Day 93: Hatcher Pass and Independence Mine

July 16, 2014

It was a cloudy morning with a prediction of rain today. Fortunately, we did not get rain but it was cloudy for most of the day. We got a little sprinkle late afternoon and then about 6:30 pm – after we had shot all our pictures for the day – the sun came out. Oh well, it's a beautiful evening.

We have talked about the extended daylight – not getting dark enough to need a flashlight at all. Most of the time we have been in Alaska it has just been sort of dusky dark at 2-3:00 am. Last night we noticed it was actually getting dark. We had lights on in the RV while working on the blog last night for the first time in a long time. It may have just been due to clouds and we were parked in a shady site, but we are past summer solstice. We will see what tonight brings. Right now it is 9:00 pm and the sun is shining brightly with blue skies.

After breakfast – more wonderful Fred Meyer cream cheese frosting cinnamon rolls – we filled Fred up with fuel and headed to Mat-Su RV Park in Willow. Well – we thought it was in Willow. It has a Willow address but is actually about 20 miles north of the town of Willow. We have full hookups – 50 amp electric, sewer and water. We haven't had 50 amp full hookups much since getting to Alaska. It's either been – no sewer but dump station available or 30 amp not 50. We can function with 30 amp but it's nice to have 50 so we don't have to be careful about turning too many things on at the same time. It is a nice park with nice friendly management. It's a good base for RVers exploring Talkeetna and Hatcher Pass

After getting set up we headed out on today's mission – exploring Hatcher Pass and Independence Mine. This trip came highly recommended by two friends – our pastor in Alabama and a long time Alaskan resident we met at Girdwood UMC. We had high expectations with those recommendations. We were not disappointed! The Hatcher Pass Road (Willow-Fishhook Road) is a 49 mile road between Palmer and Willow. It loops over Hatcher Pass at 3,886 feet. We drove from the Willow side because we will go to Denali from here. The first 10 miles of the road is paved, then it is dirt the next 39 miles. However, it is a good dirt road and not any problem in our truck. We would NOT recommend any RVs drive this road. The scenery was wonderful, hiking fun and the mine very interesting. Shortly after getting on the dirt portion we spotted a large bull moose.

Not a great picture, but we liked the look in his eyes.

An Alaskan gentleman stopped while we were taking pictures and marveled at what a great specimen he was. He then told us that moose hunting season opens August 25 and we suspect he will be hunting this moose as we could almost see him drooling over the possibilities. The road as it climbs into the mountains follows a really nice stream of crystal clear water.

It also goes by some abandoned gold mines and some actively working mines. Shortly before we got to the top of the pass we saw a good sized marmot.  Sorry he was too fast for us and we didn't get a picture. The panoramic views from the top of the pass were wonderful.

Scout would probably enjoy living in Alaska so he could play in the snow more.

Summit lake

 

click to enlarge pictures

We know that all of you back home in Alabama are sweltering in the heat, but here in Alaska on July 16th, Scout got to play in the snow again at Hatcher Pass where the temperature was 50 degrees. Great hiking weather! And man are there some great hikes at the pass. Just a few miles further and we reached Independence Mine. This is a State of Alaska Historic Site that is still in the process of restoration. There are several buildings and old mining equipment. There are ranger led and self guided tours of the park. There is still a lot of restoration to be done as evidenced by some of our pictures. We particularly liked the rails with the wooden structure collapsed underneath.

The Visitor Center was formerly the mine manager's home. Ida, a nice lady from Girdwood Chapel, told us she used to lease part of the house.

Ida also told us to look for this restored player piano.

Even without the mine just the hiking and scenery in this park makes it worth the trip. In the higher areas we were surprised to see the the mossy looking tundra we have been seeing has now sprung into full bloom with tiny flowers – white, pink and yellow. So pretty.

There were also more beautifully clear flowing stream and waterfalls and arctic ground squirrels everywhere. We kept thinking we were hearing a bird chirping at us but it turned out to be a arctic ground squirrel. Too funny. Then he posed for pictures.

It was another great day in Alaska. Tomorrow we move to Denali National Park – Riley Creek. Hopefully the rain will hold off again.