OK, I’m sitting in the rain in Valdez, waiting for some stoopy fish to show up, and the most recent report is “maybe in a week or two”. You know, I think I’ll bail outa here and head north, seeking some sunshine. So long, silver salmon, maybe next time! Instead, I head up to the Galkona river above Glenallen. Rumor has it that there’s a late run of red salmon in the river there, and I might be able to catch a few. The river has a convenient access area that you can boondock in for free. I show up and grab a spot in the not crowded lot and walk to the river to see what’s up.
Lots of people fishing, and no fish being caught. Gee, reminds me of Soldotna! I do join the hopefuls and cast aimlessly in the river for a while. No bites, so looks like the run passed us by. That’s been the story so far in a lot of places.
I decide to travel all the way up the Richardson Highway to Delta Junction, mostly to get a hat pin for the end of the Alaska Highway. Hat pin, you say? Yeah, that has been my souvenir strategy: get a hat pin for every place I’ve been, and for all the fun things we did in Alaska. I figured, hey, I can afford hat pins. I have collected quite a slew of them!
The big problem with this plan is that now my hat weighs about 5 pounds, and all the little pins poke me in my skull. No sacrifice is too much for the Alaska trip, though, so I still wear it at appropriate times. Anyway….
The trip up the Richardson: the weather is not the best, but there are still many neat spots to see and photo along the way. The road is, well, sort of OK, narrow in spots and lots of frost heaves, but I take it slow.
Alaska is the most consistently scenic place I have ever been; No matter where you go, it is just beautiful, with something new and awesome around almost every turn! Here are some examples from the road north.
There is a place where you can see the oil pipeline as it crosses the highway. Pretty cool!
I’m starting to see just a hint of fall colors starting. Uh oh… that’s not a good sign! I guess the fireweed wasn’t lying.
Arriving at Delta Junction, I get the obligatory pic in front of the Alaskan Highway sign and score my hat pin.
There’s not much in Delta, but I roll up to Rika’s Roadhouse and grab a cheap night of camping there ($5) and tour the grounds. Rika’s is a state park, and preserves all of the original buildings from what was once a very important stop along the gold trail.
There is this cool little teardrop trailer in the parking lot… looks like it is road-able and usable! It has a current license plate, anyway.
The drive from Delta to Tok is about 100 miles, and it is socked in all the way. Too bad for us scenery lovers, but that’s how it goes sometimes. However, as I travelled toward Tok, I started seeing lots of old Volvos (PV544’s P210’s real oldies) heading north. A big long string of them all with Rally plates and lots of decals and stuff on the sides. I think they were these guys!
Is that cool or what? Panama to Alaska? In 40 and 50 year old cars? Maybe I should organize a MG rally to Alaska… I’ll put that on “my list”.
There’s not a whole lot to Tok either.
But, there are some fun things to do in Tok: First off, one simply must go to Fast Eddy’s and get a big plate of mushrooms and a draft Alaskan APA..
Fast Eddy’s also sponsors evening entertainment! Bluegrass in Alaska! These young folks play up a storm 4 nights a week, and it’s free! They are all local residents, and work during the day for the wildlife center. Going to college in Florida during the winter, but living in Alaska. Hey, I could do that!
Finally, a visit to Mukluk Land should be on everyone’s list!
George and Beth Jacobs own and operate this place, and it is obviously a labor of love. Beth met me at the door and made sure I had a good time. She coerced me into playing several games of Skeeball, and I won enough tickets on the antique machine to qualify for some gummy worms. MMM Gummy….
The collection of odd and interesting stuff covers acres. There are dozens of old snow machines (that’s the Alaskan name for snowmobiles), lots of old vehicles and equipment, and some really unique pieces.
Santa’s Rocket Ship?
Heater Heaven…. man, those are some big heaters! Think it gets cold around here?
There is a big collection of old power generation equipment from all over the state. Probably dates back to the days before municipal power was available. There are still a lot of places in Alaska with no power grid service, so generators provide power for whole villages and businesses.
They have a doll collection like nothing I’ve ever seen. So big, it is housed in several different buildings. Man, that’s a lot of dolls. They’re all looking at me… OK, I’m getting freaked out…
Lots more here, you get the idea.
Mukluk Land is definitely worth a stop, if you pass through Tok! OK, the sun sets on one of my last few days in Alaska. I am starting south tomorrow, but there is still a little bit of Alaska yet to see…. you’ll see!
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