When we left the DZ, it was lunch time so we made a quick stop at Palmer City Ale House and we shared a mangherita pizza. That's not a typo. It was like a classic pizza margherita, but they added pepperoni.  It was absolutely delicious.

We asked our server for sightseeing suggestions.  She mentioned a reindeer farm and a place we could go hiking. In conjunction with her suggestion, Matt used a regular map to find Austin Helmers Pioneer Ridge Trail just 20 minutes away.

On the way to the trail, we crossed over the Knik River.

Just as we were getting out of the car at the trail head, I saw an eagle! Matt snapped a picture, but it was too far away to get a good shot.  The eagle gave me high hopes that we'd be seeing even more of them along the way.

The trail was steep and as I hiked over roots and other obstacles my ankles started bothering me. I should have worn braces . At some point, I stopped and Matt continued on to see if it was worth the trip. When I got his text saying he could see a glacier, I resumed hiking. Seeing a glacier out weighed a potential sprained ankle.

Another challenge for me - hiking through the overgrown part of the trail.  I couldn't even see my feet and I felt claustrophobic in the tall grass that was touching my arms and nearly over my head.

The view from the trail was okay, but compared to some of the other places we've been it was less impressive than I thought it would be and we didn't see any critters! 

On the way down, Matt's knees were really bothering him. When we got back to the bottom of the trail, we took a few pictures of the sign. Our clothes were dusty and sweaty.  I suggested that we change at the airport.  We had plenty of time to get cleaned up before our flight.

When we left the trail, it was almost 4:00 PM. Unfortunately, we were out of time to explore more of Alaska. As I drove to the airport, Matt was on bear patrol!

I hope we find one!