A truck's engine woke me up. It was 38F out and my ears were cold. Time to move on! Nothing was open in Tok, despite the many stores dedicated to the border crosser. My destination was getting to Nina's place in Knik, 290 miles away.
The initial drive from Tok going southwest was rather nondescript as Alaska 1 travels through hilly pine forests. Lots of unmarked ATV trails headed into these forests. Old campers and cabins dotted the treelines. This is also known as the Glenn Highway. I drove all the way to Alaska to see pines? I asked myself, but then the landscape broke out into canyons and rivers. Oh my. It was hard to pay attention to the shoulderless road. Mother moose and their babies sauntered right out of the forest line into the highway.
The two big landscapes here were the Caribou Creek and the Matanuska glacier. I stopped at the Caribou creek recreation area to walk the dogs. This trail, wide enough for an ATV, was heavily grooved the first half mile, but then the grooves disappeared. I was so anxious to get out and hike that I didn't even take my bear spray with me, so I had to be extra vigilant. The dogs didn't seem to smell anything intimidating and walked ahead of me as the trail descended to the wide creek bottom. It was still very wet from snowmelt and recent rains and here I was still in my sockless Keens. We went down to the creek and returned the way back to the van to resume our drive toward Knik.
Now the road was no longer boring as it ascended and descended and meandered around private property. The distant mountains came into view. The drive once again became motivating. At one point it had warmed up to 56F and the sun made a brief appearance.
Another worthwhile stop along the road is the Matanuska glacier. Its mouth is visible from the highway and it winds down the river bed. It's an impressive view for a first-timer and I would have been interested in stopping there to explore it more, but I wanted to get closer to Anchorage and call Nina for plans.
I passed the town of Sutton with its historic park up front, rusty displays of mining equipment and its explanations. I stopped here again to try getting wifi from the library next door, but that required a patron account. Middle school kids from the community school were helping to plant a community garden in the backyard. I spoke to the teacher-supervisor, Carol, who proudly explained the purpose of the community garden. The vegetables planted would then be used in cooking classes for the kids and given back to the townspeople. What a great concept! Carol also suggested the just-opened washeria in town that offers $6 showers. I took advantage of that. I did not want to drive up to Nina's place smelling like three-day-old damp clothes and body odor.
From Sutton on going southwest the population increased. These were nice homes nestled among the pines and not the abandoned schoolbus/campers I had seen earlier. I stopped at the first major incorporated area, Palmer, to gas up ($2.75) and grab a bite at McD's as I hadn't eaten earlier and wanted to call Nina. My Tracphone, I discovered, does not work in Alaska as ATT/Verizon use different SIMs cards as the lower 48, but I was able to message Nina for plans. She was home in the garden and invited me to her place.
Knik is 38 miles southeast from Palmer along either the Glenn Highway or Palmer-Wasilla Highway.
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