ALASKA!

I'm writing this post at 1:20am...it never gets dark here! Official sunset is 12:45am! 

I arrived around 2pm on Sunday, June 15th. The visitor center in Tok (pronounced "Toke") wasn't open so I started heading for Fairbanks hoping everyone was right and camping on the side of the road or at a river was allowed. I stopped at the Three Bears Alaska grocery store that had very little gluten-free or organic food. Then the Tesoro gas station after reading if you fill your tank not only would they let you park for the night, but you can use their car wash! This "car wash" is only a hose with sprayer, a bucket of soap and a brush, but it was good enough for me! The ground where I was to park and wash was deep in mud and the soap water was dirty, but Big Blue got a bath! Nothing like a bath to make one feel renewed!! (I'm still waiting to have a proper bath...it's been six months!)

I headed down Highway 2, the Alaska portion of the Alaska Highway and started looking. Near Dot Lake I pulled over to a parking area and beyond was a gravel surface right next to a creek. I kept thinking, I hope this is legal! I washed the solar panels, washed my hair (it had been too long!), washed my pants that got muddy from the car washing, made dinner, and collapsed. A lot of work goes into living in a van and after an exhausting day of driving, it doesn't stop! I find when I'm most exhausted, I forget to take any photos, but photos of a parking lot aren't that interesting anyway!

The next morning I headed to Fairbanks, but not before I killed no less than 100 mosquitoes and gnats that somehow got into my closed van during the night! How? They are relentless. Every time I stopped they'd swarm the van. Luckily, I've managed not to get too many bites and nothing that itches. Finally when the weather got hot (90 degrees!) and everything dried out they went away. 

Fairbanks. Not a very impressive town. More like a large strip mall that expanded in all directions. I might have missed any downtown it might have had although I drove around searching for various amenities I needed. I went straight for the visitors center and they were incredibly helpful. First, smoke haze is a natural occurrence every year because usually Alaska has their share of wildfires. Not this year, but the Canadian wildfires are making up for it. Yes, as long as it isn't private property or there are no parking/camping signs, I can park anywhere!! The parking locations are all over the side of the highway. Rest stops are usually camp-able as well. Look for dirt roads heading to the sides of bridges as it will take you to the river's edge, but I found some of those dirt roads are in bad shape with deep ruts or steep declines. Alaska also has BLM lands, but like the lower 48, they are out in the middle of no where. Walmarts and some other grocery stores were filled with RVs and vans parked in the back of the lots. It's very boondocking friendly!

I found the Co-op Grocery store and loaded up on food for the first time in almost a week. But what about water? I was totally out of water. No stores (including Walmart) has refill water stations! I was directed to go to any number of water companies for refills. One tasted like chlorine (no filtering) and the fancy one that does reverse osmosis also treats the water with ozone. I told the woman I can't do ozone as it would make me violently ill, but they didn't have ozone-free water. Now what do I do? I decide to test their water and drank a small 2 ounce cup. Immediately my mouth, throat, and whole esophageal tract all the way down started burning! I figured it might me a little nauseous, but I did not expect burning. No thank you! I ended up going back to Walmart and buying three one-gallon plastic jugs for too much money. 

I stopped at Home Depot and bought some sodium chloride to put in my van to soak up the humidity that makes my van feel wet all over. Then I took off around 2pm on Highway 3 and headed south for Denali State Park. On the way I saw what I think was a small beaver (?) waddling slowly across the highway. I was driving nearly the speed limit which was too fast to make any decent decision. I thought for a moment I could roll over him, but I was afraid he'd panic and end up under a tire so I went around onto the side of the road. I hope he made it across before someone else hit him!

That was the only wildlife for two hours! Kind of disappointing as I had high hopes for Alaskan sightings. I got to the park, acquired information, and found a parking area on the highway just north of the park with a plan to go back the next day for some hiking. A little noisy on the highway, but I ended up with European neighbors from Switzerland (I used to live in Switzerland!) who started their trip a year ago at the southern tip of South America! They plan to transport their vans back home from Baltimore - it will cost as freight $3,000. Hmmmm....good to know.

View from parking location.
The haze still covers everything so it's hard to see anything!

As I was relaxing and looking at my emails and messages, I heard a commotion on the highway, screeching of brakes and some loud clanging metal. I looked out the window of my van just in time to see a mama moose and two babies running past and across the parking surface!!! I jumped out of my van, stayed behind it as moose especially ones with babies can be dangerous and watched her trot haphazardly through the parking area. Good god, she was big! The babies were huge, probably about six feet tall. It seems the semi-truck risked his own life and slammed on his brakes for them. That can't be easy sailing down the road at 65 miles an hour. This is why I usually drive slower than the speed limit! She disappeared over the embankment quickly. The Swiss people were sitting outside and we were all screaming, "DID YOU SEE THAT?" So exciting!

