The Glorious Glenn and Richardson Highway 安克拉治到Valdez

六月初從安克拉治到Valdez, 先上 Glenn Highway 到Glennallen, 從那裡轉 Richardson Highway 南下到 Valdez. 這兩段路都很美，看不完的冰河和雪山。 人車都少，一路愉快，邊走邊看，半天的路程開了快一天。聽說五月才下了幾場大雪，算我們幸運，白雪藍天，比盛夏來要美得多。靠近Valdez 一帶降雪特多，車爬到最高點時，四周的山還滿是雪，只能用嘆為觀止形容。

To say the road from Anchorage to Valdez is beautiful is really an understatement, if the weather cooperated.

In our case, it did a splendid job. The Glenn Highway from Anchorage to Glennallen had snow capped mountains along the way with little traffic. So often we sighed and wowed.   Go south on Richardson Highway and feels like having the most beautiful road all to ourselves. That reminded me of Iceland, vast space with no people.  Before taking this Alaska trip, I thought of going back to Iceland, for the landscape, and the puffins.  After Richardson Highway, Prince William Sound, and the Kenai Fjord cruise, both reasons no more existed.

Thompson Pass marked the high note of the road, by this time we were getting close to Valdez.

I have to say we were lucky with the timing. Early June, with heavy snow in May, Richardson Highway hasn't had a chance to melt yet.  I believe it would be less drastic after the snow melt.

Matanuska Glacier

Matanuska Glacier

The moose just got out of the edge of a lake 北美大麋鹿在水邊覓食

The Drum Mountain of Wrangle-St Elias NP

Approaching Thomson Pass

Thompson Pass 是到Valdez 以前的最高點，在這裡看見路邊一連串”路燈“（圖左下角）， 在Glenn Highway 的最高點也看到同樣的東西。仔細看又沒有燈。猜想是山上雪多，拿來量雪有多高的尺吧。到了Seward 的B&B, 同住的客人是以前在此工作的人，正好問他。結果是一種標記，當大雪覆蓋時，什麼都看不到，根本不知道路在那裡。那標記是為了讓鏟雪車能走在路上，不要偏離了而破壞路邊的設施。今天又學了一樣新東西。

At the top of Thompson Pass. We first thought the iron bars at the lower left were street lights. Turned out they are the marker for the snow blower not to drive out of boundary and damage the shoulder.