This Is The Real Alaska–Really

Jaxon loves his raincoat! Can’t you tell?

I know I have claimed that several places we have visited are what we envisioned the real Alaska would be like. Well……. I think we have found another REAL ALASKA. And this may be the closest yet…..
We put the Denali Highway (DH) on our itinerary for our second loop around interior Alaska because it is off the beaten path. The 134 mile DH links Paxson, on the Richardson Highway on the east, to Cantwell, on the Parks Highway on the west. The first 21 miles from Paxson are paved as are the first 3 miles from Cantwell. The remaining 110 miles are gravel. This keeps almost all tourist traffic away. It shouldn’t because it is truly a beautiful drive. Make sure you have good tires and a full gas tank as there are no services on the road. Some tour buses even come across, stopping for lunch at one of the several lodges along the road. They usually travel the highway in 4 hours. We took three days.

View from a geocache along the highway

Gulkana and Maclaren Glaciers

We camped at the Brushkana Campground for two nights. We were on the edge of a large graveled area. Nice quiet spot. Then about 7pm the Green Tortoise showed up!

At first we thought it was just turning around but alas, the passengers were here to camp! We watched in amazement and intrigue as 35 folks climbed out and started unloading their gear. It was quite entertaining and as it turns out they were great campers. After they were somewhat settled we went out to find out what their story was. The Green Tortoise Company runs economy tours. You sign up on the internet. This particular tour was comprised of people from all over the world: Philippines, Sweden, Germany, England, China, Puerto Rico, Brazil, US…… All walks of life were represented from students, doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers and even a politician . They met in Anchorage and were off on a 14 day (for only $1000)adventure tour of Alaska. they seemed to get along very well. They shared the cooking and cleanup chores. We had some interesting conversations with them that night and next morning.

On down the road we found a great campsite along the Clearwater Creek. I caught a couple grayling here. We did some walking and talking to a few travelers/fishermen.

The Gracious House Lodge and more importantly it’s Sluice Box Bar was great stop along the road. And it is for sale if you are interested. Carol and Butch, the owners, have been running it for 55 years. They spend almost all year in this remote place, catering to snowmobilers and hunters in the winter. Travelers, fishermen, hunters and explorers occupy the other times when the roads are open to traffic. Butch also runs an air taxi service.

                               Carol

Dee really liked this shirt. I didn’t understand it, so I wouldn’t let her buy it

Butch does a big used tire business back here!

When we got toward the east end of the highway, where the 22 miles pavement starts, the road lost some of it’s excitement for us. It was still beautiful and the Tangle Lakes area is renowned for the fishing. But we preferred the back country.

This is a road we would definitely do again. For me the ideal would be to have an ATV and a float tube so I could get to the distant lakes and then fish them. Wow, that would be great.

So we will sign off for now and hope you all are staying cool

This bumper sticker captures the independence of Alaskans. Gotta love it!