4th of July in Alaska

After the Bear Creek Fire jumped Parks Highway causing the road to close, one lane of the highway eventually opened intermittently the next afternoon. We jumped at the opportunity to get past the fire so we joined the queue and awaited the pilot car, which escorted long lines of cars, returning with another long line of cars from the opposite direction.

The remnants of the forest fire remained smoldering along the both edges of the road as smoke filled the air along about 20 miles of the Parks Highway. The front line of the fire could be seen advancing further east.

With plans for an extended stay at Denali National Park next week, we skirted past catching a quick glimpse of Mount McKinley. Albeit it was hard to pass such a beautiful sight too quickly.

On the southern edge of the National Park, we camped a couple nights at the adjacent Denali State Park. We were properly introduced to the massive mosquito population that Alaska is so well known for! The panoramic views of snow capped mountains was a treat.

We stopped by Talkeetna, and met Lily who writes poetry off the cuff after a brief conversation on a vintage type writer. She really captured the essence of our journey in our van, that we have named Carl.

The “Magic Bus” that was used in the film Into The Wild is now located at the 49th State Brewing Company in the small town of Healy. Since the original bus is still being prepped for display at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, we checked out the replica and enjoyed lunch.

Continuing south towards Anchorage, we stumbled on a local nonprofit, Kids Kupboard and decided to help out a couple days to ensure local kids get a needed meal. The first day we helped pack lunches in their kitchen, and the next day we setup at a community library meeting the kids and handing out lunches.

“Kids Kupboard knows that our strength lies not only in the words we stand by, but most importantly through the actions of our initiatives. By working together we can overcome our challenges more efficiently.” – Kids Kupboard, a non-profit organization in Wasilla, Alaska

Matanuska River Park in Palmer, just north of Anchorage served as base camp for a few nights while we volunteered and explored the area.

The 23-mile Coastal Trail in Anchorage gave us the opportunity to rent bicycles. Beautiful scenery highlighted what surprisingly turned into to a wildlife viewing ride.

Coastal Trail in Anchorage

Near the beginning, a Beluga whale was in Cook Inlet, and we followed along several miles at it periodically surfaced for air. Then a bald eagle was perched not far off the trail. We watched for while before being impressed with its wing span as it took flight.

A moose and a very young calf was munching their way along merely a few feet off the path. A couple more miles, and two huge moose were standing adjacent to the path. Then as we returned to the city there’s a black bear ambling across the road.

Intending to hike, we drove up Hatcher Pass to Independence Mine State Historical Park. But, we found snow on the ground, along with rain and low clouds so we stopped for hot chocolate and walked around the old preserved gold mine.

Hatcher Pass

Perfect weather emerged once again and we visited Eagle River Nature Center. We hiked all the way until we were at the edge of Eagle River. The trail followed along the Historic Iditarod Trail. We ate on the edge of the river with mountains extending high above us in all directions.

The Scottish Highland Games provided a change of pace and turned out to be a huge event. The events were referred to as Heavy Athletics, Stone Put, Caber Toss and Scottish Strongman, but they were actually throwing what looked like telephone poles, and tossing small boulders vertically over a high jump. Lots of bagpipes and marketplace vendors and food trucks rounded out a fun event.

The morning of July 2nd, we backtracked a hundred miles to Denali State Park, this time for the RV2AK Rally. The largest gathering of RVs in Alaska proved a good time to meet new people, learn about some new adventures, listen to speakers and enjoy some good food. We are settled in for the holiday. No, fireworks really are not a thing here, as the 24 hours of daylight just does not provide for good viewing.

A few more days at the RV2AK rally and we are off to Denali National Park and Mt. McKinley.

Happy 4th of July from Alaska!