pleasant, and chose a spot at the Eagle Trail State Recreation Site, a little south of Tok.  It’s a good thing we carry at least a couple of gallons of drinkable water with us, because the water we got out of the spigot was orangey-brown with rust and sediment, perhaps from a lack of use.  There were only two other campsites being occupied, so it was nice and quiet.  Once we got the tent up, Ken got busy making food while I set about taking pictures of our site and hosts.

Spider butt!

There are, of course, lots more photos in the photo album, so check 'em out!