Lake Louise Lodge Glennallen

... leaving Anchorage, we saw a moose on the side of the road and several smushed porcupines on the road, but no other wildlife. The weather in Anchorage was fair and upon arrival in Tolsona, we found it very nice. We are camped in the very same site we had two years ago at Tolsona Wilderness RV Park. They have added more sites and now have wifi, so we are pleased. At many parks, we find we can receive email but can’t send; this one is the same way. If we ...

... like being on a roller coaster. Took us 6 hours to drive from Palmer to Glennallen. (Of course, we stopped constantly to admire the scenery and take pictures)

Our TN friends have the same destination so we’re traveling together. She made BBQ pork—yum—another delicious dinner together.

... Evans) at Kennicott. I just happened to enter into a nice conversation with one of her friends from McCarthy who was also at Kennicott today. Alas, Barbara lingered behind the rest of her group to take pictures and I had to leave before she came along the road.

Instead of the shuttle van back, I took a scenic flight in an old Cessna 180 (a 4-seater airplane). The plane was strictly for visual flight -- there were ...

Wendy and Bill left us today. They will be staying in a "rustic" cabin for a few day on a lake near Palmer. After that they head toward Denali. They will fly home next Wednesday. It was good being with them. Fred, Evelyn Bill & Wanda left Palmer and am staying the night at Glennallen. Going across the Glenn Highway (Palmer to Glennallen) we saw some beautiful country ...

... Back at the campground, we ate dinner and then headed into the woods nearby to find some diamond willow. Diamond willow is used as decorative woodwork and can be very costly. We were able to cut a couple of pieces that can be made into walking sticks when dried, sanded and shellacked. Tomorrow we are letting a van transport us over the 60+ miles of dirt road to McCarthy and the Kennicott Copper Mine.

... have 90 sites on the Tolsona creek. I think I counted only 7 other campers. Very remote and quiet. The temperatures have ranged from the 50's to 60's. We are finally staying in one spot for a few days. Marty is on a quest to catch Grayling. From what I understand, this fish which is a cousin to the Trout, was plentiful as far south as Montana and Michigan but was over ...

... funny to see us geocaching...we walk around with these bells strapped to ourselves carrying sticks so that the bears will know where we are and avoid us - or so we hope!!! They're probably sitting in the underbrush making fun of us, I know it! If you look closely at my pants in the picture, you can see the bell tied to my pants on my right side. What a dork! We're home now and we finished dinner. They had the best pie, called "fruits of the forest" with strawberries, blackberries ...

... likely to be the only visitor in this isolated area. I only have one question, how is it that this awe-inspiring sight located on the border between Alaska and British Columbia is practically unknown as a tourist destination? As the afternoon projected its long shadows, time was once more tugging at my sleeves as I still had a long drive out of the wilderness to Terrace (direction Prince Rupert) where Barbara was waiting for my arrival much later in the evening.

Palmer is also where the main highway eastward veers off, so I take that to Glenallen, before heading north again to Delta Junction. The next day is one long drive through the vastness and openness of Alaska. There's really nothing quite like it, and the idea that it’s all tundra and nothingness could not be farther from the truth. That part of Alaska ...