Valdez - Matanuska - Anchorage

Back in Anchorage, just having returned our big RV car. We left, it should be noted, in almost the same condition as we got it in. No damages to the car, except a table and a curtain that had shook loose, which must be common.

Main street, Valdez

Valdez was not a very exciting town, although the trip there was very nice. While there, it was completely clouded in and it felt like it would start to pour down rain any second. It didnt, but we didnt see the sun at all during our stay there.

Sophies hooked... on a feeling?

Harbour, Valdez

Thinking that the weater in this area really was crap, we were suprised to know, that when we drove away from there, we drew through the clouds, and over the clouds that hung over Valdez, it was a beautiful, sunny, cloud free day. Must've been only Valdez that was clouded in, due to the fact that it was located near waterlevel, surrounded by big mountains. The drive away from there was at times so steep that Sophie really had to push the pedal to the... uhmm... metal...

Drive from Valdez to Matanuska

We drove all the way to the Matanuska glacier, where we were briefly considered taking a guided tour. We decided against it since we had learned that you could access that glacier by car. So, we drove up to the road and started driving down. It was a steep steep gravel road, but we stopped once we got to a tree bridge, and decided we didnt want to drive any further.

So, we turned the motorhome around (which was no small feat), and drove all the way up again. Due to the fact that the motorhome is heavy, and we were on a steep gravel road, we could really not afford to slow down, so Sophie just honked the horn, prayed to the Holy Mother Milk Bone, turned the corners and hoped for the best. After we had come up, we decided to hike down, which took us about 20 minutes to reach the entrance to the road that would take us to the glacier.

Fungerar den har jordskarningen aven i Sverige? ;)

After having conferred with them briefly we decided on taking the car anyway, since they said it would take 2 hours to walk to the glacier. Of course, we should have known better, because few people here are really capable of measuring time when walking since they never ever walk anywhere. However, we did hike up the steep hill, just to get the RV and drive down again. This time we made it across the tree bridge, and entered the glacier road.

Sophie on top of Matanuska Glacier

It took us approximately 10 minutes to drive (which wouldve been a 30 minute walk... we were driving sloooooow), but in the end it was worth it. We got really close to the glacier, and it was really huge. Leaving the park, we found an abandonded Gift Store that we parked in front of, with views over the valleys and the mountains, and of course, over the glacier, and we spent the night there.

Our most scenic overnight stay yet. Drinking coffee, overlooking the glacier.

The abandoned Gift Store near Matanuska

Early next morning, we got up and headed back for Anchorage, with some stops on the way. One such stop was the Musk Oxen farm, close to Palmer. The musk oxen do not produce a musk (0dor), and are not oxen at all. In fact, even though they look like cows, they are more closely related to mountain goats. Once you get up close, you can see how that works actually. They are also very cute btw :)

Two Musk Oxen

We also stopped in Alaska Native Heritage Center, which cost 50 dollars for two people, and really was a waste of money. It said it would take half a day walking around the museum, but again... nobody can measure anything here when it comes to walking. We were thoroughly done after 1.5 hours. And that includes Sophie spending half an hour in the gift store really trying hard to find something to buy.


Once back in Anchorage, our hostel manager for the next night let us park the RV in his parking lot, and let us sleep there. Then, we washed our clothes, and went to walmart and bought a couple of movies (Be Kind Rewind, Requiem for a dream) that we watched. And then we just fell asleep.


Today is "do nothing day". Tomorrow we will pick up a tiny tiny car that will take us to Seward and Homer for 6 days.


But more on that later :)