July 30 We visited with Grant and Debby and gave them our travel itinerary for the Kennecott Mines at McCarthy this week, then Fairbanks the following week, and finally halibut fishing the 3rd week . They can then plan any other trips they want to take. We left Wasilla around 8:00.
We drove the Glenn Highway to Glennallen. Just outside of Glennallen we hit major road construction. We were stopped for a while before the pilot car arrived to escort us to the other end. However, Alaska is big on dust abatement, so a semi water truck preceded us and flooded the dirt. And yes, it made instant mud. Our 5th wheel trailer again bears the badge of construction- two caked mud streaks on its lower front.
At Glennallen we fueled up and turned south onto the Richardson Highway. We have traveled both the Glenn and Richardson (to Valdez) before. However, after about 15 miles on the Richardson we made a left onto the Edgerton Highway and headed easterly. At Kenny Lake we filled up with fuel again as this is the last diesel station for us until our return trip on the same highway.
We followed the Edgerton to the Wrangell View RV Park 5 miles from Chitina. It has electric and water hookups but is on the side of a shallow hill. With a small amount of effort Peggy directed me into a site and we were reasonably able to get level. Thankfully we had AC as the air is quite humid and the temp was near 80º.
Debby, our hostess in Wasilla, is going to be jealous as she is trying to grow a crop of raspberries. However, this year they are creating all canes but very few blossoms and fewer yet berries. Right next to our campsite is an area that is full of wild raspberries which are ripe!
After setting up and having had our lunch we drove to Liberty Falls. It is on a small creek and looks to have a nice waterfall. However it is hard to get a good vantage point for a picture unless you chose to hike to the very top which these two travelers decided not to do as we only had our tennis shoes on. At some point in time a large rectangular boulder broke away from the canyon wall and positioned itself directly in front of the falls making a photo difficult.
While at the falls, we met a lady who was wearing a Nebraska t-shirt. Peggy had hers on, also. When I mentioned to the lady that we were from Nebraska she said she was an Alaskan, but that her daughter had moved to Whiteclay, NE! The daughter and granddaughter were visiting the Alaskan, and the granddaughter was having her high school graduation pictures taken at the falls. Small world! When I mentioned that Whiteclay had been in the news again recently they said that they ran the grocery store. (Whiteclay sells alcohol directly to the Native Americans who live on a reservation right across the state line in S.D.. The SD reservation is dry so the Native Americans drive or walk the short distance to Whiteclay to get their booze. SD is trying to convince NE that Whiteclay should not be able to sell alcohol!)
From the falls we drove into the very small town of Chitina. Chitina grew up in the early 1900s when copper was discovered in the Copper and Chitina River areas. It became a railroad center for the ore trains that took the copper to Cordova on the coast.
However, trains at that time needed coal. The US government enacted legislation that prevented Alaska from utilizing its own coal fields to provide for the railroad as the syndicated (Guggenheim and Morgan) railroad was considered a monopoly. Because coal had to be shipped in for the railroad it was very costly for the railroad to continue.
Once the copper ore was gone and the mines closed, the railroad also left, so towns like Chitina and McCarthy, where the Kennicott Mine is at became virtual ghost towns. Slowly with the development of roads the old mining areas became tourist attractions. In 1980 Wrangell-St Elias National Park was formed. Tourism to the old mine at McCarthy increased. The old railroad bed from Chitina to McCarthy was covered with gravel to convert it to a road.
I was fortunate in that Grant had a book that he loaned me, “The Copper Spike”, on the history of the establishment and decline of the railroad in this area.
Chitina is little more than a couple of B & Bs, a hotel, and a few private residences. Salmon fishing on the Chitina River is big and there are several fish wheels being used to catch them. There is usually a large sand bar on the east side of the Copper River at Chitina. However, because of the very warm temperatures the Copper is running high and the sand bar is pretty much under water. There were at least 3 RVs who got caught by the rising water and either are in water or surrounded by water. And, the fish wheels on this side of the river are about 50-100 yards away from the new shoreline.
We grilled our supper after which I put photos on the computer and edited them. I then started writing today’s blog. At about 8:45 p.m. Peggy and I went for a walk. Was this a mistake? I’m sure if you asked the mosquitoes they’d say it was a perfect time for a walk. All I can say is that we kept up a pretty lively pace while swinging our arms wildly trying to keep the suckers (figuratively and literally) away. I’m sure anyone who might have seen us would think, “Those crazy Nebraskans!”
Regarding our walk- when we self-registered for our campsite there was a sign that a bear had been seen in the campground on July 27. So, Peggy armed herself with bear spray before we left on our walk. I armed myself with a camera.
Tomorrow we drive the 60 miles from Chitina to McCarthy and the old mines on a gravel road created on the old railway bed. We’re very excited to do this!
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