On Blueberry Hill

An enterprising pioneer, John Carlson, turned a small log cabin into a grocery store for Alaska Railroad workers in the early days.

Not long after, Ahtna Natives from the Copper Valley settled in Cantwell to work on the railroad.

For years, as in many parts of Alaska, the lodge was the cultural and social center of town. The Nenana River used to be called the Cantwell River.

Berries

Crowberries look a lot like blueberries, but they have a completely different leaf. They are edible, and help fill a bucket, or a pie.

Blueberries and lowbush cranberries are easy to find in high country, at mountain passes, all over the Alaska road system.

You’ll find berries in Broad Pass near Cantwell on the Parks Highway, and at Maclaren Summit on the Denali Highway.

You’ll also find berries at other summits along the road – including Thompson Pass and Turnagain Pass.

(Photos, BLM Glennallen Field Office, Dennis R. Greene)

Rugged Country

At Cantwell, the Nenana River turns north and runs alongside the road, carving its way through the Alaska Range.

In the early morning and afternoon light, this rugged country makes for great photographs, with shafts of sunlight and shadow.