I was up until about 2am...it's still light out! Got up at 5am as usual and headed to Denali National Park and Preserve. I've learned if a car is parked on the side of the road and the driver has a high-powered camera lense, slow down and look. Same with tour buses. That morning a cruise tour bus was parked in the middle of the road near the park entrance with emergency flashers. I looked. Hmmm...maybe some animal is crossing in front of the bus. Finally I looked to my left and there is a mama moose with a tiny baby! The rest of the morning I hiked the Horseshoe Lake trail and saw muskrats in the lake.

 I drove around Denali National Park and Preserve. The weather cleared so I saw Denali!

There were signs on the trails warning hikers. It seems a bear killed a caribou and the bear will go back to the carcass...the bear will go back to its kill so they don't want hikers in the area who might make the bear feel like its food is being threatened.

Went to see the Dog Sledding Center. Lots of cute puppies, but didn't stay for the demonstration. After getting to bed at 2am, I was exhausted. I started the very long drive toward Anchorage, but couldn't keep my eyes open on the way so pulled into a snowmobile parking lot to camp just before it started pouring rain. I woke to the whole van feeling so wet it had been underwater.

The next morning I stopped in Talkeetna - incredibly cute town with lots of art galleries, restaurants and log cabins. Unfortunately, as usual, I was there too early in the morning, but walked around looking. It doesn't matter. It's not like I'm going to buy art, touristy souvenirs or eat gorgeous looking gluten-laden food.

Anchorage was a very nice city, lovely downtown, lots of amenities: Walmart, Fred Meyer, and a great health food-oriented store call Natural Pantry. 

After loading up on necessary supplies, I headed out Highway 1 to the Kenai Peninsula. OK! Now I feel like I'm in Alaska and I finally figured out the map! I kept asking myself why are there no little country roads on this map to the outlying towns? Because the land is all mountains! In the Fairbanks area, I could hardly see anything for the smoke haze then the clouds so the landscape just looked like Washington. Ho hum, who cares? I wasn't impressed. Denali cleared up, but in the northern area of the Kenai Peninsula one is surrounded by snow-covered mountains on all sides! It's glorious.

First stop was Girdwood. Little town. Not that interesting. It had a laundry with front loading washers so that wouldn't work. I stopped in at the National Forestry Office and spoke with a bad-attituded woman. It was like pulling teeth trying to get information on camping for free anywhere off the highways. She sent me to the Portage Glacier Highway that is lined with not only the Portage Glacier, but many others. There are a lot of avalanche warning signs on the highways and I wondered as the sun warmed the mountains if they have avalanches even in the summer? There is a lot of snow on the peaks!

I found a wonderful camping spot right on a river and hiked part of the Blue Ice Trail.

I left early and headed to Seward down the Seward Highway (9). Really cute town right on the water. I did laundry as they had top-loading washers, bought more water, exchanged books at a Free Library near the senior center, and walked around. It wasn't until I left and drove through the northern side of town that I saw the hundreds of tourists debarking from the cruise lines. Most milling around with luggage, some getting on tour buses. Blah. I left for Homer.

The drive to Homer was back on Highway 1. The mountains disappeared and the scenery looked like Washington making the drive long and boring. Homer might have been equally as boring, nothing special EXCEPT the view! Along the route a white mist started rolling in at around 4pm. At first I wondered if it was smoke and there was a fire .Was it clouds or fog?  Once I got a look at the view to the west and saw the distant mountains, with a layer of clouds or fog, and then water, it looked like some kind of magical land. The sides of the highway were congested with tourists so I didn't stop often for photos. The Sterling Highway had the most traffic of anywhere I'd traveled so far. I'm not fond of people, tourists and a lot of traffic, so I tend to not stop or pull off since it might be difficult to get back on the road. I do wish I would have gotten a better photo...

Instead of staying in Homer, I had a strong desire to leave! I was determined to get closer to the northern part of the Kenai Peninsula with the mountains, beyond the fire damage. About halfway to Homer were acres and acres of burnt trees. It's amazing and frightening to see.

