Driving the Richardson HIghway to back to Wasilla

Trip Start Sep 05, 2008
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Trip End Sep 16, 2008


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Flag of United States  , Alaska,
Thursday, September 11, 2008

Today we were back on the road, leaving Paxson behind and heading to Wasilla. Luckily, we also got to leave the rain behind, if just for a little while. We cruised the empty road south to Glennallen, and then turned west. This road was probably the most beautiful drive I have ever seen. The vast expanses of empty taiga give way to the huge mountains surrounding Prince William Sound. As you approach the mountains, you catch glimpses of huge glaciers flowing between the peaks. We stopped at a little state park at the Matanuska Glacier for a picnic. What a picnic! The view of the glacier was awesome, and we took a little hike around the nature trail. While staring at the blue ice of the glacier framed by the golden aspens, I couldn't help but think about my friends back in Houston, having to be at work right at the moment. Sucks to be them.

We continued down the road, with the scenery becoming more and more dramatic as we followed the valley towards Wasilla. We had to stop for some road construction, but we didn't mind since it gave us more time to look around. We eventually made it to Wasilla, and went to check into our cabin, but it wasn't ready yet. To pass the time we decided to drive up to the Independence Mine to check it out. The mine is located in a state park in the mountains above Wasilla. Unfortunately for us, the rain had returned but it did not stop us. When we got to the top, we found that the park had closed for the year, but a sign said we were welcome to park at the gate and walk in.

The mine was operated mainly during the 30's and 40's, and you can walk around and check out all the old mining buildings and equipment. Since the park was closed, we had the whole place to ourselves. The gray, misty weather and the lack of people really made for a neat ambiance while exploring the mining camp. It really felt old and abandoned; almost haunted. Rick really enjoyed it since he likes all things historical. We stayed as long as we could, but we were soaked to the bone, so we drove back to Wasilla to grab a bite to eat and check into our cabin.

Our cabin was part of The Gate House Bed and Breakfast run my a nice lady named ? It was on her property which was right on Lake Wasilla. It had a gorgeous view of the lake and was nice a cozy. We cranked up the heater and settled in for the night. We actually had TV, but only got one very fuzzy channel. We had cell phone reception too, so I called my parents to let them know we were doing well. That is when we found out about Ike. Since we had been out in the boondocks, with no TV, radio or phone, we had no idea a very large hurricane was about to hit Houston. We found out the night before it hit, so we could still contact our family in Houston to get some news. Luckily Rick's family secured our house while we were gone. So with the knowledge of a storm possibly tearing apart our house while we were thousands of miles away, we went to bed.
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