On the road, at last

We were up and packing again before dawn.  It took 4 more hours to finish, but finally, at 10:30, we were on the road.

Lately, most of our days have been overcast and drizzly, but today it was all blue skies, white clouds, and sunshine.  Most auspicious.

About an hour out of town, the highway begins to follow the Matanuska River through the narrow winding valley that separates the Chugach from the Talkeetna Mountains.  Much to our delight, the autumn foliage there is at its peak.

Roadside view of Matanuska River valley

The autumn color of Alaskan forests, as is the case with most of the western forests I've seen, is yellow, and I confess I've always found them lacking, having spent my first 11 autumns surrounded by the reds and oranges of New England, but today I was truly wowed. The leaves seen against the bright blue sky looked like gold set on fire.

We hoped to get much farther, but due to our late start, we have only made it as far as Glennallen.  We are at an RV park that has only 10 sites and is not full.  We have water, electric, and sewer hook up but absolutely nothing else. Luckily, we have not been at this long enough to even know what's missing.

Day 1
Anchorage, Alaska - Glennallen, Alaska

Daily Mileage:  185

Total Mileage:  185