Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Alaska Day 46 Hatcher Pass

We started this morning with breakfast with Ed/Sandy, Butch/Kathy, Steve/Nancy and KC/Sheila.DSCN0348   This is a nice little restaurant just outside of town that’s right next door to the RV park.  Food and service is good with a fair price.

Oh, I think Kim took this picture of Carol & me at Denali…Denali 06-28-2014 (93) f

Forty miles later we were in Willow, AK, just off the Parks Hwy on Hatcher Pass road.  The RV Park is called Hatcher Pass Campground (duh) and it’s pretty big and empty.  $24 for 50 AMP, water, dump available, and a huge drive thru site.  It’s a bit overgrown and empty.  Before the night was over there were 2 other RV’s pulled in but stayed away from us.  Mark arrived about 11:30 AM.  By 12 we were on the road down Hatcher Pass road.DSC_0002

It turned into a dirt road almost immediately.  It just kept getting prettier and prettier even with the heavy overcast.    Here are some pictures and I will let them do the talking.DSC_0003 DSC_0012 Halfway thru we turned left on a very narrow dirt road (path) and went two miles further into the wild.DSC_0017 DSC_0016 DSC_0028

Up a little closer.DSC_0023

Mark Nemeth is out there by this closed down gold mine.DSC_0041

We are out there…..DSC_0043 DSC_0046 DSC_0045   

Off the 4X4 road and back onto the dirt road we arrive at Hatcher Pass and the Geological marking (I think).DSC_0051

The view off the pass….DSC_0053

We got back to camp about 6 PM.  We stopped in Wasilla for dinner first though.  We were 7 hungry bears.

The guys sat out under our awning (raining) drinking, I mean tasting, different types of beer and testing skeeter devices.  We drank into we were all out of beer.  Not real sure if the skeeter stuffed worked or not.  One time the awning went up automatically during the rain.  We scrambled to save the beer and chips.  Then we put the awning back out.  No wind so we all guessed it went up because it was raining.  One of those fancy things.

It’s now 5 AM Thursday and raining and raining.  Awning went up again, no wind or rain accumulation on the awning.  Interesting!

See ya……….