If you have a day in Anchorage with nothing to do, rent a car, get an early start, and drive north on the Glenn Highway through the Matanuska Valley to the turnoff for Matanuska Glacier (about two hours from Anchorage). It’s a dirt road that descends into the valley, crosses the Matanuska River and ends up at the terminus of the glacier itself. You can hike out across the moraine and onto the glacier, something nobody you know has probably ever done.
Prior to the turnoff, there is a paved overlook just off the highway that offers spectacular views of the glacier and the valley in which it sits. One the way back from the glacier (don’t spend too much time there), take the paved turnoff just north of Palmer on the right that takes you to Hatcher Passand the now-defunct Independence Gold Mine Historic Site. You’ll follow the Little Susitna River up a long valley, then climb the mountain on a paved road up to the mine site. There is also a chalet up there that serves a decent lunch. It’s one of my favorite places to visit. Make sure you talk to the owner, who has had this business since the 60s and knows a lot about the area.
This side trip will take you all day, so start early.
OK, folks, thanks for all of the tips. They all were very useful (even the ones that it might appear that we ignored - we didn’t).
We’ve just gotten booked on a Holland America cruisetour that starts in Anchorage, spends ten days wandering around the inland (train to Denali, another day in Denali, train to Fairbanks, bus (sorry, “motor coach”) to Tok, river cruise to Dawson City, another day in Dawson City, bus to Whitehorse, train to lake Bennett and Skagway) then four days on a cruise to Vancouver (via Glacier Bay and Ketchikan). We’ll figure out the excursions later.
You will, no doubt. I’m not sure how they plan to put you on a river cruise from Tok to Dawson City, though. Maybe they’ll bus you toEagle, where the Yukon River meets the road system. It’s an interesting drive (passing through the small village of Chicken, so named because nobody in the original settlement could spell ptarmigan), if the Taylor Highway isn’t washed out. Overnighting in Tok is no thrill, trust me on that. My wife was bitten by what I can only assume were bedbugs there. You might want to carry something with you to eat, as the food at Fast Eddies is not exactly haute cuisine. The trains will be very scenic, especially the one to Lake Bennett and Skagway.
Excellent point. Reading the catalog a bit more thoroughly reveals that from Tok they’re taking us down the Taylor Highway to something called the Yukon Charles Rivers National Reserve Visitors Center, and up the yukon River from there.
It’s the Yukon-Charley Rivers, actually. If you’re going up the Taylor Highway, then you’re going to Eagle. As I said, it’s an interesting drive, especially in the rain. Dirt road, lots of potholes, washboard, etc. The road to Eagle is a spur off of the Taylor. If you were to continue on the Taylor, you would reach the Poker Creek Border Station and connect to the Top of the World Highway on the Canada side. That takes you over the mountains and down to the Yukon River ferry crossing to Dawson.