As I traveled up the East Palmer-Wasilla Highway, I had come full circle…this road took me to and through Hatcher Pass and back out through Willow and back down the Parks into Wasilla, and now back toward Palmer. As I looked to the left, Hatcher Pass was under a major downpour. Yet, toward the right looking into Palmer, it was broken clouds with sun shining through.
To the left and up a hill was Schwabenhof – an octagonal log cabin German pub / restaurant. The curved driveway tracks the hill upon which the establishment sits about 50 to 75 feet above the road. I did not go inside, but this was a good venue to snap shots. I did not think to do an iPhone pano and from the right location on the hill, I could have swung through at least 180 degrees if not more. From here, you can see Hatcher Pass; Palmer and the Knik Glacier, which you also see from the Bodenburg Butte; and back into downtown Wasilla. This was yet another vantage point from which I could observe just how localized and unpredictable the weather patterns are.
This album shows the photos both in their original state as they came straight out of the camera and with auto-leveling and noise reduction done to bring out more detail.
