Today we began to point back towards home. A lot of the businesses that cater to travelers close up after labor day weekend, so I guess that it is a hint that we should begin to head home.
But there are still things to see so we did not make it that far today. We had originally planned to head into Valdez for the night, but when we woke up the weather forecast for Valdez was lousy. Instead of heading into bad weather we decided to head North a bit towards the Denali Highway.
I have not mentioned the Milepost book since we took off, but do not come to Alaska without a copy. It is an incredibly detailed guide of all of the roads in Alaska, Northern BC, and the Yukon. It basically tells you everything about the road you are traveling on down to pullouts, and warnings of bad sections of road. The Milepost said that the first twenty miles of the Denali highway from Paxson were not to be missed, so we decided that would be our focus for today.
We made what should have been a 10 mile detour to go to the visitors center for the Elias-Wrangel National Park, but somehow we both missed the large sign on the highway telling us to turn, after about 15 miles we figured it out and turned around and headed back. Wrangell-St. Elias is the largest park in the US, but it only has two dirt roads that go into it, so it is largely wilderness. The visitors center is very well done and informative about the park.
We headed north on the Richardson Highway, and it was a long stretch of frost heave, and pot holes. We were averaging about 45 mph, even though the speed limit was posted at 65. There were plenty of people who did travel at 65 though so we were constantly watching our rear for fast approaching cars and semi’s.
The Milepost was right the Denali Highway was worth the trip. Ton nearly killed the battery on her camera taking pictures. At the top where the pavement ends was a BLM campground that had 100 spots. We decided we would stay there for the night, but it is labor day weekend, and despite being remote, it had a sign at the entrance saying that it was full. It turned out to be good luck.
Consulting the Milepost, there was a State Park about 45 miles from where we were, and it also mentioned a BLM remote camping area with great views of Gulkana Glacier. We had decided on the State Park, but as we were driving down the Richardson we saw some RV’s parked in an area with incredible views. We have joined them for the night parked at the end of an old emergency airstrip with incredible 360 degree views.
