Alaska Bound Days 38 & 39

Day 38 Miles 175 Hope AK Porcupine Creek Campground Chugach National Forest. (Note: I finally put my computer on Alaska time. I don’t know if anyone took note but with it being on Florida time, it appeared I was posting the blog in the wee hours of the morning!) By 10 a.m. most of the camp sites between me and the water had cleared out and I had a fantastic view! Unfortunately it was time for me to pull the power cord and head out of Homer. It would be better to be here on a week day I think. I had the impression many here were weekenders. Also there are several other camp grounds on the spit. I would check those out too. Homer Spit Rv seems the most popular perhaps because it is an easy walk to shops and restaurants, but nothing is very far. Heritage Park, Mariner Park and one that might be a municipal one are on the end of the spit toward town.
I went to Safeway to connect to the internet as I had never succeeded with anything but email with the campground’s connection. I also picked up some fruit and a Sunday Anchorage Daily News. Judy and Gunnel were at the store and soon we were all headed north. The drive seemed much more enjoyable in this direction. I don’t know if it was because I was fresher or the orientation to the water was better. It was also a beautiful sunny day so everything looked better. There still was a lot of traffic however and some road construction with work on Sunday. A number of boats were being trailered. These are a lobsterboat type design but look like they are built to withstand heavy, icy seas. On top was lashed an inflated inflatable (dinghy?) that seemed almost as long as the boat itself.
We stopped in Soldaton or as I call it the town with all the stoplights and franchises, and I topped off my tank. Lunch was eaten at a state park along the Kenai River. Lots of people were out enjoying the beautiful day. I had selected a campground that was part of the Chugach National Forest. The surrounding area had road construction and I had a funny feeling it might impact the campground. Sure enough a big CLOSED sign greeted us. We pulled out books and maps and decided to follow AAA recommendation for another National Forest campground. This required a drive away from route 1 and turned out to be very scenic and paved all the way into the campground. Even the sites were paved and not the gravel we’ve had lately. No water or electric but we had a fantastic dinner cooked outdoors on Judy’s grill. We cut up lots of vegetables and marinated them. She added ribeye steaks to the tasty meal. Gunnel had purchased wine so we really had a party complete with a campfire. In the beautiful wooded setting, it was idyllic.

Day 39 Miles 95 Ship Creek RV Park, Anchorage Another beautiful day and following breakfast we took an hour hike along the wooded trail that runs parallel to the water. We are on Turnagain Arm which is off the Cook Inlet. The tides here are second only to the Bay of Fundy. There was a nice breeze but we were shedding layers before returning to the camp ground. The wind had really increased on our return and there was a warning not to take the path on windy days because of all the damaged spruce trees. We had seen many toppled over. The disease caused by a beetle has caused a lot of destruction in all the areas we have travelled.
I ran my generator as I prepared my lunch using the microwave. I was very pleased that the new battery held its charge well. We’ll be dry camping 3 nights at Denali National Park and will have to depend on our own resources. I haven’t decided whether to get propane or not. The temperature has been rising and I haven’t used the heater in a couple of nights.
We left the campground reluctantly. It is the nicest campground I think I have been in on the whole trip. Heading back along the Hope Highway and then north on the Alaska Highway, we arrived at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. There were bison, muskoxen, moose, black tail deer, reindeer, and bears all behind fences. However seeing them away from their natural habitat was not the same. I realize they are doing important work here but I’ve seen so much as recent as yesterday when a moose meandered across the road in front of us. (Fortunately we were stopped.) They have a better than usual gift shop though. We also stopped at a roadside area overlooking the Turnagain Arm and Cook Inlet confluence. The full moon tides had the water all a-swirl. July and August this is supposed to be a good site to view Beluga whales. Passing by here was a “Princess” train headed from Anchorage to a cruise ship in Seward. The passengers were seated in dome cars with linen tablecloths. The speed at which the train was traveling made me think they were not able to take full advantage of the view.
Anchorage was another of the places where I kept changing the RV reservations as our numbers and dates changed. I had to work through a travel agency and prepay. I finally cancelled the other day when our plans were still fluid. We chose an RV park that looked like a good location, from an ad in the Milepost book. Arriving amidst rush hour traffic with road construction added in, we pulled into the worst looking RV park I’ve seen. It’s Creekwood Inn and RV. The cost was going to be $41 which was particularly painful after last night’s $7 . We decided to try the original RV park location, Ship Creek. I’d heard mixed reviews about that area. The railroad runs alongside the park. However compared to Creekwood, it was fine and the cost was the same As is typical of RV parks in a city, it is very close quarters. I could hand my neighbor a cup of coffee. However the laundry is nice and is where I am writing this.
Tomorrow I will get together with friends of friends and also visit the newly redone Museum of History and Art and hopefully the Native Center. Anchorage is very spread out, some calling it Los Anchorage. In some ways it is too bad to have such a short time, but somehow the congestion just makes me want to run the other way. For those living here, they don’t have far to go to reach beautiful scenic areas.