From Kenai we headed on down the Sterling Highway towards Homer, Alaska. The day was overcast and drizzly, with increasingly heavy showers as the further south we got. Although our route took us along the coast, overcast was too heavy to make out any of the mountains and volcanoes across the Cook Inlet. As we neared Homer, we met with dense fog, only lifting as we dropped down the last grade into town.
From Portage Valley RV Park, we headed on down the Seward and Sterling Highways towards Kenai. Scenery along the way was stunning with mountain vistas seemingly wherever you looked. After just a short distance we transitioned to the Kenai Peninsula and the scenery, if possible, became even more spectacular.
(June 14-24, 2018 – Palmer/Wasilla Elks Lodge, Anchorage and Portage)From Healy, Alaska, we headed down the Parks Highway to the Anchorage area for a three-night stay at the Palmer/Wasilla Elks Lodge. The drive took us through Denali State Park and past Talkeetna, areas with stunning mountain vistas.
Road conditions along the Parks Highway were good, with a few areas of summer road construction and escort vehicles. We ran into several rain showers along the way – one while going through a construction area. Our rig and vehicles ended up very dirty from that.
(June 9-14, 2018 – Fairbanks to Healy and Denali National Park, Alaska)From North Pole/Fairbanks we headed down the Parks Highway towards Healy, Alaska, for a five-night stay at the Denali RV Park. Road conditions were good along the Parks Highway, as was the weather – mostly sunny until we neared Healy, then patches of showers and increasing overcast. The rain held off until just after we setup camp, then came down in earnest.
From Chicken, Alaska, we made our way down the Taylor Highway to Tetlin Junction and rejoined the ALCAN Highway, turning towards Tok, Alaska. We were glad to leave the Taylor Highway behind, as this was the roughest road we had been on this trip. Although paved, the Taylor had many sections of road damage – many-times-patched potholes, frost heaves, slumps, and other rough patches. We came off the Taylor feeling like a James Bond martini – shaken, not stirred…