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| Hatcher Pass in July Lori Roth, Photographer |
What do you do in Anchorage when it is a beautiful day and you want to go for a ride/
You can ask people on the street and many will say go to Hatcher Pass. What a wonderful place. It is a beautiful 60 minute drive from Anchorage. Once there, stop and admire the blue of the water as it passes the road. As you drive up the pass, you have no choice but to get out of your car and admire the views and the vastness mother nature has perfected. If you are lucky, you can go around a turn and see para-gliders jumping form the cliffs.
And for a bit of gold mining history, visit Independence Mine State Historical Park. What a treat! It is well worth the trip. I couldn’t help myself but to take a picture of two men taking a picture of the horizon. Boy do they look small. And upon returning home, I had to check Wikipedia’s entry about Hatcher Pass to know more of its story. What a diverse geography – and what an amazing number of sports take place there. Skiing and other winter sports abound, but the summer paragliding is the most amazing to watch in the season of long days and warm temperatures.
If you come back through Palmer, try Turkey Red for lunch or dinner. You will encounter another part of history. Turkey Red is a hard winter wheat that was grown in the 1800’s brought to the Matanuska Susitna valley by earlier settlers. Used for breads, the Turkey Red connection is a clue to some of the great choices on the menu. Look for locally grown foods, as these are featured daily. Then head for your Bed & Breakfast to share stories of the glorious day at Hatcher Pass!