in what amounted to nothing more than an abandoned campground. This is the one spot where I really worried about bears. And it was cold that night. And wet. Every time my knit hat would slip off of my head I would wake up to put it back on. It is also the night that I slept with my car keys in my hand and the jeep parked directly in front of the tent just in case we needed to make a quick escape. Thankfully, we didn't have any unwanted visitors during the night, we just woke up with frozen fingers and toes.
As I mentioned, that abandoned campground was run by a French Canadian couple. I don't know if the food was really as good as it smelled, but we were hungry and cold. The wood stove was crackling, and the kitchen had wonderful bakery smells emanating from it. There were fresh cinnamon buns along with several types of cookies in the glass display case. And fresh baked loaves of bread.....
It is also the only restaurant I have ever been to where there was only one restroom. The restroom had two stalls, one for ladies and one for men. I'm not sure why they even bothered to label the stalls.
Anyway, as Jake and I were eating our fresh crepes (full of ham, eggs and peppers) and fresh hot coffee, an older couple came in for breakfast. We started chatting and they said, "Oh yes, we saw a big grizzly just about 5 miles up the road". Words cannot express the relief I felt that we had made it through the night without incident and we were packed up and ready to go.
And so we went. It was about 400 miles to home and only about 50 miles to the border. It was much easier to get into the US then it was to get into Canada. Jake was very disappointed that we did not get any stamps on our passports. As soon as we crossed back into the states the quality of the road changed for the better. There was fresh pavement, and visibly lines on the road. And no more frost heave. At least not for the first 50 miles. Once again, the road was primarily straight, and easy drive in the rain.
I know there are mountains somewhere behind those clouds
And so we drove.
It was really an uneventful and slightly boring drive. But every so often, the sun would come out and I could glimpse some mountains in the distance. About 100 miles away from home the sun came out and those mountains came into full view.
This is the Matanuska Glacier. My understanding is you can drive pretty close to this one, and I think there are trails you can walk on out to it. For me, it was a delightful find. How cool is it to have this beautiful piece of nature so close to home?
Jake and I only enjoyed the view for a short time. At this point we were both antsy to get back home. Back into the car it was and much to my surprise, the easy drive turned back into a twisting turning maze of a mountain-hugging road. This was not what I expected or needed after all the driving I had done. Retrospectively, it was a short drive, but you know how you get when you are coming home after traveling? You just can't think of anything but getting home, and that's the zone that I was in mentally.
About 45 minutes after we passed the glacier, we stopped for gas one last time and finally turned onto a road where I could look around and say "hey - I know where I am". Another 45 minutes and we were pulling into our driveway. Unfortunately, I forgot to change our clock to Alaska time once we crossed the border. This was a problem because Steve was going to have pizza ready for dinner for us. He kept asking, "what time will you be home", and I said 7:30. Which was right if I was still in the Yukon, but I wasn't. That explains why I stepped into the house at 6:30 and surprised the heck out of Steve who had been waiting to make dinner.
It was a wonderful trip. I'd do it again. And if I do, I'll share the experience with you.
What do you think? Would you want to come with?
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