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Jerry Pillarelli | profile | all galleries >> Travel and Nature; Sites by State >> US Travel; by Trip, by State >> Alaska National Parks Trip - Summer 2015 >> Driving Tour – Alaska >> Driving Valdez to Anchorage – Alaska tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Driving Valdez to Anchorage – Alaska

Images of Valdez to Anchorage along the Richardson and Glenn Highways – Southern Alaska, taken in July 2015.

When I left Valdez it was on one of the most scenic roads in Alaska, the Richardson Highway. Almost immediately you find yourself in the Chugash Mountains, an area that receives between 600 and 900 inches of fresh snow each year! After driving through Keystone Canyon you make your way up to Thompson Pass, an area surrounded by amazing mountains and glaciers. I visited Worthington Glacier and hiked to its terminus where I had the opportunity to explore a small ice cave and its deep blue ice.

I continued up the Richardson Highway and then traveled east to Chitina, a small town outside of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, where I was staying for one evening before flying into the park the next day. Chitina was a boom town in the early 1900’s when copper ore was mined in the area.

Days later, after coming out of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, I again drove north on the Richardson Highway catching spectacular views of three of the park’s largest mountains, Mt. Drum, Mt. Wrangell and Mt. Blackburn. I then made my way toward Anchorage on the Glenn Highway passing through the Matanuska Valley, an incredible area with beautiful mountains, rivers and glaciers around every turn. Back in Anchorage it was time to turn in the rental car and once again take to the air.
Entering Keystone Canyon on the Richardson Highway
Entering Keystone Canyon on the Richardson Highway 		Horsetail Falls in Keystone Canyon on the Richardson Highway
Horsetail Falls in Keystone Canyon on the Richardson Highway		 Bridal Veil Falls in Keystone Canyon on the Richardson Highway
Bridal Veil Falls in Keystone Canyon on the Richardson Highway		 Close-up of Bridal Veil Falls in Keystone Canyon on the Richardson Highway
Close-up of Bridal Veil Falls in Keystone Canyon on the Richardson Highway		 Mountain in the clouds along the Richardson Highway
Mountain in the clouds along the Richardson Highway
Mountain ridge along the Richardson Highway
Mountain ridge along the Richardson Highway		 Jagged mountain ridge along the Richardson Highway
Jagged mountain ridge along the Richardson Highway		 Mountains along the Richardson Highway
Mountains along the Richardson Highway		 Thompson Pass on the Richardson Highway
Thompson Pass on the Richardson Highway		 Thompson Pass on the Richardson Highway
Thompson Pass on the Richardson Highway
Glaciers near Thompson Pass along the Richardson Highway
Glaciers near Thompson Pass along the Richardson Highway		 A Glacier near Thompson Pass along the Richardson Highway
A Glacier near Thompson Pass along the Richardson Highway		 Glaciers near Thompson Pass along the Richardson Highway
Glaciers near Thompson Pass along the Richardson Highway		 Worthington Glacier along the Richardson Highway
Worthington Glacier along the Richardson Highway 		Worthington Glacier along the Richardson Highway
Worthington Glacier along the Richardson Highway
Runoff coming from an ice cave in Worthington Glacier along the Richardson Highway
Runoff coming from an ice cave in Worthington Glacier along the Richardson Highway		 An ice cave in Worthington Glacier along the Richardson Highway
An ice cave in Worthington Glacier along the Richardson Highway		 Inside an ice cave in Worthington Glacier along the Richardson Highway
Inside an ice cave in Worthington Glacier along the Richardson Highway		 Looking out from Worthington Glacier along the Richardson Highway
Looking out from Worthington Glacier along the Richardson Highway		 Worthington Glacier terminus along the Richardson Highway
Worthington Glacier terminus along the Richardson Highway
Worthington Glacier as seen from the Richardson Highway
Worthington Glacier as seen from the Richardson Highway		 The Chitina Emporium in Chitina near Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
The Chitina Emporium in Chitina near Wrangell-St. Elias National Park		 The Hotel Chitina along Main Street in Chitina outside of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
The Hotel Chitina along Main Street in Chitina outside of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park		 An old Model T on the side of the road in Chitina
An old Model T on the side of the road in Chitina 		Alaskan Transcontinental Pipeline makes its way over a hill along the Richardson Highway
Alaskan Transcontinental Pipeline makes its way over a hill along the Richardson Highway
Mt. Drum in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park as seen from the Richardson Highway
Mt. Drum in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park as seen from the Richardson Highway		 Mt. Wrangell in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park as seen from the Richardson Highway
Mt. Wrangell in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park as seen from the Richardson Highway		 Road construction worker along the Richardson Highway
Road construction worker along the Richardson Highway		 Mt. Blackburn in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park as seen from the Richardson Highway
Mt. Blackburn in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park as seen from the Richardson Highway		 View of glaciers from the Glenn Highway
View of glaciers from the Glenn Highway
Mountains in the Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway
Mountains in the Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway		 Mountains in the Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway
Mountains in the Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway		 Flowers along the Glenn Highway
Flowers along the Glenn Highway		 The Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway
The Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway		 Mountains in the Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway
Mountains in the Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway
The Matanuska Glacier in the Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway
The Matanuska Glacier in the Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway		 The Matanuska Glacier in the Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway
The Matanuska Glacier in the Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway		 Mountains in the Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway
Mountains in the Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway		 Mountains along the Matanuska River in the Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway
Mountains along the Matanuska River in the Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway		 Mountains in the Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway
Mountains in the Matanuska Valley along the Glenn Highway

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