Glenallen, Alaska near Valdez

Saturday 30th June  Venue, Caribou Inn, Glenallen, AK For once we started the day with almaost clear skies although the temperature was only about 15C. We headed east on highway 1out of Anchorage and very soon we were rising with the mountains which seemed to wrap around us. The forest was dense with trees of a reasonable size and the ever present rivers powering down to the sea. We were riding through the Chugach Mountains and Mount Marcus Baker could be seen clearly in the south at a height of 13,300 ft. The road took us close to the Matanuska Glacier only a few miles away, shimmering in the sun, is four miles wide and extends back many miles into the Chugach Mountains.

The Matanuska Glacier

 The road rose to the high plains, 3000ft and trees thinned out to leave rolling hills covered with coarse grass and the occasional Black Spruce. Sheep Mountain, while not very high, stands out by its bronze colour, caused by the presence of mineral salts, is named for the frequent sightings of Dall Sheep licking the salt from the surface.

Sheep Mountain. So named for the Dall Sheep that lick the natural salts on the mountain

 Glenallen, our venue for the next two nights, is a very small village with one Motel and a supermarket with very expensive Breakfast cereal, but is representative of most Alaskan towns.