We hiked a trail at Marion Creek Campground but only made it in about a mile. We were a bit unprepared with our shoes. The trail headed up from the cheek to a beautiful forest filled with blueberries, cranberries, and dozens of types of mushrooms and then started to get a bit mushy. Generally hiking in the boreal forest is like hiking on a mattress, but it got a bit boggy. There was a trail crew we passed working on a multi-year project to create a boardwalk over the mushy sections, and it was in its early stages. There was still a mile or so to go and we had not brought our waders. We were about an hour in, our shoes were soaked, and we hadn’t brought the pups (fortunately for Maggie especially). We hiked back out and cleaned up and got on the road.
Marion Creek is at the southern end of the Brooks Range and the mountains there were lower. As we drove the range grew in height with towering granite mountains 6-8k in height. We followed a river and the pipeline for a hundred miles until a rest stop before Antigun Pass made a note we were moving into Arctic Tundra, where no longer trees were present because the temperature and sunlight are neither high/long enough for trees to photosynthesize enough to create wood or bark. The pass and mountains are gorgeous.
We continued onward down the other side to the northern slope for an hour or so. We started looking for a campground about 100 miles north of Deadhorse, but things were scarce and what was available was filled with people decked out in camo and hunting gear. It turns out it was Caribou season.
We did find a huge pull out with space and I talked with a couple of hunters who had gotten a large bull. They said that 0-5 miles from the road is Archery tags only and ride was 5+ miles in. They were hunting with rifle and had hiked over 5 miles to get theirs. We talked for a bit and I found out one was from Palmer and the other was from Valdez. They educated me on the harvesting and pack out of the meat and rack. Pretty cool. We hadn’t seen caribou yet out here on the Dalton, and the hunting explained it.
Camp was nice and I enjoyed fighting the mosquitos and watching the sun make its way nearly horizontally across the tundra. One cool thing I found the next morning while out looking for a place to dig a hole was an already set up outhouse with a view. Bonus (shout out to Carl).
We camped in a huge gravel pit recommended by iOverlander. There was no one around and it was about a mile off of the Dalton Highway, around a hill, and you could barely any traffic from the trucks. It was one of those places that has utter silence with the exception of birds and ground hogs chirping. I took the pups for a good long hike around the quarry and we found some other great camp spots way up on top with 360 degree views. Off to the edge was a huge red raspberry patch so I picked a handful for Kathy.
We got off to an early start and followed a section of the old highway for a couple of miles before rejoining the main route. Not sure why a new road was cut around this section, but I’m sure there were reasons.
We drove for about 2 hours before we reached a millennia known landmark called Finger Rock. The location was used by hunters for thousands of years to watch for game crossing the Kanuti River valley. Another 30 minutes down the road we reached the official Arctic Circle pull off. It had a nice 4/seasons display showing how people and animals survive up here. It turns out summer growing season is only 60-90 days.
The Dalton Highway has some construction and some semi truck traffic. It is not as bad as people have made it out to be. There are sections that we paved and sections that are dirt. Both have their issues but the dirt is better to drive on with a few washboards and some minor pot holes. The pavement is another matter. The potholes in the pavement are deep and must be avoided and the frost heaves are abundant. It’s like riding a mini roller coaster.
We arrived in Coldfoot, the only truck stop above the Arctic Circle. We visited a very nice multiagency visitors center (BLM, Forest service, and National park Service) that had very friendly staff and great displays. We picked a couple of stickers and postcards and looked around a bit.
And then we filled up with diesel…at $7.50 per gallon. Dang. We are headed to the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay, but the oil is piped down to Valdez, loaded into tankers, shipped to Seattle, loaded into a refinery, and then once refined, the product is loaded back onto ships or trains, sent to Anchorage, and then trucked north to almost where it originated. Crazy. It’s not an everyday thing, but I pity the folks that live here.
We found a great BLM campground at Marion Creek that has free firewood, is quiet, and has a descent amount of space in the campsites. Plus it was only $12/night before the interagency discount (NPS annual pass).
Today we will hike a trail to a waterfall and then head north another 100 miles or so. We have 240 miles left to Prudhoe Bay.
