We finished our chores in Fairbanks (laundry, dump/fill tanks, propane, groceries, Alaska Public Lands Visitors Center and headed back south to Denali. We have 4 nights reservations at the campground in Teklanika River, although will likely leave late on the 7th since I have another cardio appointment on the 8th in Anchorage. We made it to the park around 2pm, checked in, got a shower, and checked out the visitors center. Before 1957 you could not drive here with the only access by train. People still use the train to get to Denali from Fairbanks and Anchorage.
We drove the park road and made it to camp around 6. Since we were here a few days we set up the shelter. It’s a good thing we did since the rain started at 10PM and went all night.
The next morning we had bus passes to ride up to where the end of the road is. Apparently the visitor center at mile 60 some is not open because the road is still being repaired from a landslide several years ago. We enjoyed the ride, and walked 3 to 4 miles at the very end through the river bed, across the bridge, and then up several miles on the Park Road. We checked out a little side road to one of the Rangers cabins, and found some fairly fresh bear prints. We didn’t actually see the bear fortunately, but we did see a caribou running down the creek.
it rained again once we got back to camp, but then the sun came out and it’s supposed to be really nice for the next couple days. Maybe we’ll get to see Mount McKinley. Tonight it’s grilled chicken for dinner over a fire that will hopefully be able to have.
Well the appointment went well. My heart has returned to normal Sinus rhythm and the cardiologist said my heart and valves all looked like things were normal, except for the AFib. So he wanted to schedule a heart monitor for 48 hours and then a chemical stress test. We set it up for August 8, and he said I should be good to continue to enjoy our trip. We headed into Anchorage to pick up some coins Kathy missed at the Alaska Public lands Center, and the hospital called back and said I could pick up my monitor. We headed back there and finally got on the road to head to Talkeetna.
We arrived in the afternoon and the town was packed. We looked for a campsite and ended up at the VFW for $20. I took the pups for a long walk, and we watched the salmon fishing on the shore of the river. When I got back, Kathy and I were wanting to browse the cool shops, and then had some great local pizza. By then the town was vacating and we headed back to camp for a great nights sleep.
We decided to try some salmon fishing and hired a local kid who was renting poles and gear. He showed us how to fish, which was surprising without bait. The chum and pink salmon were running in the river and all we had to was wait for them to get hooked. Well it took me about 90 minutes and I caught the biggest fish I’d ever caught (I’m from AZ, not known for big stream fish). About 20 minutes later I snagged an even bigger chum salmon. We got our guide and he offered to fillet them, so we said why not. By the time he was done, we probably had 10 lbs of salmon.
I cooked two pieces in the oven and made cilantro lime Rice. This was the first time Kathy had experienced Freshly caught salmon and she loved it. We shared some with the pups as well. We have 6 more salmon fillets in the freezer.
Since we decided to stay two nights in Talkeetna, the next day we got up and did some shopping/browsing through this quaint little town. It turns out it’s pretty barren the morning, but the train stops here and unloads cruise ship passengers as well as folks coming from Fairbanks and Anchorage. So the town fills up for the day and then at about six or seven at night. It shuts down again, similar to Skagway. I wanted to do a bit more fishing, and since the Alaskan tag was still good until 2pm that day, I looked up Landon again and rented his poles. I did catch one small pink salmon, but decided not to take it.
We packed up around 2pm and made the long drive north to Fairbanks. We had a package to pick up from Amazon in Fairbanks that we had ordered two weeks prior. We had no idea at the time that would be spending so much time in Anchorage. So we camped at the University of Alaska Fairbanks parking lot, which amazingly had power so we could top off our batteries. Tomorrow we head to Teklanika Campground in Denali National Park. We’ve had reservations there since April. Teklanika is at mile 29 on the Park Road for some remote camping.
We broke camp early (for us, 8:30) so we could get around the Turnigan Arm where the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge is located. We got there around 10AM and went straight for the moose. They had two cows and Kathy got to see them up close. We stayed a couple of hours and watched the Wood Bison, a herd of cow elk, a couple of Bull elks, some brown and black bears, musk-ox, some wild wolves and foxes, and reindeer and caribou. The animals were all in there due to how they were stranded in the wild as youth and cannot live on their own. I guess that makes us feel better seeing them behind fences.
