Glennallen, AK to Ft. Richardson, AK

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Drove about 190 miles down the Glenn Hwy from Glennallen to Ft. Richardson. Started out in a light rain which eventually dropped to a drizzle and then stopped. We saw Tazlina Glacier, then Tonsina Glacier, then Matanuka Clacier. The first two were a long way off, but the Matanuska came down to within about a half mile of the road. We drove down to a tour outfit near the glacier (REALLY rough, steep narrow road and a rickety bridge) to see how much a short our out to the glacier would be - - $20/person. We thanked them and went on our way. Didn't see any critters along the way - - had to wait until we went to the PX/Commissary at Elmendorf where we saw a cow moose and her calf across the street from the PX parking lot. How the place has changed !!!! The glenn highway is now 4 and 6 lanes between Palmer and Anchorage. The old main gate to Ft. Richardson is now an exit gate only. Our old house at 428 Beluga is gone and there are new houses there. There are a bunch of new houses along the Arctic Valley Rd (Former main gate). They have consolidated the Elmendorf & Ft Rich PXs and Commissary into a single "Military Mall". It was really very nice. We managed to get both vehicles on post, get temporary ID cards for Kerry & Charlie and stayed at the Army Travel Camp. The first several hours were really noisy because we were right under the approach pattern for the main runway at Elmendorf - - Several C-17s and a 707 AWACS aircraft were doing touch and goes. After dinner, we took Kerry's van and drove downtown. Talk about change!! - - Lots of new buildings, newly paved streets, more planes at Merrill Field, etc,etc,etc. A look up at the foothills SE of Anchorage and one can see that they are covered with houses - - there were none up there when we lived there 36 years ago!!!!

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