Alaska RV Camping Travelog – Day 22

It’s Father’s Day! Did have a signal and was able to call my Dad for a quick visit and to see how he’ll spend the day! A cloudy morning with 53 degrees. I made popcorn with our Hot Air Popper as we had the electricity, and Brian dumped our tanks and refilled with fresh water.

The drive to breakfast was uneventful except for seeing the fisherman on the Kenai River. They call this “combat” fishing and for good reason! The people fishing are only about 10 feet apart along the river! You need protective eye wear to keep from getting a hook in the eye, ear or somewhere else!

We stopped at Gwin’s Lodge at Cooper Landing again and no crowds this morning, they’re all out fishing! This place was hand built with native logs back in 1952 and it really is a good looking log building. Brian has 2 eggs, bacon, home fries & toast, Mom has the biscuits and gravy, and I choose the Mexican scramble….YUMMY, and the service is excellent!!! Mom has had her eye on a large Cinnamon roll so we get one to go.

We are back on the road to Hope and we have plenty of clouds and RAIN! Also more “combat” fishing on the Russian River, which meets up with the Kenai River. Took the Hope turnoff from the Seward Highway, and our “hope” is to find a good camp spot and pan for gold! It’s 17 miles to our campground and we are very disappointed to find that all of the campsites are already reserved and the place is full. We drive around twice just to be sure, and go back out the way we came. The only place to boondock along the road would have been the rest area on the Seward Highway, and that’s too far away. We decide we’ll go back to Wasilla and stay at Mom’s friends RV Park.

We stopped at two different places for fuel along the way–once at Girdwood to make sure we could get to Anchorage–and then again in Anchorage. Better price at the Safeway with our card, but it’s a little difficult
to get into. Mileage at our fill-up was 77265, which means we put on 831miles since we last filled at Anchorage, used 79.414 gallons for a fuel economy of 10.46 mpg. The weather cleared up once we arrived in Anchorage, and it’s windy but we have a partly sunny day for a change!

We arrive at the Big Bear RV Park and get a space for the night. We also fill up with Propane here. $15 for a dry camping space, but the Laundromat there is in good shape and very clean. We get all our bedding washed and get caught up on our laundry.

Mom’s friends come over for a visit and we have Brownies, Ice Cream, and coffee. They used to live in Bellingham, but their kids were here in Alaska so they eventually moved up here rather than make those long trips up to visit.

Brian and I find a phone jack to plug our laptop into, but the price is 10 cents a minute! Yikes! We sure miss our dish……

We grill out and decide to call it a day.

Miles on Gozer 77302 – miles today 238

Road Notes: The road to Hope is winding through thick forest and offers several good views of the Turnagain arm and the mountains surrounding it. Traffic was heavy all the way from the Hope Highway to Anchorage, probably because it’s Sunday and working folks are out recreating.

Tomorrow – Richardson Highway to Valdez

Yesterday – The End Of The Road – Homer