Yellow and White...Hatcher's Pass Trail

Once we saw that the leaves were starting to peak, we decided to take a road trip up and over Hatcher's Pass. This road leads over some mountains near Palmer, AK. There was some gold panning and mining activity here in the gold rush years awhile ago. In fact, there is a mining museum on the mountain, but was closed for the season. Here are some pictures of the fall colors and the snow we hit at the top of the pass...




A lot of yellow. Almost all of the trees in Alaska are birch, which turn yellow. It looks really cool with the contrasting dark green pines.


Shannon and Jaycie in the snow. Jaycie was so cute...I picked up some snow in my hand and she was anxious to feel this new substance. She found out quickly that it was cold and was hesitant to touch it again.

Neat picture of the other side of the pass as the road proceeds down into the town of Willow, AK. We saw a lot of moose hunters on this side of the mountain, but no moose. Must all be hiding where the lazy hunters aren't willing to hike.

This picture shows where Fireweed gets its name. It is a beautiful green plant with vibrant purple flowers in the Spring, but turns bright red in the fall.

Daddy's new wheels. We almost had to put it into 4-wheel drive up over the top in the snow, but we weren't that lucky.