July 18 - after breakfast we hit the road. destination was the Reindeer farm in Palmer.  we headed south on the bikes and becasue the exit we needed was closed we had to take an alternate route. it was the Old Glenn Highway, and it turned out to be a real good motorcycle ride.  Old road with twists and turns following the Matanuska river.  on the way we spotted two baby moose by the side of the road. I turned around to circle back to get their photo but as we approached them they ran into the woods.

we continued to the reindeer farm. met up with tony and ginny, who didnt stop, and waited for the tour to start. we learned that the main difference between reindeer and caribou, is that reindeer are domesticated caribou.

the tour began with a feeding frenzy.  about 50 reindeer all came running when they saw the tour.  each of us had a cup full of food to give them and they knew it.   in a separate pen was a new born and her mother. the newborn was one week old.  they all grow antlers, the males however grow much larger ones than the females.

after the food was gone we proceeded to see the buffalo, and then the elk.  both impressive for their size. a few more photos and we off.

our next excursion took us back toward the Old Glenn Highway looking for the Eklutna Road to Eklutna Lake.  it is a highly rated motorcycle ride.   we climbed the mountain up the winding road. at the end we stopped and walked down to the Eklutna lake, a large alpine lake high in the mountains.

on the way down we down we stopped for ice cream at Rochelle's Ice Cream.  then continued down. on the old glenn highway back to the hotel we ran into a traffic jam.  a long line of cars ahead of us stopped.  slowly we began to move and eventually saw the problem. an ambulance, a dead moose in the middle of the road, and several cars off the side of the road.  it wasnt a pretty sight.

temps today were in the 80's.

we finished off the night with dinner at Evangelo's, and italian and greek place.  a real restaurant. not the typical restaurants we've encountered in Alaska.

tomorow is the  last day the girls will be here. they leave tomorrow night.  after they go it is supposed to rain for a week.

sarah palins road entrance

rare artic wolf running by the lake