There are no stop lights in Cordova, not much of a road network, and a long mostly dirt highway which leads to a very special bridge.

You drive across the Copper River Delta, where the road and many small bridges often wash out as the river goes through its annual flood stage. This is hard country for most of the year and you have to be tough to survive here. During the winter the wind howls down off the surrounding mountains and glaciers, piling up huge mounds of glacier dust not to mention snow. In the summer, when the snow begins to melt, the delta becomes a huge flood plain and swamp.

This is a roadside inn, where a beaver family resides. The locals tell us the beavers have yet to make their appearance. Note the ice on the water – maybe that is why (and it is the first week in June).

These are black spruce trees, almost ready to blossom in summer foliage. Right now it looks pretty bleak.

But there are signs here and there that summer growth is about to begin.

There are a few patches of grass with the odd flower showing up.

And lots of wildlife. This moose was taking advantage of the new growth, alternately choosing between grass and tender leaves low down on the trees.

There are ducks, geese, swans, and eagles in abundance as well.

This guy (or gal) was sitting on its perch watching us watch him. When he decided a change in scenery was in order he treated us to a lesson in eagle acceleration technique. He has just taken off in this photo and his talons are not yet retracted into their streamlined flying position against his tail feathers.

Note how the outer panels of the wings are folded back into a delta shape, reducing frontal area and wing loading. He is pointing down at a 30 degree angle. A fraction of a second later, as he reaches flying speed, the wings are again deployed to full span. It took the US Air Force a long time to learn how to do this correctly with their swing wing aircraft.

At the end of the "highway" is this amazing bridge, built at the end of the 19th century for a railroad that was to service a major inland mine. It spans the Copper River, between the faces of two large glaciers, and was completed in a single winter under conditions which you might think would have made this an impossible task. The US Park Service has a series of campgrounds in the area, and interesting information on the bridge project.

Linda got really pumped up by this bit of hardware. She said it reminded her of the old days on her grandparents’ farm.

Here’s a self-portrait taken in front of one of the glaciers. In a few weeks when the water level starts to rise, the glacier will become very active as the river undercuts its face. The Park Service had warning notices posted about splash waves from the glacier calving process, some of which wash ashore to great heights.

As you drive along the 50-mile highway there are campsites, trails, and lakes galore, not to mention the Copper River itself. And all of this in the backyard of Cordova. Maybe that is why the good citizens of Cordova are against a proposed highway linking them with Valdez on the north side of Prince William Sound. We would not want to share this world either.

PS-we saw no other cars on our drive out, and two on the way back into town.