Now for the second half of our camping adventure. After a few long days we were ready to take it a little easier. From Copper Center we drove north to Paxson at the head of the Denali Highway and stopped for the day at Tangle Lakes. Arriving just in time for lunch, we enjoyed the quiet while we ate. A little bit of exploring and we turned in early. We awoke to more cloudy skies so our beautiful mountain vistas were nowhere to be seen.
The Denali Highway is a 134 mile long stretch of gravel highway. Completed in 1957 to provide motorists with access to Denali National Park, the Denali Highway found itself virtually abounded in 1972 when the paved George Parks Highway opened, linking Anchorage and Fairbanks directly with the park. Since then the Denali Highway has served mainly as a passage into the back country for hunters and fishermen and as a byway for those seeking a peek at the way all of Alaska used to look, with wilderness in every direction.
We soon discovered that the 50 mph signs posted must have been a joke. After hitting an RV shaking series of potholes we quickly slowed to a mere 25 mph. I don't know how she did it, but Lucy managed to fall fast asleep.
Even though most of the mountains remained shrouded in clouds we did get a glimpse of the Maclaren Glacier just after we reached the Maclaren Summit. There were many interesting glacial features in this area. My favorite was the esker that we drove on top of. It's a winding ridge of glacier debris left behind long ago.
We stopped at Clearwater Creek for lunch. It was a beautiful spot with an abundance of rocks for Lucy to throw. The sun was shining down on us so I stripped off my shoes and socks to wade into the river. Boy was that some cold water! I don't think I even made it in past my ankles before I scampered back to shore. Brian tried his hand at gold panning, but didn't see anything of interest. We debated staying here for the night, but ultimately decided to move on. We had a lot of miles to cover and it was slow going so we packed it in and hit the road.
About 15 miles after lunch we heard a loud pop and then loud slapping as we slowed to a halt. Brian jumped out to investigate and came back with bad news - a blown tire. We had no spare tire and no cell service. We had recently passed a lodge and were debating whether or not we should attempt to turn around on the narrow road, when a guy on a 4-wheeler appeared. He informed us that the lodge would be of no help, but that there was a place 12 miles up the road called the Gracious House. It was another lodge, but with a tire shop. We decided to truck ahead at a demoralizing 5 miles an hour. After the first hour, Brian spent the better part of the next hour (in the pouring rain) trying to cut off the remaining tread so that we could go a bit faster, but had no luck. After another hour and half, we finally arrived at the Gracious House. Unbelievably, they were able to get us outfitted with a new used tire in no time.
Finally back on the road, our 25 mph seemed super fast. Up in the distance I spotted something on the road. At first, I thought it was a large dog, but as we got closer I realized it was a bear. My first wild brown bear sighting ever. He ran off into the brush as we approached in the RV. Brian told me to stop because he was sure he would stop to check us out. When he reached a safe distance in a clearing, he did indeed turn back to see what we were.
By this point, it was after 10pm and we were wiped out and very done with the gravel road. We pulled over a few miles from the end along side this beautiful lake.
The mosquitos are thick in the middle of nowhere and they some how made it inside. At first we thought they were coming in through the vents, but later decided they must have gotten in when Brian had the side hatches open while working on the tire and had been hiding until we stopped for the night. Try as we might to kill them all, they attacked us while we slept. I think Lucy got the worst of it. We call it the Mosquito Massacre of 2010.
After five fitful hours of sleep with mosquitos buzzing by my ears, I gave up. I woke up the rest of the crew and we headed for pavement and civilization. When we hit paved highway we all let out a cheer. I gave it a little gas and then we all groaned as another tire blew. We limped into Cantwell on another flat tire and had to wait for the town to wake up. Brian discovered a leak in the pipe from our gray water tank so we killed some time finding a dump station and emptying the tank. And then we found an elderly man who "sometimes" changes tires and takes cash only. Small towns in rural Alaska are in no hurry to do anything. He had to retrieve his help from his makeshift home in the flatbed of an old pickup truck and have their coffee before they could be bothered with us. We had used all our cash on the last tire guy so we used the time to track down the only ATM in town. It was at the gas station and it was empty. Apparently, someone from another town only fills it once in awhile. Luckily we were able to work something out with the gas station proprietor to the mechanic's satisfaction. He replaced the flat tire and one other that looked questionable. We weren't taking any chances.
Needless to say, this brought our trip to an end. We had one more night planned, but we were exhausted and covered in mosquito bites. Thankfully, Lucy was pretty oblivious to our troubles, but Brian and I couldn't get home fast enough. Even though the last 24 hours of our trip were a little rough, overall it was a fantastic time. We can't wait for our next adventure!
