Alaska – Near Eklutna

Rose’s cousin, Dawn, showed us around the area between Wasilla, where she lives, and Anchorage, near Eklutna.  We visited three areas for some scenic hikes.

Before I get to the hikes, I have to show you the views from the highways.  These mountains surround you while driving through the area.  The snow was fresh from only a couple days before.  I asked Dawn if after driving around here for years if she takes the view for granted.  I was glad go hear that her answer was “Never”.  By the way, I was a passenger for these photos.

First stop was Thunderbird Falls.  You follow a 1-mile long easy trail along a deep gorge to the falls.  You can see from the photos below the area is heavily wooded, so photos of the gorge were not possible.

On the drive to our next hike I spotted Sasquatch in the woods.  I was in a moving car and he was moving fast, so not the best photo.

OK, it might have only been a cut-out of Sasquatch, but he could have really been there.

We drove to Eklutna Lake, the water source for Anchorage.  It is a glacier-fed lake.  We couldn’t see the glacier from where we were, but enjoyed the views.

Our last stop was at Reflections Lake.  This lake is pretty well protected from winds, so can offer some very nice reflections.

There is an observation tower that offers great views of the surrounding mountains.

Thank you, Dawn, for sharing some of the wonderful scenic areas around your home.

Well, this was our last full day in Alaska.  The next day we did stop at the Alaska Native Heritage Center just outside Anchorage on our way back to the airport.  We highly recommend this stop, but I didn’t get any photos due to the weather, the only day of our trip we didn’t have any sunshine.  It was a truly amazing trip.  We saw so many wonderful things, and yet, we know we only scratched the surface of what Alaska has to offer.

Mark