And Some Familiar Sights - They Never Get Old

  

One of the best things about RVing in Alaska is enjoying the scenery, especially when the weather is nice and if there is wildlife to be seen.  On this year's trip, we saw a lot of both!  I was really surprised by the number of moose we saw throughout our trip.  We saw them while driving through Soldotna, on the Glenn Hwy as well as the Richardson Hwy.

We also saw bears (both black and grizzy in the same area within about a mile or one another) for the first time outside of Valdez on Dayville Road, where the Soloman Gulch Fish Hatchery is, as well as one of our most favorite boondock locations.

While at the fish hatchery weir, we enjoyed watching the sea lions feast as the pink salmon returned to spawn.  It was pretty surprising there were no bears when we were there, but we enjoyed our time there just the same.  There were also plenty of eagles around, both out in the flats at low tide and up high in the trees.

In past years when we left Valdez, we traveled over to Tok in order to camp at a place that had a nice large freezer to store our fish boxes overnight.  Unfortunately, the Golden Bear Campground went out of business a year or two ago so that left us needing to find an alternative for our fish.  We ended up just staying in Valdez an extra night and then driving directly to Fairbanks on our final day of vacation, allowing the fish to stay in the deep freeze at the fish processing place in town.

It worked out perfectly, as it gave us the opportunity to drive the entire distance on the Richardson Hwy.  Some of the most beautiful glaciated areas of Alaska are along this stretch of road.  Also along this drive are several viewing spots for the Alaska Pipeline.  Our Sunday drive of roughly 375 miles was lovely.  It started out foggy with some rain, but by the time we were to around Glennallen, it was clearing up.

I am really glad we were able to enjoy the drive north to Fairbanks!