Another Beautiful Winter Day in Alaska at Matanuska Lake

We've had a fairly mild winter. We got some snow, but no where near as much as we got last year. We've had a few cold, windy spells which is typical.
But now that it's early March our thoughts turn to spring and then hopefully summer. The weather this weekend quickened those thoughts even more. It was gloriously sunny and warm.

 It was a perfect time to do some geocaching. The caches we were after are on the far side of Matanuska Lake. There's a trail that takes you around the lake, but since there's 5 feet of solid ice on the lake, it's easier to cut just straight across.

We weren't the only ones on the lake. There was plenty of families enjoying some ice fishing.

The valley is famous for it's winds, but there wasn't even a breeze blowing today.

Matansuka Lake is part of the Matanuska Lake State Recreation Area which contains 349 acres and multiple lakes. The lakes are located in depressions (old glacial crevasses) in between moraine ridges (eskers) formed by glaciers 30,000 years ago. The trails connect to the rest of the MatSu Greenbelt with over 30 miles of trails.

While on Matanuska Lake you'd never guess you are less than mile from two of Alaska's busiest highways and surrounded by a population of over 80,000 people.

 You are also surround by the mountains of the Chugach Range. Most prominent at 6,400 feet is Pioneer Peak.

 This weekend was also the start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. For me, this marks the end of winter. Once the dogs head for Nome, I'm looking for spring to start springing. Winter is great, but after 6 months of it, I'm gettin' ready for summer.