Down the Road: June 2024

Palmer, Alaska

Moose Creek City Campground

Bears and Moose!

After the crazy roads to McCarthy we had a long drive to get back out. It was a 7-hour drive straight out to an overnight spot near Palmer. We were going to boondock next to the Matanuska River, but they were doing some road repair where things got washed out last year. This included the boondocking site we hoped to snag. You've got to have about 3 back-up plans while in Alaska as things don't always go as planned. Good thing there is boondocking almost everywhere. Our back-up plan today as it was getting late, was Moose Creek City Campground in the Chickaloon area across from the Matanuska River. It's actually a really nice spot with 14 sites under heavy tree/brush cover. For some reason I could not find my pictures of the campground, but it was very clean and really nice. $15 for the night and we stayed in site #5. No utilities or dump.

The next morning it was a short hour drive to Eklutna Lake. This was a last minute add on to the trip. Since we really wanted to stop here and we had a couple of spare days, we drove in. It's about 1/2 way in between Palmer and Eagle River. After being so remote up to this point, it's getting much more populated now and as you get closer to Palmer and Anchorage the 2 lane roads are becoming 4 lane highways. While we're not liking all the extra people, the roads are almost perfect here.

On the way we stopped for groceries, gas, propane and a place to dump our tanks and take on water. Since there was a Reindeer Farm right on the way to the campground, we figured we'd stop in. While we're not much for animal farms, we didn't want to miss the chance to see some of these animals just in case we don't see any out in the wild.

The farm is a cute family run farm. There are guided tours you can take or for $15 you can take the self-guided tour which is what we chose.

The Alpaca's had just had their haircuts and were lanky and goofy but adorable.

There was a cute barn with a honeybee exhibit. The bees fly in from outside, through the tube in the window and into a viewable hive inside.

The Lilacs as well as many other flowers are starting to bloom.

There were some reptile exhibits. This Blue Tounged Skink was peeking out to say Hello. Her name is Sally.

This White Ball Python kept a close eye on us.

Angie getting to feed some branches to a young Moose. Most of these animals are here as rescues or for breeding.

What a cute face!

I was fascinated by the Yaks. I have never seen one up close. There fur grows really long.

The tale is huge and very fluffy.

Elk we have seen on our trip so far in the wild but they are such beautiful creatures.

Spotted babies.

Plenty of bison.

More Alpacas.

And finally, the Reindeer. What's the difference between Reindeer and Caribou? Caribou are out in the wild. Once they are domesticated, they are called Reindeer. I don't know why that matters?

Their antlers come in some very interesting shapes.

Generally they are curved in this pattern. They can get very big. I don't know how they can run through brush and not get all snagged in the branches.

Eklutna, Alaska

Eklutna Lake Campground

After crossing getting off the Glenn Hwy and crossing through the Native Village of Eklutna, we are headed to the lake.

The green-blue waters are very clear in the lake. The campground sits just above the waterline. You can hike down to the beach area to swim, kayak or relax. The campground has about 50 sites. There are central water spigots but no other utilities. The cost was $20 a night. We stayed in site #46.

Young bears frequent this campground as we soon found out. Locals love to come here and they just yell out "Bear" when they mosey through the sites. It makes is easy to have an idea where they are as they are so quiet and you wouldn't even know they are nearby you. We were relaxing when one came through between our site and Rick and Angie's. It was funny as he was heading for their camper. Rick didn't want to take a chance of him trying to climb in, so he shooed him away. Sometimes 2 would walk right past our camper.

A video showing our visitor walked in our sites. He seemed very interested in the camper.

We just relaxed and hiked around the lake the 3 days we were here. It was too risky to take out the kayaks because the lake was narrow and situated so that when the winds came up you'd be paddling back against them. We saw some people struggling to get back to shore.

The wildflowers are in full bloom and the colors are everywhere.

Soon enough it was time to move on. Another short drive down the highway brought us to our next campground. We chose this as it was just outside of Anchorage where we plan to visit for the day.

Eagle River, Alaska

Eagle River Campground

This campground has 57 sites and is also in the Chugach Mountains sitting right above the Eagle River. We paid $20 and were allowed to share a large site, #46.

Our neighbor that we've actually seen along some of our trip. They were from out of the country and had this beast shipped over. We've seen quite a few of these types of rigs.

We took walks, fished and just chilled. There was a Momma Moose and young baby that strolled through the campground. They spent quite a bit of time right in front of our campers. We were just amazed to watch them. What a treat! First the bears, now the moose! This trip just keeps getting better!