Map
Highway
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Downtown Glennallen
What
that all translates to is that it’s three feet from the edge of the world and
nobody much lives here. The little settlement, named for two 19th century explorers, is located in the continental climate zone,
with long, cold winters, and relatively warm summers. The mean temperature in
January is -10°F (-23°C); in July, 56°F (13°C). However, temperatures can reach
-50°F (-46°C) in winter and 80°F (27°C) in summer. Snowfall averages
39 inches (1 m), with total precipitation of 9 inches (23 cm)
per year. What that means is that it’s mostly cold and wet. Why are we
here, you ask. Because we’re going to Valdez, and that was too far to drive.
Besides, we wanted to make a side trip to Palmer, AK because the scenery is
famous and we came to Alaska to see what’s here.
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We saw some neat stuff getting here yesterday:
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| Comparison of old and modern pipeline sizes |
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| The End of the Road (We're driving it backwards.) |
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| Alaskan Mosquitoes (Not actual size) |
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| The Pipeline |
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The Pipeline
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| Moose and calf we followed down a gravel road. |
And we saw some wonderful things today:
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| Rainbow Mountains |
Monument to Richardson
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| Rustic Housing |
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This place claimed a 100-year old sourdough starter.
It was closed. |
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| Glacier |
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| Glacier |
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| Funky little Post Office |
It's about 140 miles from Glennallen to Palmer. We had lunch and turned around and drove back to Glennallen.
Cheers
WwWWOOWWWW! and double-wow! I wish I could stand there with you and feel the textures of that place, breathe the fragrances of wild north country, and pay $4.00 for a bag of ice just this side of a GLACIER. It must be more difficult to freeze up there than I thought.
ReplyDeleteThose mosquitoes made me think of a book I read ages ago, called "Kabloona". It was the record of a French man who spent a year+ living with the Inuit way up in the Northwest Passage during the late 1930s. An amazing story (I still have a copy of the book; it's one of those I'd keep on a desert island - god forbid I ever end up in such a place). Some of his stories about the seasonal swarms of insects that saturated deep into the flesh of caribou, making them unfit as food, remain as nightmares for me. Speaking of which, doesn't the pipeline run through some caribou calving grounds? :(
Love your photo of mother moose with baby!
PS - How hard is it getting internet service up there? Are you on satellite connections or wired? Just curious.
ReplyDeleteRe: your last picture at first I was just like: Well, Ice is a little high up there. Then, I laughed because ice in Alaska.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking which, that glacier is amazing. And I keep thinking, seeing the pictures you're taking, particularly of ice, that wow it's a big deal to get to see that. That ice is going fast and it isn't going to freeze itself back.
Mostly, though, I am intrigued about the 100 year-old sourdough starter. I picture it in a mason jar. It should have a little shrine behind the front desk with Christmas lights and it should never be closed.