As I proceeded down the Old Glenn toward the Reindeer Farm, after leaving the Musk Ox Farm, I noticed another scenic pull-off just over the Matanuska River Bridge. I would come back to this location after I was done with the farm. The bridge turnoff is a popular location for four-wheelers and campers.

It offers spectacular views of the Marcus Baker Glacier and the Butte.

The ever-changing low cloud formations and how they played with the light on the mountains continued to fascinate and amaze me. Here, I saw my first fireweed up close and personal. Fireweed heralds Alaska’s seasons. Summer begins when the blossoms at the base of the plant go into bloom. When the blossoms reach the top of the stalk and start to fall off, it means summer is drawing to a close. When all the blossoms are gone and the plant is covered in cotton, it means winter is coming. Two days later, the fireweed in Willow, Palmer, and Wasilla had gone to cotton. The fireweed was cotton in Anchorage on August 25. On September 23 – a month and a day after I was here – Wasilla had its first snow.

My next stop would be the Wasilla Museum of Transportation and Industry.

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