Well, tomorrow we leave this incredible place. We have truly enjoyed these past 5 weeks. The last 3 weeks we have driven approx 2500 miles and feel like true road warriors today. Every single day there was something new and beautiful to see and learn about. Most state and national park campgrounds have (or will soon) closed for the season and we were lucky to find one that is still open for a few more days. Rainy day – perfect for packing, reading and reflecting. It will be a long day tomorrow. Drop off RV at 1100 and have a red-eye flight with a stop over in Seattle. We get home Tuesday late afternoon. Thanks for traveling along with us!

Wrangell-St.Elias National Park

This park is the largest in the national parks system. 13.2 million acres and contains the greatest collection of peaks over 16,000 feet on the continent. Also contains the largest concentration of glaciers on the continent. One of these, Malaspina Glacier, covers over 1500 square miles that is larger than the state of Rhode Island. The Hubbard glacier is one of the most active and, despite global warming, is still advancing. Unfortunately, visiting this park for motorists is very limited. The few back roads in require four-wheel drive and they caution that wilderness and survial skills are essential. The only way to actually see the area is by small plane. But the little we could see was breathtaking. If we ever make it back to Alaska, we will an Rv with four wheel drive.

When driving around Alaska, you can tell which areas have higher permafrost. Permafrost is ground that remains frozen year after year. It is thickest in the arctic, but is found to some extent beneath nearly 85 percent of Alaska. I find that amazing. The areas in high altitudes with large stretchs of treeless areas have very little topsoil. Kind of like a cold desert.

In Talkeetna to catch plane over the big kahuna – Denali. 10 people on plane for hour and 45 minute excursion. All I can say is, WOW. The lady checking us in said we did not need hat, gloves, etc. (we should know better than to take advice from a native alaskan!). Landed on glazier (it was 10 degrees!!!!!!) for longer than we planned as our pilot left us behind to make two passes to lay tracks for takeoff. It was a little isolating as he flew off. We all hoped this would not turn into one of those ‘survivor’ shows. 🥴 All and all an experience I would recommend to anyone. Theresa thought she was going to barf, since flight very bumpy at times.🤢

Made about 4 hour drive and spending night somewhere on Glen Hwy.

Running out of space in “black tank”, and low on fresh water tank. Things could get ugly if we don’t locate a dump station and fresh water supply soon.😷 Hugo

From Homer we went back to Seward to spent the night. Chilly, but we had, as usual, the best fire on Resurrection bay. Actually a fjord.

Visited sealife rehab facility next day. Lunch at Gold Rush cafe. (Imagine, we live on Gold Rush ct.) Fresh Halibut fish & chips. Very, very good. Would recommend this little place to anyone. Fish was about the fish, not the batter.

Seward is know as the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park. Love watching the Dall sheep on the peaks and the sea otters floating around on their backs and diving for fish. The silver and pink salmon are still spawning in the creek. I just love this place!

We drove by a sign for a rodeo and went it. Our first rodeo and what a delightful experience. There was a little girl about 8 years old doing tricks on her galloping horse….. hanging by one leg. A true small town experience. Fun, Fun!

In Homer. Mile .04 Homer Spit to be exact. Yes, it is a Spit.

Raining all day. Actually enjoyed the day “off” reading and eating pepperidge farm cookies. 😀

It stopped raining in the afternoon. No matter whey we stay we are surround with magestic mountains. We seen a huge bald eagle sitting at the waters edge eating a fish.

In the late 1800’s there was a coal mine here. Today the erosion of these buffs drop huge fragments of coal on the beaches, creating a plentiful supply for residents in the winter to help heat their homes. There is an estimated 400,000,000 tons of coal deposits in this area. We picked up a bag and used it for two nights in our camp fire. Great hot fires!

This was the major hub coming into Alaska until the earthquake in 1974 wiped it out. Today the shore is a park with camping. Last week the smoke was so bad from nearby fires, that you could not see the mountains across the bay. We have seen Dall sheep on the rocks and numerous sea otters floating by on their backs eating their catch. Also a few see lions sticking their heads out.

