Alaska 2005 Trip
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Locations:
• Anchorage
• Hatcher Pass
• Talkeetna
• Denali National Park
• State Fair
• Seward and Homer
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I
had a rental car the first week and drove to Hatcher Pass, 60 miles north
of Anchorage. It is an absolutely beautiful area. The road
is paved from Palmer/Wasilla up to Hatcher Pass Lodge and Independence
Mine. Most of the remaining 30 miles to Willow is unpaved and sounds like
it is pretty rough. Instead, I backtracked to Wasilla to get to the Parks
Highway to Talkeetna/ Denali. Plus most rental car agencies won't allow
cars on unpaved roads. I was tempted to go the two miles from Hatcher Pass
Lodge to the top of the pass, but it was pouring rain the morning I left,
plus the road looked pretty steep and narrow, so I passed on that.
After
a very noisy night at the Caribou Inn, Hatcher
Pass Lodge seemed like heaven. I had reserved one of the rooms in
the main building, but they upgraded me to a cabin.
All I could hear was the creek running by. It is rustic - no TV or running
water. The cabin had a bathroom with a cooler of water and a sink and
a chemical toilet (no, it's not like a smelly porta-potty, it was fine).
The main building has showers and flush toilets. (Hatcher Pass Lodge is
where Mythbusters did their "cabin
fever" test.)
Hatcher Pass Lodge has a restaurant, which was OK. There aren't any other hotels or restaurants until you head back 3-4 miles down towards Palmer.
I took the tour of the Independence Mine State Historical Park. Some of the buildings have been preserved, while others are in ruins. I think the long term goal is to restore all the buildings, but some of the buildings look like they could collapse the next time it snows.
My home town of Bisbee has a copper tunnel mine that is open to tours and it is in the 50s inside all the time. The Independence Mine tunnel isn't open for tours, but you can stand at the opening - it is cold - it's always in the 30s inside.
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