It rained all night, pretty hard, and we woke up to a pool behind the campsite and a wet muddy road. We packed up and headed north towards Fairbanks. We stopped along the way at a quirky bar called Skinny Dicks. We hoped they sold burgers, but nope, just drinks and some funny shirts and adult humor fun. We got a laugh.
Next stop was Fairbanks, groceries, and some gas. I was still craving a burger and tried a local place. We struck out in the first, as it was Sunday and closed. We walked to another that had good reviews called Mommas kitchen. It turns out Mommas kitchen was an offshoot to Joes bar and joes bar was a dive bar, like a cross between a VFW and and the Elks club. The food was ok, not 4.5 stars like Yelp said.
About 90 minutes later we made it to the start of the Dalton Highway. 410 Miles north to Prudhoe bay and the Arctic Ocean, and that’s Mile 0 of the Pan American Highway. To get here we just passed 10k miles of exploring the western USA, Canada, and Alaska.
We will be traveling the Dalton for the next 6-8 days. We are camped in a gravel pit on the top of a mountain about 100 miles from the Arctic Circle. We will probably camp there at the BLM campground.
We camped in a glorified parking lot that the state of Alaska charges $10 for camping just below Independence mine. There’s not a lot of pull offs here for camping and it was 10 pm when we pulled in, so it worked. There’s view was impressive. The good thing is we paid for the site so when we pulled in to the state park a mile up the road, the receipt worked for parking there too.
Independence Mine was an interesting park to visit. It was small compared to the Kennecott operation in McCarthy, but it had some interesting aspects. And kudos to the entrepreneurs, engineers, and miners of almost a century ago. The extraction process for gold removed 97% of the gold from the ore, which was pretty impressive. I did a little mile or two hike up in the high valley and enjoyed walking in the spongy trails with alpine flowers. The pass is only 3800 feet, but that’s high by AK standards
We drove over Hatcher Pass and man was it crowded up there. For all of those reviews saying the road is dangerously and narrow, obviously don’t drive off road much. The road was pretty smooth, very wide, and has spectacular views. There were a couple of side shoots where a crew of Ford Broncos was going up a side road, but we decided to let them have their fun. Further down towards Willow there is tons of camping and it appears is a play land for quads and side-by-sides. Kathy and I found a neat property for sale and decided to inquire about it. We are a bit smitten with AK, especially now now having to deal with the AZ heat.
The rest of the day we drive north and found a free camp a bit outside of Healy. We settled in since it was about 7 pm. We don’t really drive all day, we just get started later, usually 10-11 am. The next few days we will be on the Dalton and the forecast is rain, so pictures may be scarce. It’s funny because as we drive north, we took tons of pictures throughout the western states, Canada, and Alaska. Everything is beautiful. We take fewer pics now, maybe because we are just enjoying the beauty up here more than being in awe of it.
The camp at the Susitna River crossing was peaceful. The pups, especially Zuzu, loved the kind walk along the beaches. The sections which were sandy she would dash off in full gallop, making quick turns, and throwing sand high into the air. It’s good to see her having a great time.
We made it to Anchorage, but not before stopping by the laundromat to take a shower. It was not warm, but we did manage to get clean. My appointment was quick (heart chemical stress test) and I’m hoping all the pictures of the plumbing look normal so I can finish out the Alaska Medical Tour. We will find out on Aug 18. The Drs and Nurses up here have been nothing but spectacular. We were so surprised at the care up here and how quickly they work things in.
We spent the day picking up a new coin for Kathy, exchanging a faulty purse bag, and grabbing some snacks, and driving a bit north. We headed to the Palmer Alehouse where Kathy’s friend said a good band was playing. (The Free Creatures from Oregon). They were pretty good and the Alehouse was a neat setting. The band had come from Salmonfest, which we hear is a fantastic local event near Soldotna.
We visited for several hours and then headed up towards Hatcher pass, which I have heard is stunning. Independence mine state park is just up from the campsite and along the pass we heard there is good berry picking. Tonight we should be in or near Fairbanks and ready to start the dalton highway to the Arctic Ocean. Here’s a view from Howie at the campground below Hatcher Pass.
