June 9, 2010

Touring Around Eagle River

Today Linda and Denny treated us to a day trip to a number of spots north and east of Eagle River.  This is part of the Matanuska (Mat-Su for short) Valley.  You’ve seen pictures of those huge cabbages?  They come from the Mat-Su Valley.  The area looks like farming areas in the California foothills.  Fields ringed by trees.  Saw our first horses since southern Canada.  All sorts of things are grown here.  Hay, row crops, even fruit trees.  There are a couple of farms you probably will not find elsewhere.  One is a Reindeer farm and the other is a Musk Ox farm. 

We plan to look closer at these on our way back through the area. 

Our tour took us from basically sea level to above tree line to see the remains of a very large mine with lots of outbuildings.   Another stop was in the small town of Eklutna to visit a Russian Orthodox church and cemetery.  This culture covered graves with spirit houses.  These were places for the spirit of the deceased to dwell before moving on.  The colors and designs of the houses all have familial significance.

 

 

    We took  short hike to Thunderbird Falls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chucach Mountain from along Thunderbird Falls trail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This evening we packed up the carbus in preparation for moving on.  Our travels will resume tomorrow.