Big RV's, Lots of Road Construction, Solid Mid-Summer Season In 2013

Stalled vehicles in roadside Alaska.
Road construction was heavy on all parts of the Alaska road system in 2013.

Travelers Are Coming In Over the ALCAN

Is it just us, or are we seeing more huge rigs wandering the state this past week or so? We called the Tok Chamber, at the entrance of the ALCAN.

"We have quite a few big rigs out in the parking lot," reported Deb Carbison. "There's two big motor homes, a moderate size trailer -- and we have a vehicle with a little smaller pop-up on behind. A lot of the campers we've seen through here are rentals. Most of them are coming through Canada. There's quite a few of them."

The Summer Solstice Was Hot, Hot, Hot In The Copper River Valley

Somehow, you can always tell if it's a "good" summer by looking at the Hub gas station at the corner of the Glenn & Richardson Highways. This is a great indicator because it's a crossing-point. It's where people wind up if they've just come in from Tok. Or if they're headed back and forth to Valdez, or Chitina. Or if they're moving toward Anchorage, Kennicott, Lake Louise, or the Denali Highway. At midnight on the solstice, there were at least 20 cars and campers in the Hub parking lot -- and over 40 people milling around inside the station.

Road Construction, Lots Of Tourists & The Promise Of Better Highways 

"We're having a good season. Everybody I've talked to is having a real good summer so far. It's been a good spring here on the Peninsula. We've got these road crews and Pipeline guys too -- I hear that we got a lot of funding for it. I hear about the construction when the tourists come -- but we're looking forward to having some decent roads to drive on," said Lisa Skinner at Sleepy Bear Cabins in Anchor Point.

"A Fine Summer In Cooper Landing" 

"We have mosquitoes like we haven't had since we moved here 10 years ago! Of course, they've closed the Kenai to king salmon. But the first run on the reds really looks good, and just yesterday they raised the limit to 6. What fishermen do is come up to Cooper Landing. They say, Let's just fish for reds! We've had this warm weather. It's unbelievably high water we have right now, with the glacier melt. It's pretty tough fishing. I got four people walk in this morning, Can we get a room? The good fortune is people in Cooper Landing can stay pretty full. The sockeyes, they tell me, are a little bigger than normal. It's just a whole lot tougher because the water is higher. They're having to work for them! I've heard that the processors are pretty busy. It looks like it's a fine summer in Cooper Landing," reported Hutch B&B owner Shirley Wilmoth.