We hit the Glenn Highway looking forward to drying out from Valdez. As we headed west, epic views of glaciers, lakes and mountains became the theme. When we simply had to get off the road, we pulled off onto an access road to a communication tower and realized there were blueberry bogs all around (and many folks foraging). Blueberries are also a theme this summer!
We took a windy walk up to the communications tower and then settled in for a cozy evening in the camper as a storm blew through. We woke up to a dusting of snow—fun but a little early, after all it is August 10th. We set off to hike Lion’s Head to get a view of Matanuska Glacier. It was a slick and muddy, climb up but the views were worth it. The downhill hike was good slick muddy fun!
As we headed towards Anchorage we passed through the growing community of Palmer and were suddenly in multiple lanes of traffic—yikes! We dodged civilization for one more night, camping at Eklutna Lake, a glacial lake in the hills outside of Anchorage. This is a densely forested campground that was peaceful and remote feeling.
We chose to enjoy a bike ride on the long gravel road to the airstrip and hopefully reach the glacier. The multi-use gravel trail around the lake offers views of the lake all around and becomes progressively challenging as it is strewn with “baby heads” (large stones). We did not reach the glacier but it was a good workout. Mountain bikes or an ATV would have a better shot, lol.
Tuckered out from our jouncing ride, we made our way into Anchorage for laundry and a visit to REI. We needed to replace our Garmin Mini In Reach communicator that went missing on a bus in Denali NP. And, it is always a good idea to shop for more down and fleece.
A note on Anchorage campgrounds: we definitely preferred Eagle River over the ideally situated Centennial. Eagle River is a little out of town but the sites are large, open (good for satellite reception and sky views) and level, where as Centennial is heavily tree covered, sites are adequate but close together, and there is an element of transient dwellers in makeshift accommodations.
REI was great, Surf Laundry got us clean (got to love Speed Queen machines!) and another great dinner at 49th State Brewing Company set us up to head on to the Kenai Pennisula.
