On the Road Again

   Jan and I and our daughter Autumn had planned on going on a road trip up to Fairbanks last weekend, but as things would go, it snowed on Friday. It was the second time it snowed in a week, which was a surprise to me, and I suppose to a lot of other folks. It's my understanding that it usually doesn't snow this early here. Go figure. In any event, we cancelled the trip to Fairbanks, which really disappointed me. However on Sunday, Autumn suggested that we take a shorter road trip to Glennallen, still about 175 miles away. We left late Monday morning and it was obvious that there had been two snow storms by the amount of the white stuff covering the surrounding mountains. Fortunately the roads were clear and most of the snow was confined to the mountains and the high passes the road goes through. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and you couldn't have ordered a more perfect day for traveling. I always like to see new things, and it's even better when traveling by car where you can stop when you want to. An added bonus was that there wasn't much traffic. Most of the people were working I assume. Of course pictures, as great as they are, can't do justice to the magnificence of the scenery we passed through. As you can see from the trees, fall is fully here in South Central Alaska. I really enjoy the fall colors, I just don't enjoy the winter that follows, but it goes with the territory I guess. We passed through two little towns on our trip and at one, either Sutton or Chickaloon, a small restaurant had displayed about twenty five or more tractors out front, as well as some other machinery and I assume some ore cars. Like a jerk I just hopped out and took some pictures without even going inside to give the poor folks some business. Next time I pass through that way I'll make a point of going in and ordering at least a cup of coffee or something. Last of the big spenders, that's me. There really wasn't much to look at in Glennallen. On the road in there was a hardware store, some lodges and cabins, a small grocery store/ gas station and some sundry other businesses. Autumn suggested we stop at the gas station that is at the crossroads of the Glenn and Richardson Highways. You can go north to Fairbanks or south to Valdez, where the famous oil spill was. The Copper River is down that way. Every year they make a big deal about Copper River King Salmon. Supposedly they are superior some how. I doubt that they taste any better than any other king salmon, it's just that they are available sooner, and the marketing for them has paid off. We spent about thirty minutes in Glennallen. Twenty minutes at the gas station waiting for the bathroom. There was only one, the second one was out of order, so there was a line of uncomfortable people waiting. It's one of those situations where being a gentleman and letting someone else in before you doesn't apply. When you have to pee, it's every man for himself. Or woman for that matter. I doubt that I'll be making any more road trips before spring, but this one was memorable in any event.