2024 Palmer, Anchorage and Glacier View Alaska
June 22, 2024, to July 8, 2024
The highlight of our Palmer stay was our 2-hour helicopter adventure with 3 landings. Jeff insisted that I sit in the front seat which was like flying in a bubble with no obstructions. I could see the entire landscape unfolding right in front of me. The most impressive of the landings was the landing right on the glacier. In order to walk on the glacier without slipping, we had to put crampon ice cleats on the bottom of our shoes. We were able to walk around and explore. We brought empty water bottles and filled them with fresh and very cold glacial water! This was the best water I’ve ever had! During our flight we also saw a bear, which I wasn’t able to get a picture, and 2 moose. This was a once in a lifetime exciting experience!
During this time, we didn’t do a lot. We just took the time to slow down a bit and enjoy the elements that surrounded us. The campground in Palmer was perfectly situated to get a great view of a farm with a snowcapped mountain behind it.
We spent an afternoon at the Anchorage Museum where there was a great exhibit of items from the many Alaskan Indian tribes.
One evening we travelled south of Anchorage to observe the bore tide.
On our way back, we were lucky to spot a few Dall sheep resting pretty high up on the side of a cliff.
We stayed in Glacier View for the 4th of July. The plan was to witness car launching off a cliff just a couple of miles down the road from where we were staying. This event has become so popular and crowded; we decided not to stay. We did get a bumper sticker though! If you want to see what this is about, search for car launching Glacier View on YouTube.
Glacier View is appropriately named because Matanuska Glacier can be seen along the highway. It’s a beautiful area with snowcapped mountains, glaciers and wildlife. We found this moose just grazing along the side of the road. She didn’t seem to mind us too much as we snapped several pictures of her.
