This was our last day in Alaska, and the weather was gloomy and windy in the morning. It probably reflected our mood!

Our plan was to spend the morning in Seaward visiting the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, home to a large variety of species including whales, seabirds, Stellar sea lions and sea otters, and then drive back to Anchorage, return our rental and take a late evening flight, back home to Los Angeles.

Our 7 year old had a great time at the Wildlife Refuge and we were able to see a lot of the birds and mammals up close. By the time we headed out and were ready to start our drive back to Anchorage, the weather had gotten worse, and it had started to rain. While, we were very fortunate and thankful, to have had mostly beautiful weather for the past 7 days, we were also a little upset that we would miss seeing most of the sights on the Seward highway. This highway extends 125 miles from Seward to Anchorage and runs through the scenic Kenai Peninsula, Chugach National Forest, Turnagain Arm, and Kenai Mountains. Some of the highlights worth stopping at are:

• Views of Kenai Lake – There are several sections along the highway that offers splendid views of the beautiful Kenai Lake. The lake was formed from glacier water is a majestic blue and green tone and provides great photo opportunities on a clear day. Unfortunately for us, all we saw was gray!
• Portage Glacier – Getting here requires a drive to Whittier, through the one-lane, 2.5-mile, Anton-Anderson Tunnel. After going through the tunnel, drive ¼ mile and take the first right past the railroad tracks to a gravel road marked “Forest Access,” and park at the end of the road. A short (1 mile) but steep (750 feet in elevation) hike gets you an amazing view of the portage glacier. Those of you with time to spare, can consider taking the trail for another three miles to get to Portage Lake, which provides an even better vantage point to view the glacier.

Considering the weather, we did not end up doing this and reached Anchorage with plenty of time to spare. After enjoying our last Alaskan ale of the trip, we bid adieu to the largest state in the US (yes, it is more than 230,000 sq miles larger than Texan and California combined!). We have some great memories of this trip and I am sure we will be back here again someday!

Getting from Copper Center to Seaward involves being briefly on the Richardson highway (going north for about 22 miles) and then taking the Glenn Highway at Glennallen and driving through the outskirts of Anchorage to reach Seaward. Every road in Alaska is scenic, and the Glenn Highway is no different.  Driving westwards on this highway, expect to be up close to a glacier (yes another one!), see Dahl sheep, several creeks and waterfalls and if you go a few miles away from the highway, you can also visit a nature center.

Our first stop was at the Eureka Summit (mile 129.5) – This is one of Alaska’s premier recreation meccas. This summit receives several feet of snow each winter, and rugged trails open access to the terrain during summer. Eureka Summit is also the highest point along the Glenn Highway. While we did not have time to do any of the activities, we did see a bunch of RVs and trucks pulling trailers with ATVs.

Further along the highway at mile 102 is the Matanuska Glacier. Follow the directions to go into the Glacier park, and after paying a small fee, you can hike for 15-20 minutes to get to the edge of the glacier. I would recommend doing this, especially if you have not done a glacier hike already. Where else in the world will you find an accessible glacier almost next to a highway! About a mile down the road is also a scenic turnout if you just want to view the glacier from the road. Also, a little further down the road, the Matanuska State Park is the best place for a free view of the Matanuska Glacier. This place offers plenty of parking, public restrooms, and excellent glacier views and photo opportunities.

Also, along the way is the Jackass Creek – this is worth a quick 5 minute stop, in order to take a photo beside this classic sign. It will make for great story telling when you sit down to share your trip details with friends and family! A local theory on the creek name is that the crusty, old sourdough who lived down near the creek used mules for guiding hunts. These mules purportedly escaped a lot, so the asses were always by the creek. Who knows? ? For the next three miles, you will also have a chance to see Dall Sheep. Look straight up to the cliffs above on the left. These animals, as well as mountain goats, are protected from hunting in this area, part of the Sheep Mountain Game Protection Area. Dall sheep hang out on these cliffs to avoid predators.