Some interesting things we learned is that Wood Bison are not the same as plains bison. Slightly larger and hardier and were almost extinct until they found a herd of a couple hundred in Canada. They have taken some of this herd and started breeding them, and protecting the herd in Canada where they were found. There are several thousand head now, and they’ve been re-introduced to Alaska as well. Apparently, they are doing extremely well in the wild.
Another interesting thing that we learned was that brown bears are all grizzlies but not necessarily call grizzlies, depending on where you find them determines how large they are. The bears around the coastal areas that feed on salmon are typically hundreds of pounds heavier than the brown bears inland. We’ve all heard of the Kodiak bears. Those are the largest of the grizzlies. Black bears are just small and cute.
We turn the truck around back to the highway and headed over the pass and on towards Homer. We stopped along the way at a well respected resort that has inexpensive showers and a laundry facility. We both were relieved to have a good shower. We continued on and tried to find some spectator spots so we could watch the fisherman, but that area is so active. They’ve got everything blocked off or set it behind a pay wall. So we just continue on down to Homer.
The intention was to camp out on the spit, which is a southernmost point you can drive in mainland, Alaska, but the spots were extremely close together, all on dirt lots, and beach camping was reserved for tents. So we spent a little time going through the shops, we stopped at the salty dog saloon and took some pictures, and then had a nice dinner at a steak and seafood restaurant. The scallops were huge, fresh, as was the shrimp. All mixed up in an Alfredo pasta was simply delicious.
we headed back towards Homer and found a nice campground on the edge of the beach ( above the beach). And had a nice night. Apparently an 8.3 magnitude earthquake had gone off in Russia and they were tied away warnings being sent around the Pacific. We sat out and watched to see if something came in, but it didn’t make it up as far as we were.
On the 30th we got up and left around our normal time, 11 AM, and stopped by the Alaskan Sea Museum. It is another great free museum that has excellent exhibits and is very interactive. We drove back north again and stopped along the river before we got to Sadona to watch some people dip netting. The locals in Alaska are allowed 25 salmon for they had a household and 10 for each additional member of the household. They’re allowed to fish by just dipping a net into the rivers and catching the salmon as they swim upstream. It’s pretty impressive how quickly they can fill their ice chests. This year apparently is a boom year for salmon and everyone’s filling their freezers. We stopped at the Kenai national wildlife refuge in Sedona, and took a quick tour. I was enamored with the chairs and the couch that they had sitting in front of the fireplace. I might have to build some of those someday.
We were intending on driving to Hope, Alaska, and spend the night there. But after driving through the rain all day and arriving in Hope, we found out that on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Thursdays the town is virtually shut down. We tried to call to get a camp spot, but there was no one answering. Plus with nothing there $40 a night for a dry spot seemed a bit much. So we continued on to Anchorage and about an hour later set up in the bass pro shop south parking lot with about 40 other campers.
I had my medical appointment at 10 o’clock in the morning, and it went off without a hitch. So the rest of the day we decide to take a hike around an area that Kathy‘s friend said there were Moose. We did see a moose when we were there, it was across an airfield at the edge of the forest. I walked over and took a couple of pictures of the moose in the bushes. Overall, it was a very nice three mile hike along a salmon stream and through the forest around the BLM air field. When we got back to the parking lot, we rested for a while, made lunch and helped the guy with his car. Our little Maggie was getting a bit dirty, and has not had a haircut since 31 May, so I found a nice lady that does cuts and Maggie had a shampoo and a haircut and her nails done. Her eyes were big as sausage when she figured out. I was leaving her, but a few hours later when she was done, she was extremely happy. It might’ve been from the liver treats of the lady was giving her.
We headed back to Bass Pro shop south, found the same spot in the parking lot and set up for the night. Kathy’s friend was working nearby, so she stopped by and hung out for a while. I met a guy that was originally from Manitoba, had moved to Florida, and now was traveling in a truck camper like ours. He was three months into his trip. We are two into ours. He and I traded stories, compared some things with the campers, and Kathy and Nora just sat there and called us nerds. Lol. Tomorrow I go in for my cardiologist appointment, and then we’re heading up towards Denali.
