Palmer – Wasilla

Our time on the southern coastline of Alaska was done (for now). We set our sights north and headed to the Wasilla/Palmer area, about 40 miles north of Anchorage.

We found ourselves another stellar Elks Lodge in the Palmer/Wasilla area. This lodge was on “Finger Lake.” If you are from New York, that should make you chuckle. New York has many Finger Lakes!

Once again, we found an Elks Lodge with a view!

At this point, we were doing another “refresh” of the RV (supplies, dump, etc.). But we found time for some fun.

Hatcher Pass

Not too far from Wasilla is Hatcher Pass. This is a 3,886 ft pass through the southwest part of the Talkeetna Mountains. You can approach the pass from the town of Willow on the west (dirt road) or from Palmer on the east (paved).

After talking to our neighbor at the Elks Lodge camping, we opted for the dirt road from the West. Heck yeah, let’s get the new truck even dirtier.
Willow Creek meandered alongside the road.
We were amazed at the number of locals we saw camping along this creek. It was the weekend. It was summer. I think this is the Alaskan’s idea of a good time. Our RV wouldn’t like this sort of camping, but it could be fun in a small rig.
An Arctic ground squirrel totally ignored us as we climbed up and up the road in the truck.
We finally made it to the top of the pass. An Alaskan dirt road wasn’t going to defeat us. Our reward was a great view to the west.
This is what some parts of Alaska look like in late June. That ain’t marshmallow fluff.
We even found a still iced over pond at the top of the pass!
Looking towards the east, the way we had to go back down, things didn’t look quite so pleasant. These Alaskan mountain ranges have their own personalities. One side of the mountain can be warm and sunny, the other side just miserable.
In one of the visitor’s parking lots at the top of the pass, we spotted this person with skis, ski boots and poles. People will hike up these mountains and then ski back down. Wow!

Independence Mine

Just below the pass is Independence Mine. This gold mine was worked during the Depression and again after World War II. It is now an Alaska State Park and the buildings are being preserved. Online, I’ve seen beautiful pictures of the buildings and the mine…accessible via a hike.

Alas, this day was not a day lending itself to beautiful pictures. Once again, rain besieged us the minute we arrived in the parking lot.
Then we saw the hiking trail to the mine. Nope, not us. We are NOT trudging through snow. We moved out of Western New York for a reason.

The drive down the east side of the pass was super easy…and paved. We are glad we did both sides to see the contrast.

Iditarod Headquarters

On another day, we ventured out to visit the Iditarod Headquarters. Many know that the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is the 938 mile race held annually. Mushers and their sled dogs race from Willow (where we started our ascent to Hatcher Pass) to Nome. Almost 1000 miles!

This is race headquarters. The first day of signup for the 2026 Iditarod was the day before we got there. It’s never too early to sign up to race 1000 miles across Alaska.
Pretty, but also pretty unassuming for a headquarters.
“Historic Replica of Balto.”
I found this sign to be ironic. The sled DOG headquarters will not allow DOGS into the building. Personally, I don’t blame them. But it made me chuckle.
The Iditarod Trophy!
This is Togo (1913 – 1929). Yes, the actual dog. Togo was the lead dog that did the longest leg during the 1925 serum run to Nome. Somehow Balto got all the fame because he was the lead dog on the final leg. Kudos to Togo. Regardless, I’m not sure how I would feel about being stuffed and on display almost 100 years later.
Riley Dyche and some of his sled dogs.

Musher Riley Dyche was on hand to give “sled” rides to those that wanted one (for a small fee). These dogs really, really love to run. Anytime we have happened upon a musher, that is what they keep telling us. I’m not one to argue after seeing them in action. Let me tell you, I’m going to pay a lot more attention to the Iditarod next year. Start date is March 7, 2026.

We had a nice time in Palmer and Wasilla. But after a few days, we were ready to head back out into the wilderness. Enough of fancy city life for us. Next up, an RV Rally in Denali State Park.

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