It was a surprise to look off to the side and actually be able to see a big mountain! Enough of a surprise that I yelled when I saw it.
Less than one percent of Alaska's land is privately owned, and about 1/20th of one percent of land in Alaska is developed. It's hard to wrap your head around that concept. When you stand on the side of the road and look out, it's very likely there's nothing belonging to civilization out there, perhaps for hundreds of miles.