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Day 78: Departing the last frontier in style
Location: 30 miles west of the Alaska/Canada border
Miles Driven: 346
Total Miles: 18,311
Around 2PM or so I was packed, the car was tidied up, and I was stocked up on some pb&js. Definitely was tough to say goodbye to Vegas, as we had become pretty good friends in just a short period. We got one last walk in around the neighborhood, and I got to tussle his furry head a bit before heading out the door.
The going was a bit slow getting out of the Palmer city limits, as there were some pull-offs to take in some of the nice views, and there was a Musk Ox farm on the way. Unfortunately, the cost to see the musk oxen up close was $8, and the animals didn’t appeal enough to me to pay $8. Also, I had felt some nausea and ready to puke (I suspect something was up with the grapes I had purchased the previous day). But an hour napping off by a river helped alleviate that a bit.
I had mentioned the views, and you didn’t have to drive far out of Palmer to be astounded.
The goal was to make it to the Canada/Alaska border (or close to it) before I was done driving for the day. Eventually the route would take me to the Alaskan city of Tok, a place I passed through on the drive to Fairbanks. From there, I’d take the Alaska Highway, just going the opposite way I originally came.
I passed the famous Matanuska Glacier on the way towards Tok.
After a few hours driving, I came to the city of Glenallen. From there, I could head north to Tok, or a bit south and explore Wrangell-St. Elias National Park – the largest National Park in the U.S. But given that it was later in the day, and I wasn’t feeling all that great, I passed. But I still was able to enjoy some of the park’s mountains from a distance.

I could be wrong, but I think that's a lenticular cloud on the right. Never saw one in person before
A bit after 11PM I was ready to call it a day, and it worked out – I was just 30 miles west of the Canadian border. Definitely was a bit sad to be leaving this gorgeous state, but what an amazing drive on the way out.
joe
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