Alaska Trip: Hatcher Pass & Matanuska Glacier
More Alaska photos....these are from Hatcher Pass (Archangel Valley) and of the Matanuska Glacier which are both north of Anchorage (and close to Palmer).
By the way...you should be able to click on the photos to enlarge them (& get a better view).
Hatcher Pass::View of the dramatic Talkeetna Mountains (heading into Archangel Valley). OMG. Driving on that road made my knuckles white. I couldn't believe it was road. I'll show you what I mean in one of the next few photos.
Do you see what we were after??? They're blue, not black, and very tasty!
The fall reds of Alaska- bloomed out fireweed.
A Happy Girl. Picking blueberries. Or, more accurately, eating blueberries that Mommy & Daddy have picked.
Every once in a while we'd (okay, the adults) would do a bear check. I'm amazed we didn't see any animals grazing on the blueberries. It was a rainy sort of day...so glad we brought rain jackets! 
Lots of lovely berries (dogwood & crowberries) along with lichen.
Token photo of me picking too! Berry picking is probably my most favorite activity in the whole wide world. Okay, that's probably not quite true but it is high up on my list of favorites!
See what I mean about the bumpy road? It seemed more like a dried up river bed with rocks and potholes to dodge around than a road. Mark says that this particular road has always been like this. I must have gone through amnesia at some point because I don't remember it at all!
Hatcher Pass Lodge
We've had many a fun visit to Hatcher Pass....one time we went with Mark's parents and his youngest sister Margaret. (was this before we were married? don't remember). We had a small campfire going but realized we didn't have any marshmallows to roast....BUT we did have cookies with giant holes. So why not roast cookies over a campfire????
It was a very short walk to get on the glacier and yes, you can walk on it. Since the land surrounding the glacier is privately owned there is a whopping fee per person to get in....I can't remember exactly but I think it was $60 for the four of us to walk up on the glacier. However, I just had to do it! Sometimes it's just fun to do the tourist activities, you know?
Lots of lovely berries (dogwood & crowberries) along with lichen.
Token photo of me picking too! Berry picking is probably my most favorite activity in the whole wide world. Okay, that's probably not quite true but it is high up on my list of favorites!
See what I mean about the bumpy road? It seemed more like a dried up river bed with rocks and potholes to dodge around than a road. Mark says that this particular road has always been like this. I must have gone through amnesia at some point because I don't remember it at all!
Hatcher Pass Lodge
We've had many a fun visit to Hatcher Pass....one time we went with Mark's parents and his youngest sister Margaret. (was this before we were married? don't remember). We had a small campfire going but realized we didn't have any marshmallows to roast....BUT we did have cookies with giant holes. So why not roast cookies over a campfire????
It was a very short walk to get on the glacier and yes, you can walk on it. Since the land surrounding the glacier is privately owned there is a whopping fee per person to get in....I can't remember exactly but I think it was $60 for the four of us to walk up on the glacier. However, I just had to do it! Sometimes it's just fun to do the tourist activities, you know?Check out all the rocks left behind by the glacier.....
We never actually got to go up to what I consider to be the face of the glacier (the white & blue part). The trail ended here...it was difficult to tell that we were on the glacier as there was so much glacial silt and rocks on the glacier. Oh, and it was several degrees cooler on the glacier (as you'd expect!). 
Getting a closer look at the ice under the dirt....
Yes! There is in fact a glacier (and clear ice) under our feet! This ice is several feet thick. 
Fall was already spreading throughout the area (Matanuska glacier is north of Palmer). Just look at those bright yellow trees!
After our brief visit to the glacier we headed back to Anchorage. We were surprised that the Glacier was a three hour drive away! I think the Girlies fell asleep on the way back. The nice thing about Alaska is that it was still light out around 9pm....
Getting a closer look at the ice under the dirt....
Yes! There is in fact a glacier (and clear ice) under our feet! This ice is several feet thick. Fall was already spreading throughout the area (Matanuska glacier is north of Palmer). Just look at those bright yellow trees!
After our brief visit to the glacier we headed back to Anchorage. We were surprised that the Glacier was a three hour drive away! I think the Girlies fell asleep on the way back. The nice thing about Alaska is that it was still light out around 9pm....
I don't remember the road up to Hatcher's Pass being like that either!! Yikes! And I think that it must have been before you got married, since within a week of your wedding, I was off to Japan, and then on to Oklahoma for the duration. But I have a picture of us roasting cookies somewhere. What a funny memory. :)
I really love the picture of the girlies in their jackets picking berries.