Susitna River is 313 miles long. Stretches from the Susitna Glacier to Cook Inlet.
I had some excitement driving south on Alaska Rt. 3 this morning. I left my campsite about 9:00 am and stopped at Denali National Park to dump and take on water. I was following a Class C pulling a toad about an hour later when I noticed smoke coming from the tow car. All of a sudden a tire flew off the car and rolled across the road and down into the ditch. I had slowed down when I saw the tire come off so I was quite a way behind the motorhome. I figured he would realize something was wrong and would pull over but he kept on down the road. I sped up to catch him and flashed my lights and blew my horn. He finally pulled off the road and I pulled in behind him.
Most of the front right tire was gone. The rim looked okay but was probably ruined. He said he never noticed a thing; it drove normal. He was going to put on his spare, doughnut tire and try to get it fixed in Talkeetna. I told him to go slow and he should be okay. I asked him if he needed any help and he said no. There was nothing else I could do so I continued on.
It’s out there behind that mist!
A few miles later I came to Denali State Park and pulled in at the Mountain View Point. There were several people lined up along the railing, studying the mountain photo, and trying to figure out which one was Denali. One man that seemed sure he knew where it was pointed out the snow-covered base with the peak covered in mist. This is the second time I have seen the bottom slopes of Denali, but the top still evades me.
Looking up river.
I’m camped along the Susitna River in a nice campsite on the sand and gravel beach. There is a large forest behind me with tall Aspens and Cottonwood trees. The only drawback will be if the ATVs come out and race up and down this weekend
I met a nice couple back at my last camp and they have joined me here. I will tell more about them in a future post.
Tomorrow I will visit Talkeetna and check into the Denali scenic flight. Richard has often said it was one of the highlights of their trip and to do it if at all possible. I would love to take the flight but it will depend on the price.
This kind of scares me. It’s why I like to keep a very close on my toad through my rear view camera. And I check it by walking around every time I stop. Of course it’s still new enough to me that I’m overly cautious. I hope I don’t become complacent with my toad in the coming years. I read on Facebook about a woman who forgot to take her car out of park and put it in neutral one morning and literally dragged her car down the road for miles and miles until some guy flagged her down. She said the tires, wheels and possibly transmission were all wrecked. I think of her every time I pull out with my toad and mentally go through my checklist to ensure I haven’t forgotten anything.
You sure are camping in some beautiful places. Hope I luck out as well in the coming weeks in northern Idaho and Montana.