18 July 2018. Around Archorage

18 July 2018.

Today we learned that my Dad had passed.  Through the  magic of technology we were able to gather with my brothers and sister and Mom and share some thoughts and prayers with Skype and cell phones.

18 July 2018. Toward Danali

There was nothing keeping us around Bird Point, so we hit the road and headed north about 8:30 in the morning.

First stop was a Great Clips in Anchorage.  Five weeks into the trip and Chuck was feeling a bit scruffy.  Money well spent!!!   While Chuck was getting trimmed, Karen discovered the wonder that was a Fred Meyers store across the parking lot.  Kinda like a Walmart, only a lot classier.  After a buying a few groceries, it was back on the road.  

We went right at the fork in the highway, which really isn’t the the way towards Denali.  But this enabled us to then head west via Hatcher Pass.  This was a section of twisty hair pin turn dirt road that climbed up to almost 3,900ft (quit laughing you Colorado folks…..).  The only other “RV” we saw on this road was a Global Expedition rig with 44” tires.  This was a neat and worthwhile side trip.

We used our Alaska Campground book to pick the evening’s accommodations that were six miles off the highway.  We were looking for a night away from the road noise that has been prevalent at so many of our stops.  We found an Alaska State Park on South Rolly Lake.  No tourists, just a lot of Alaskans there.  It was strange to spend the night not surrounded by rental motorhomes.  We grabbed a secluded site and made dinner.  Our after dinner walk produced a surprise.  There was a lake front site that was empty, and there was a note on the post explaining that the family had to leave a day early and the spot was available.  Chuck left Karen diligently guarding the area from intruders while Chuck ran up and brought down the truck.  It was one of our prettiest locations of the trip so far.  The evening was spent in the folding chairs facing the water.  Most excellent