Matanuska Glacier Rec Area, AK

We left Valdez this morning under sunny blue skies. The trip yesterday was mostly cloudy and we knew there must be mountain peaks hidden from us. That was confirmed quickly and the views were spectacular. The climb up Thompson Pass was a workout for our “little engine that could” but from the top we could see snow covered peaks and valleys for miles and miles. The same could be said for the whole trip back to Glennallen. The Wrangell Mountain Range was in full view for most of the trip. At one point we stopped for pictures of four massive peaks, three of them taller than Mount Rainier. That was a site we had not expected.

We rejoined the Glenn Highway and proceeded toward Anchorage. We had decided to make the 308 -mile drive in two days so we could stay in one of the state parks and enjoy some rustic forest scenery. Karen found many along the highway but I missed a few of the turnoffs. Our camping books warned us that they were not always marked well and although I am pretty good with u turns I’m not a big fan of doing them with the motorhome. We finally managed to hit the turn into the Matanuska Glacier Rec Area and found the small campground near the overlook of the glacier. The view of the glacier is amazing but you can see the evidence of its receding up the mountain valley. The campground has no amenities and has small camp sites but being only 25 feet long has its advantages. The eight sites in the campground are mostly secluded and we are now enjoying a quiet evening with only one other camper. Maybe I will plug the TV into a current bush and see what’s on. We are looking forward to a good night’s sleep. From the scat and game trails running thru the park this could be an interesting night.

Tomorrow we will pass thru Anchorage with a stop at the trusty Costco to replenish the larder. We have a shopping list ready to go. I am really looking forward to city driving with traffic and freeways. NOT.    

Was your imagination this good? Same view from yesterday but no clouds!

Cloudless view from Thompson Pass

Campsite at Matanuska Glacier Rec Area

Matanuska Glacier

Valdez, AK

Again, today we set out late. This is becoming a habit but we are on retired, so what. We noticed we were the last to leave. We hit rush hour traffic as we pulled onto the Alaska Highway. One pickup truck traveling in each direction. 

Today we are headed to Valdez. It is overcast and a bit misty but from the info boards at the pullouts we are assured there are beautiful mountains to be seen on a clear day. Just not going to happen for us today. The road to Anchorage is a mix of smooth as silk stretches, patched potholes, extreme frost heaves, and gravel road construction sections. It definitely keeps one alert. We took a couple hours to get to the cutoff to Valdez and the overcast continued. 

We stopped for lunch at a pullout on the Copper River, home to Copper River Salmon. We were excited to see moose for the first time. We spotted two of them today near the road. They are more camera shy than bear (Karen saw another one today).  Karen and I had a long conversation about the plural of moose. If you have two are they meese, mooses or just moose?  

We tried to convince ourselves that the sky was getting lighter but we could still not see the mountains until we neared the top of Thompson Pass about 30 miles from Valdez. Suddenly the mountain tops appeared and we were near the Worthington Glacier. We stopped for pictures and Charlie loved playing and rolling in the snow at the info Kiosk. The trip over the pass was amazing with snow piled on the roadside and huge drop-offs into the valley below. We stopped again for the “Welcome to Valdez” sign and then rounded a corner and entered the Keystone Canyon with huge vertical stone walls rising high above and waterfalls at every turn. It was a beautiful stretch of highway entering the town. 

Valdez is much smaller than I expected but it is completely surrounded by snow covered mountains with 360 degree panoramas. We found a place for the night at the Bear Paw RV Park and after dinner wandered the dock and marina. We watched a charter boat return to port with a full limit of Halibut. One weighed in at 115 lbs. and three or four others were in the 60 – 80 lb. range. They really know how to grow fish up here. The sunset here tonight is amazing. The skies have cleared and the mountains glow in the twilight of the evening. We are very thankful to be able to enjoy these sights!

Home of the Copper River Salmon. Imagine the Wrangell Mts in the background

Worthington Glacier

Charlie doing his sled dog impersonation

Horse Tail Falls - Keystone Canyon

Welcome to Valdez

Valdez marina

400 lbs. of halibut - a good day's catch!

Tok, AK

After a restful, quiet night we decided to not stay a second night at the Discovery Yukon Lodging.  Charlie seemed nervous with the animal smells here. We hit the road late thinking it would be a short drive to our next destination, Tok, AK. We were told the poor roads would only last another ten miles. They didn’t tell us how bad they would be. We crawled along the gravel washboard road at 25 to 30 mph and nearly shook the motorhome apart. Charlie and Karen fought over seat assignments again. Charlie wanted his safe place, riding shotgun in the passenger seat and Karen thought she belonged there. I was an impartial observer and stayed neutral. Karen finally won but it was an epic struggle.

Finally, the road returned to pavement and we were able to pick up some speed but the frost heaves and potholes kept me on my toes for the rest of the drive. The weather turned to rain for most of the trip. As we neared Tok the side winds picked up. I was very happy to finally see the end of this drive.

We did finally meet a friendly US Customs agent at the Alaska border crossing. A smile and a “Welcome to Alaska” was a pleasant surprise. Karen received an Alcan Highway visa stamp for her new passport so now she doesn’t miss her old passport quite as much. After crossing the border, an old song kept running thru my mind. “One Tok over the line sweet Jesus, One Tok over the line”.  Haha. 

When we pulled into Tok I had suggested we stay at a free camping site behind the Chevron station. If you fill up at the pump you can stay at no charge. Unfortunately, it was a dust bowl so after a fill-up (keyword is after) we chose another RV park that advertised a RV wash station. The motorhome was caked with road mud that was like cement so I really wanted to get it cleaned up. After checking in and paying for our site, we were told the car wash had not been de-winterized yet but we could get a free wash at the gas station next door if we bought their gas. Oops, tanks were already full. We did need propane so we went to the station and I sweet talked them into a wash with a promise to fill up on our way back thru on our return to Canada. In Alaska all roads lead to Tok so we will see this place again. We spent a pleasant evening at the park. I decided to try our TV antennae to see if anything was available. The scan found only one channel to watch. To my disgust it was NBC and the only thing playing was Karen’s favorite, The Voice. She enjoyed the finale and I listened to ITunes music on my Bluetooth hearing aids. Being deaf is sometimes a good thing! 

Rainy weather - no pictures today.