Our final stop along the Glenn Highway was to visit the Eagle River Nature Center. This is about 12 miles from the highway along the Eagle River road, and we spent about 2 .5 hours (inclusive of the drive time) here. The Eagle River Nature Center is one of several gateways to Alaska’s largest state park, Chugach and here you’ll find many views of the glacially carved mountains and have opportunities to spot wildlife. My 7-year-old and I enjoyed a short loop trail, that was lined with many varieties of flora and led to wooden viewing decks, from where we caught glimpses of beavers and salmons. The Nature Center also has a cute gift shop and an ice cream parlor.

It was already late afternoon by the time we were done, and the weather abruptly changed from being nice and sunny to dark and gloomy. Luckily, we were done visiting all the places we wanted to on the Glenn Highway, and since we were still about 150 miles from our next stop (Seward), we got into our car and hit the road.

The Richardson Highway runs for a total of 368 miles and connects Fairbanks to Valdez. For our trip we did the about 290 miles of this highway starting from Fairbanks, and were amazed by the incredible views of glaciers, towering mountain ranges and lakes spreading over hundreds of miles. In fact, there are two 100-mile sections on this highway that have been designated as State Scenic Byways. The Richardson Highway also happens to be the first major road built in Alaska.

We started early in the morning from Fairbanks and crossed several small towns (the most notable being North Pole – about 20 miles south of Fairbanks). You got to stop here to take a quick pic! Luckily, there is a sign just next to the road 😀

Heading further south one of the first stop was at Black Rapids Glacier (mile 225.4). Try and find the sign describing the advance of Black Rapids Glacier. During the winter of 1936, this mile-wide, 300-foot-high glacier moved at an average of 115 feet a day over 4 miles, to within a half-mile of the highway! It was dubbed the Galloping Glacier and has been receding ever since.

Less than 10 miles south of here, one can view the Trans-Alaska Pipeline in a zigzag pattern at the Denali Fault/Pipeline View (mi 216). Even further along, the pipeline can be viewed from several sections along the road and we stopped a couple of times to see it up close and snap some really cool pics. At mile 209.1 is the Rainbow Ridge Scenic View – This 6,000 foot high ridge was named for its varicolored talus slopes. The highest point is Rainbow Mountain at 6,700 feet. The reds and greens are volcanic rock and the yellows and pastels are siltstone. Richardson Monument (mi 200.4) is a must stop. There is a signboard mentioning how the highway was named after the former Alaska road commission director, Captain Wilds P. Richardson. Also visible from here are cool views of a glacier. Just down the road from here are the Summit Lake and Paxson Lake, that offer some great photo ops.

It was also while driving along this route, that we saw a black bear cross the road about 50 feet ahead of us. Where else but in Alaska will you have a bear cross a state highway!!

Just outside Glen Allen, you’ll find some great views of the Copper River and the Wrangell Mountains, as well as the opportunity for some great pics. Mt. Drum will be visible straight in front, with Mt. Sanford on the left side, and Mt. Wrangell on the right. Cloud cover is the only way you’ll miss this dramatic scene. And these mountains are definitely dramatic! The western face of Mt. Drum rises 9,000 feet in less than 10 miles, while the southern face of Mt. Sanford rises 8,000 feet in just 1 mile. Sure, lots of mountains in, say, Colorado top out at 14,000 feet, but they may start at 9,000 feet. These mountains emerge from a valley floor with an elevation of just 1,000 feet, so the mountain itself is much bigger; Mt. Wrangell is estimated to contain seven times the volume of Mt. Rainier!

We were fortunate to have perfect weather this day, and it produced some really nice photos. Out last stop for the day was the Princess Wilderness Lodge in Copper Center. The amazing mountain views from here makes this property special. This was the perfect place to spend a couple of nights and soak in America’s largest national park – Wrangell-St. Elias.