The weekend in Hope was quieter this time because of rain on Friday that kept most people at home. However, the bands came in both nights and I still met new people. Several small tour groups set up camp on the grass, always their last night before flying out of Anchorage. I met a retired couple from Australia who will be on the road for 6 months, mostly in small tour groups. They have already been to Central America, up through the Western U.S. and now into BC and Alaska. They won’t be home until August.

I spent most of my time with the two women from Anchorage. We each had different foods; I had my stove, coffee, and hot soups. One had more snacky stuff, another had cheese and dried foods. We set up communal meals on the picnic table each contributing something. On Saturday we built a campfire in the late afternoon that we kept going until bedtime. The music started, the tide rolled in again, and Hope was hopping again.

I finally talked to a guy I had seem arriving at the bar each afternoon when it opened at 4 PM. He always sat at the far end and sometimes stayed late. Although it was tough to talk to him because of his beer consumption I was able to piece together his story. He is about my age and was a hobby gold miner. He spent summers in Hope and winters in Algodones, MX and in Grand Coulee, WA where he has some land. The past two years, he stayed in AK for the winter and mined the creek more seriously! He lives in a loose community of miners who are camped out on public land. All winter. I asked what that was like and if he stayed warm. “I burned 9 cords of wood” he declared. I mentioned my love for Hope and he suggested I set up camp with all the guys. “Thanks, but I like NM for the winter.”

Sunday morning in Hope, AK. Time to pack up and head out. I get right to work because the sky is overcast and threatens rain. I have only packed up wet gear one time and I hope to avoid that again. It took about an hour to disassemble the screen house and tent and then get everything packed into Alice. After that, our last communal breakfast, then Tango and I took off, back to Anchorage and then east to Wrangell-St Elias National Park.

I suspected that my friends Vickie and Jerry would be in the area so, after a cheeseburger at the diner in Glenellen, I called Vickie. Turns out, they were about 30 minutes down the road at one of the access points to the park. On the drive out I kept telling Tango, “We are going to see Munchkin. “ He wagged his tail, knowing something fun was happening but not sure yet what it was.

We saw Vickie and Jerry’s rig from the road and honked. Yeah! What a fun reunion. I had already eaten but they cooked and ate dinner while we traded AK adventures. Vickie spoils Tango with expensive treats so he was overjoyed. I asked the RV park manager if I could park and  stay overnight in their spot and was told “no problem.”

Vickie and Jerry live in Georgia but love to travel. Vickie and I daydreamed about future rendezvous (maybe Sante Fe). Who knows! We like the same things and would be good traveling companions. Anyway, In the morning, we had breakfast and set out in different directions They headed to the Kenai Peninsula where I had been and I headed north, to the park Visitor Center and then Tok, AK. I wanted to go to a small, old mining town in Wrangell-St. Elias NP but I turned back at the Chitinia due to overcast skies and rain. Dirt roads and rain in AK are a bad combo. 

I headed north then and, at Tok I turned joined the Alaska Highway again. About 30 miles from there, I turned north, towards Chicken, AK and  Dawson City, YT on the Klondike Loop. I won’t be spending a huge amount of time there. In fact, I am in long-distance travel mode, which means that I have the car set-up so that I can easily convert it at night from car to sleeping module. I know people worry about me sleeping in the car but, up here, in the summer people often just pull over in small towns or in waysides. It is part of the Alaska journey for traveling souls who adventure a bit on the wild side.

Speaking of people, I now see large numbers of travelers from the lower 48. Up until now the travelers had Alaska license plates; now I see class A motorhomes from South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin, to mention a few. I also see large numbers of motorcycles.  The travelers that I talk to are heading west, just starting their AK adventure. Although they will have warmer days, I am also seeing an uptick in the number of mosquitos, and of course, long lines at the gas stations at key intersections. Rainfall increases as the summer progresses and those few warms days are just a teaser. It won’t be long before the brief summer ends and early autumn arrives.

Speaking of gas stations, I estimate that I will spend about $325 in gas just to get through Canada. That is at 30 miles/gal. Folks driving RVs or large trucks getting 10 miles/gal, will pay $1000 for gas, just in Canada. I talked to another road traveler today and we both agreed that road trippers must do the Alaska trip once in their lifetime; after that, it is so much cheaper to just fly. Those are my sentiments, now. I am so happy I did this trip, but I will fly in next time. Maybe one winter I will fly into Fairbanks to see the Northern Lights. Another time, maybe I will fly into Anchorage, rent a car, and spend a solstice weekend in Hope. Anyway, I am not done with Alaska just yet. I did the main roads, but remote, fly in places, like Nome, are somewhat appealing now.

Speaking of the Solstice, it is just a few days away. My Yukon route will take me far north, above the treeline where the sun won’t set at all for at least another month. It is exciting to be here under the midnight sun.  It makes the trip feel even more exotic and special.

One last note, I have not yet mentioned the wildflowers. They started about 2 weeks ago- great masses of purple and yellow flowers. I also saw bluebells, or something similar. I have seen dandelions the entire time and have decided that they are taking over the world. I read “Origins” by Dan Brown this summer. In that story, it is predicted that artificial intelligence will kill off humans and take over the world. I think Dandelions will take over. They are everywhere now, in National Parks, remote corners of National Forests, and all over the roadways and backcountry of AK.

Onward! Depending on how I feel and what I find, I will overnight in Chicken, AK or Dawson City, YT..