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We left Tok early this morning and headed southwest on Tok Cutoff toward Glennallen. It was supposed to be a better maintained road than the Alaska Highway, but I’m not terribly convinced. We discovered when we got here (Northern Nights Campground) that the cap off our bumper was missing. Jeff didn’t think a whole lot of it until he discovered that our sewer connection, which is stored in the bumper, also fell out somewhere along the way. Oops!
Despite the bumps, it was again a beautiful drive. We passed by rivers and many mountains. The skies were perfect, so we were able to clearly see the Wrangell mountains, Tanada Peak, Mt Sanford, Mt Blackburn and Mt Drum. We saw a Colorado plate a few days ago, which Jeff thought was hilarious. They are proud of their mountains, but Alaska’s are better. Mt Sanford, for example, is 16,237 feet and Mt Blackburn is 16,390.
We pulled into our campground just in time to head into town for their July 4th parade. There were many more people than there were in Whitehorse, and I noticed that all the kids had grocery bags. Judy offered one to each of the boys, which
Moose
Why is it we usually get a look at the less impressive end? was good, because there was a lot of candy. Some people were just shoveling it out with both hands. Liam and Cole were very excited.
After lunch, Judy stayed with boys while Jeff, Floyd and I drove out to Wrangell-St Elias National Park. We stopped at a variety of viewpoints, as well as along the Klutina River, I think. We had planned to do the Liberty Falls Trail, but couldn’t find it on the way to Chitina because of construction at the campground. On the way back, we found Liberty Falls and took some photos there. (I tried to get creative and go out on the rocks. I’m actually not that balanced and ended up with incredibly wet feet, but a dry camera.) We still couldn’t find the “well-labeled sign” for the other trail, so drove back to rescue Judy instead.
It is beautiful. It’s sunny, there’s a slight breeze. We even have a fire pit here, so we can have s’mores this evening. It may not be possible to be better than this.
Conversation of the Day:
(My grandmother turns 80 tomorrow, and many family members showed up at their annual July 4th picnic
in Minnesota to celebrate. I called to wish her a happy birthday.)
K: Hi, Grandma!
G: I didn’t know you could call from up there.
K: Yes, Grandma, it’s called a telephone.
G: A what?
K: A telephone.
G: I don’t understand what you’re saying.
K: A cell phone, Grandma, like we use at home.
G: I’m not up to date, I guess.
(We love Grandma dearly, by the way. She was surprised it was so clear all the way from Alaska.)
License Plates Noticed: MO, AK, AZ, TX, Sweden, MS
High Temperature: 83o (Chitina, AK)
Low Temperature: 49o (20 miles southwest of Tok, AK)
Miles: 275.1
Total Time on the Road: 2:48 (WSE doesn’t count)
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Tot: 0.104s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 10; qc: 29; dbt: 0.0316s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb