Matanuska Glacier / Our Life in Alaska and Beyond

Matanuska Glacier

Showing posts with label Matanuska Glacier. Show all posts

Matanuska Glacier, 2/24/21

Sunday, March 7, 2021

Scott and I were able to go on a guided winter tour of the Matanuska Glacier! We have been here in the summer before, but going in the winter was a completely new experience. We went during the day, while the older girls were in school and Robyn was with a sitter. We've been super busy with packing and getting the house ready to sell so this was a nice, welcome break, and sadly, probably one of our last Alaskan adventures. We will still continue to go on many adventures though!

We had gotten a few inches of snow the night before so the roads weren't super great getting there, but we made it safely, and luckily it wasn't too cold! It was maybe in the teens out on the glacier, but we dressed for the weather and were plenty warm. They first took us out on a sled pulled by a snow machine (it was almost like a roller coaster, lol!), and then we were led by a guide to some cool parts of the glacier. We walked through some narrow areas, where we definitely wouldn't have gone without a guide, but we were totally trusting him that where we were was a safe place to be walking. They also gave us crampons to wear over our boots so we didn't slip on the glacial ice. The whole tour was about two hours and it was so cool! We had so much fun and got some amazing pics! Enjoy!

Riding in the sled down to the glacier ❄

Matanuska Glacier, 7/13/20

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

One of the big things we wanted to do with Grandma and Grandpa when they came up to visit this summer was to rent an RV (or a camper van as the girls called it) and road trip to Valdez. None of us had ever been to that part of the state, and it ended up being so fun and so beautiful! We were able to rent an RV from our bishop for Monday thru Friday and we loved it! We had great weather and a great time being all together! The only hiccup was that I left my camera battery at home so I wasn't able to take pictures on my big camera. Luckily cell phones take pretty good pics too, so we still have plenty of pics from the trip.

The first stop on our trip was Matanuska Glacier. We took the short little hike to the viewpoint and it was beautiful! We enjoyed all the sunshine and fireweed, and of course the glacier. So pretty!

Matanuska Glacier, 7/4/18

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

After watching the cars get launched off the cliff we decided to go out to the actual glacier because we were so close. We've driven out here several times before to admire Matanuska Glacier from the highway, but this time we decided to actually go down to it and walk on it. It was so cool, and I'm already wanting to go back. Mom and Dad borrowed some crampons (ice grips) from their friends that we were able to use, which helped a ton when walking on the ice. The girls loved walking on it at first, but then they both had little slips and were ready to go, lol. The glacier really was so cool and so pretty though! I loved being able to explore it up close and personal. More about Matanuska Glacier here.

The surrounding wild flowers were blooming and so pretty.

It's about a half mile walk to get to the white ice part of the glacier.

Glacier View Car Launch, 7/4/18

This 4th of July we decided to do something we've never done before. We had heard about this car launch they do up by Matanuska Glacier, and with Grandma and Grandpa being here, we decided to check it out. It was actually pretty fun! It was a little longer than we expected, with a lot of waiting around, and a lot of people and a lot of sun, but we still had a good time. Seeing the cars get launched off the cliff was pretty exciting, and the girls enjoyed it too, haha. Enjoy these fun pics!

Such a pretty location!

Matanuska Glacier, 9/4/17

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Last Monday was Labor Day. It was a gorgeous day and we decided to go for a drive up to Matanuska Glacier. This was our first outdoor adventure as a family of five. The girls all did great in the car, and then it was so nice get out enjoy the beautiful fall colors. I love this sweet little family of ours. :)

Matanuska Glacier, 9/7/16

Friday, September 30, 2016

After spending the morning at the Reindeer Farm we decided to drive up to Matanuska Glacier. In all our four years of living here we've never driven up that way before! And we definitely chose a good time to do it. The fall colors were amazing! So beautiful! :) We didn't actually walk on the glacier (although I'd like to do that sometime, it was a further drive and more $$) We just drove to the viewing area and then went on a small walk/hike to different viewing platforms. It was a very fun day!