We woke to true weather predictions and the sky did not have a cloud in it. We packed up for a hike and headed to the bus to catch a ride to Sable Pass where we could get a glimpse of Mt McKinley (Denali). The first bus was full and we caught the second. The high one did not disappoint and was shining in all the 20,300 ft of glory. Simply gorgeous. The day was about 65 degrees and we wanted to walk down sable pass and see what animals were out and about.
We did see some Dahl sheep, WAY WAY up on the ridge. Looked like little rice specs. And that is all we saw in the 5 mile trek down the pass. The hike was spectacular.
We caught the bus at the Igloo Creek Campground and made it to the Teklanika rest stop where the bus broke down. We thought about hiking the two miles to the campground, but figured once we started the rescue bus will show up. We ended up waiting 90 minutes for a walk we could have done in 45. But we met some really nice people who were waiting too. We finished out the night watching the fire in the campground and enjoying the beautiful night.
The 4th day I decided to bake some biscuits in the Dutch Oven over the fire. I still had two bundles of wood but since collecting was allowed here, I gathered several large loads so I could have a fire until we left. The biscuits did not turn out ton well as they were not homemade and the container had popped open sometime during the week and were not “fresh”. Oh well. They still tasted ok.
We cleaned up camp, the TC, and packed up to head back south. I had another appointment in anchorage and we didn’t want risk or rush the 5+ hour drive. We have gotten the packing down to 5-10 minutes and with the pups walked and freshly satisfied with treats, we headed out of Teklanika Campground and back out of the Denali Park Road.
We had been fortunate and had seen an Eagle, caribou, Dahl sheep, rabbits, squirrels, marmots, and ptarmigans so far, and this time the park did not disappoint. On the drive out, three brown bears were grazing doing the road and we had about 15-20 minutes to watch them. They were as close as 20-30 yards from the truck. These were the first brown bears (grizzlies) we have seen.
We finished the drive and stopped at the little village at the entrance of the park to browse the shops and get some lunch.
We continued the drive south on AK 3 (parks road) and camped at a site recommended be iOverlander at the Susitina River crossing 1hr north of Wasilla. What a neat place to camp with lots of spots, plenty of space, a 1-mile beach for walks. Very nice.
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.
We spent two nights camped below Exit Glacier just outside the Kenai-Fjords National Park. We decided to stay an extra day since it was raining and i was feeling a bit under the weather and wanted to ride it out. It was a good day to do it since the weather was cold and drizzly all day. On the 27th we packed up and headed to Seward to look around.
Seward is Mile 0 for the Ididerod dog race to Nome, AK. Also has hundreds of campsites owned by the town set up along the shores and marina in typical sardine fashion. There was a cruise ship in the harbor so tons of additional tourists were mulling about.
We browsed through some interesting shops and had a delicious hot sandwich from a bakery on the Main Street. The town had free dumps and water fill so we took care of that after filling up with fuel.
We drove back to Anchorage to get a medical checkup for me as I was not feeling better. It turns out it was a problem so after admitting me to the emergency room, I was referred to the cardiologist and prescribed some medicines. We could not fill the prescription as nothing was open past 7pm in Anchorage, so we had a dinner at a bougie Mexican restaurant called Sorrenos. The food was good and service was OK. We retired to the Bass Pro Shop parking lot for the night.
The next day we headed in to get the Rx filled and topped off the cupboards. The pharmacy helped with some coupon pointers and a ridiculous cost for a medication went from $800 to $23. This trip has definitely thrown us some curve balls.
We went to downtown Anchorage and hung out at one of the public parks, walked the pups, did some reading, etc and then headed up to Eagle River to get a campsite at the state park. We set up and then met one of Kathy’s former students who lives in the area. She’s a hoot and we had a great visit and learned much about the area, its quirks, and politics.
On Monday, the 28th, I got a call from the Dr and have two follow up’s on Thursday and Friday, so we are in the area until then. We took off after lunch to check out two local parks, did some hiking with the pups, and then met Noria again for dinner and some laughs. We camped again at the Eagle creek State Park. It’s easy, and only $20 for the night.
We are goning yo break camp in the morning, head around the Turnagain Arm and visit the Wildlife refuge, and the. Continue on towards Solditna, the Russian River, and Homer. We have to be back Thursday morning for my appointment.
