Hatcher Pass

Last weekend we drove up to Hatcher Pass and rented a little cabin. It came complete with a fridge stocked with everything we would want for breakfast.View from the pass of the Mat-Su Valley below. Anchorage is about an hour to the “right” in the valley.The ground is so thick and soft you just want to lay in  it all day (but it’s a bit too wet).The fireweed is still blooming. This is dwarf fireweed. The Little Su (Susitna) RiverIndependence Mine closed in the early 40s but the (now historic) remnants are still there. And so are the remnants and tailings from many smaller mines. In the background is the Matanuska Glacier in the clouds.Mike in front of one of the mine’s bunk houses. Wild blueberriesPicking blueberries And here is the reason for all that green!Abandoned vehicles are all over Alaska. This one made me think of Christopher McCandless.To top it all off we “had to” do some fishing in Willow Creek but only caught some old salmon way beyond their prime. It doesn’t get more classic Alaska than this!