This is the view from our Rv camp site yesterday.

What a great day! We are both finally felling better. Halelujah
We stopped by the North Pole this morning, but a bit of a bust. With such a great name, I guess I expected more than just a gigantic Christmas store.
We headed south out of Fairbanks on Richardson Hwy to Denali Hwy. when the Denali Highway opened in 1957, it was the only was to access Denali National Park until the Parks Highway completed in the early 1970’s. A true Alaskan experience. Being that we are visiting in the fall, the colors… reds, yellows! Breathtaking wilderness scenery. It is a mostly gravel road, so slow going (25 mph) road with incredible vistas. Pulled alongside the highway to boondock camp about 3/4 way thru the 134 mile journey. I have to say, staying in an Rv that is self sustaining….. ie, water, toilet, stove and heat!!….. is quite a remarkable experience. I will never forget this view. We watched a group of caribou and two Bald Eagles! We also seen numerous trumpeter swans. They are huge and always in pairs. I understand they mate for life. Life is good!!!
This is hunting season and there are numerous hunters camping in this road. Due to the large numbers of————-
We seen more caribou and another bald eagle on our way out.
Side note. When we were in Denali, we booked a bus trip to go into the park. Cars are not allowed after 15 miles. Unfortunately, we were both too sick to sit on a bus for 12 hours. We had even picked up masks for ourselves in anticipation. Since we will, unfortunately,probably never have this Alaska adventure again, we are thinking about a small plane ride to view the peak. 20,300 feet! Unfortunately, today is rainy and cloudy. Hmmmmm…… pocketed.
We have decided to head down to the Kenai Penisula. That means south thru Anchorage. We camped in a a small town, Houston. The campground is run by the city, established by and paided for by town. residences. Well, when we pulled in it was a bit creepy and almost completely deserted….. but we decided to stay and paid the $10’ish fee. (This is the Only thing that is cheap in Alaska😀). We had a nice, quiet and early night. The next morning we seen a sign that the campground closed after Labor Day weekend. Lol!!!
(I forgot to mention the forest fires when we first rented the RV out of Anchorage, and we are now driving back thru this area. This area that is actually considered a ‘rainforest ‘ due to the annual rainfall of —— is struggling to battle the wildfires.)
I mention this as this brings us to today. We pulled into this State park to stay for the night on Kenai Lake. Fyi… it is late in the season and there is only one other camper. Breathtaking beautiful….. anticipating chilled Chardonnay and a charcoal-grilled dinner. (My favorite!)….Unfortunately, no outdoor grilling or fires at all. There are wild fires just 10 miles from here. 😳😳😳
No worries, grilled cheese and tomatoes with the crisp, chilled Chardonnay. Ha ha. Life is Very Good.


Theresa

Spent the day around Fairbanks and north of Fairbanks. Nothing spectular, but…. both are beginning to feel better.
Stopped by Alaska pipeline to view up close. What an engineering feat!
We have obviously read about it in the past, but to actually drive over the terrain this was constructed, is impressive. 500 rivers, I think. Think over the Brooks Range, Alaska Ranch, etc.
Percent of interior permafrost is amazing. I am beginning to suffer from sensory overload! Hugo.

Well, i enjoyed the trip north of Fairbanks a bit more than Hugo, but he is still not feeling very well. The road north is gravel and through towns that were originally established in the early 1900’s for the Gold Rush. Unfortunately, not much is left of these areas and they are now mostly Homesteaders. Towns like Livengood, population 11. Or Joy- population not noted, just says ‘population of people and quite a few dogs’. There is a trading post there that was settled by a family named the Carlson’s. The had 23 children, 18 of who were adopted. There is a sign on the door that reads: “Not a single mosquito at Joy….. they are all married with large families.” Ha ha. I had hoped we could make ot to the Yukon and Arctic Circle, but the road was getting rough and pretty desolate. T