I have found I am incredibly tired of camping on highways with the noise. The whole point in boondocking for me is being out in the peace and quiet of nature. So I kept driving hoping to find something, but as that snarky woman in the National Forestry office said, Alaska doesn't have much of off road camping. As I drive down miles and miles of highways, I'm constantly looking. I came across a dirt road, but it looked like a quarry. Quarries are private property so one doesn't want to be camping only to be in the way in the early morning as quarry workers arrive for work. As I passed this road, I kept looking and through the trees I saw part of an RV! I circled back to check it out. It looks like a non-working quarry, the RV was on the top of the hill. I continued driving in and there are five other vehicles parked ready to camp for the night! I drove down into the bowels of the quarry away from everyone else and shielded from the highway noise. 

Sometimes I feel a little creepy in places like this when I notice the shotgun shells all over, but with others camping there, I felt safe. I constantly think Alaskans throughout history are the explorers, the subversives, the rebels and renegades who wanted to be out in the wilderness away from other people and government control. I find this admirable, until I'm reminded they can also be gun-toting crazies. Earlier in the day I passed a car on the side of the road that obviously had a flat tire. Someone took a gun and shot out the windshield! I see a lot of highway signs with bullet holes, too. Hmmmm....I don't always feel that safe here in Alaska!

The next morning I headed back to Portage Glacier Road and visited Portage Glacier and surroundings this time without tour buses blocking the views:

I can't get enough of these snow-covered mountains and glaciers! It's like a wonderland!

I waited for the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center to open. I figured this might be my only chance to see bears in Alaska. This is not a "zoo". I boycott zoos. I understand the need to see wildlife if one can't travel, but purposely trapping and imprisoning animals for entertainment is outdated and cruel. This center takes in wildlife that has been injured, abandoned as babies, or disabled in someway. They have eagles, owls, porcupines, fox, bison, elk, reindeer, caribou, wolves, lynx, muskox and bears! They had two black bears snoozing in the sun. They also have grizzlies, but the grizzly compound was huge and they must have been napping in a far corner. Nice place. They work really hard at providing a natural environment for the animals.

I admit, I had no idea what a caribou looked like and I headed here first.
I thought they were much bigger like reindeer. They were very small!

I thought I would stay a few more days before attempting another trip on the Alaska Highway from Hell, but it was time. So often when I'm visiting a location, all of a sudden it's time to leave. That is an advantage to not having a schedule and having all this freedom. It's my choice. Big Blue is leaking coolant and my appointment is in two weeks. I'd like to stay for the van festival which is a month away, but the coolant leak stresses me. I am also worried the festival might be much like Quartzsite with smelly people and no healthy food options. Paying $250 to experience even something remotely similar to Quartzsite would really piss me off. I left. Alaska is done and over. 

I headed out on Highway 1 toward Tok. This is not the same route I came in on. The views were spectacular, the highway was like a little country road. When I say "little", I'm not exaggerating! When it started twisting up and down through the mountains it became incredibly narrow with very little side, no pull-outs, and giant RVs barreling down toward you. They took up their whole lane from stripe to stripe! It was a bit frightening as my side had the drop-off cliff and a lot of unstable cement and potholes!

I stopped in Palmer which had a little market or maybe it was a solstice fair. Lots of booths selling sourdough bread and nothing gluten-free.

Near Glenellen, Mt. Drum was hypnotizing, staring straight at me on the highway from the distance! It looked like something out of a fantasy land!

Mantanuska Glacier was another gorgeous sighting along the highway:

That night I stayed at a boondocking campsite Menasta Lake that claimed to have moose sightings. I spoke to a local who was there with her brood of teenage boys and she said they started mining in the area and the wildlife have pretty much disappeared due to the huge trucks in and out of the area. Oh well. Once the teens left, it was very quiet all night. 

I got up the next morning and tackled the Alaska Highway. The second time wasn't any better although learning from the first time, I drove a whole lot slower not caring if people wanted to race around me. I must be masochistic to attempt it twice, but I didn't have much of a choice. To heal from the trauma of it all, I'll be writing a separate post!

Alaska in a Nut Shell, pros and cons:

Boondocking supported and encouraged.

Gorgeous snow-covered mountains and water.

No water refills.

Stores don't charge for bags.

Not a lot of healthy food options.

Hooray for moose...I think all the bears went to the Yukon for the summer to get away from the tourists!

Nice, cool weather. 

The Alaska Highway.

I went in June which I think is a really good time to go with fewer RVs and campers. I've heard in July the Alaska Highway is bumper to bumper which is why I headed out early.

Also in June, there are wildflowers along the sides of the highways. This is spectacular. I don't think they last into July so June was a good choice: