A Walk In the Woods

 

I've mostly been occupied with working and getting the new place set up.  But every once in a while I poke my head outside into this cool new environment.  Getting the time to both head outdoor and post about it is a bit more than my current schedule allows though.  I am sure it will slow down soon enough.  So a couple of Saturday's ago I decided to head out to the Eagle River Nature Center and see what that was all about.  To get to the Eagle River Nature Center, you pull off the Glenn Highway at Eagle River, and follow the river along Eagle River Road, until the road runs out.  Pretty straight forward directions actually.

 

Following Eagle River to the Eagle River Nature Center

There is a lot of pretty on the way, but not many roadside pullouts.  I may have mentioned Alaskans like to tear down the road in giant 4x4's going 70+ miles an hour, and are likely armed, so I do my best not to hold up traffic on the road, and kept going, stopping only at the one possible turnout.  I snapped a quick 360 degree view...towards the nature center is above in the first picture, along the road is seen here below.

 

T

And this next picture is just the other side of the road, but it still manages to be pretty.

It only a few miles from Eagle River to the Nature Center...maybe 12...and it is quite literally the end of the road.  So, the Alaska wilderness  is just 12 miles from my door.  Through here, moose and bear roam, and the salmon will run come spring.  On this spring day, I decided to take my first walk in the woods in my backyard.  For $5 a day or $40 a year, you start right from the parking lot at the visitors center on a gentle path that winds down to the river.

There are 2 viewing decks...from the first one I saw the spring celebrities of the nature center, 2 trumpeter swans that had stopped in a couple of weeks earlier.  If you look carefully, you can see them swimming in the creek below.

The creek is very shallow in places...with thick dense grass, but apparently the salmon come through here in June.  I was surprised that this narrow and shallow waterway would be one of their pathways.

There are several miles of trails around the nature center.  My knee tweaked between the 1 and 2 mile mark...so I sadly limped back to the car.  I guess is it going to take a long time to explore Alaska at this pace...but I will do my best :)  If nothing else, I got treated to a new view!