11th Alaskan Stop - Glennallen

Well, we are in Valdez now (home of the famous EXXON oil spill).

We left Portage on Thursday and drove around Turnagain Arm Bay

and into Anchorage. 

We found the ULU factory and bought a couple of things. 

Then we headed up the Glen Highway to Palmer and then east toward Glennallan thru the Talkeetna Mountains.  The weather and scenery were both beautiful so we took our time.

 Matanuska Glacier is in the foreground.

At Mile Marker 106 we started slowing down for a big downhill when a moose and her calf ran across the road.  Judy barely had time to get a picture and this is what we saw.  Double click on the picture and then look right behind the sign post and you can see them.

More scenery.

The Wrangell Mountains, as seen in the next pictures, are a high mountain range of Eastern Alaska.  The Wrangell Mountains are almost entirely volcanic in origin, and they include the second and third highest volcanoes in the United States, Mount Blackburn and Mount Sanford.

The Wrangell Mountains are just to the northwest of the Saint Elias Mountains and northeast of the Chugach Mountains, which are along the coast of the Gulf of Alaska. These ranges have the combined effect of blocking the inland areas from warmer moist air over the Pacific Ocean. The inland areas to the north of the Wrangell Mountains are therefore among the coldest areas of North America during the winter.

We made it to Glennallen in mid-afternoon and got set up for the night.  Since we were leaving in the morning, we didn’t unhook the truck at all.  Not much to do in Glenallen – only a wide spot in the road; population of 554.

Next stop - Valdez

The Wrangell Mountains include 12 of the 40+ Alaskan peaks over 13,000 ft:

• Mount Blackburn, 16,390 feet
• East Summit, 16,286 ft
• Mount Sanford, 16,237 feet
• South Peak, 13,654 ft
• Mount Wrangell, 14,163 feet
• West Summit, 14,013 ft 
• Atna Peaks, 13,860 ft
• Regal Mountain, 13,845 ft 
• Mount Jarvis, 13,421 feet
• North Peak, 13,025 ft
• Parka Peak, 13,280 ft 
• Mount Zanetti, 13,009 ft