Tok to Glennallen via Chistochina, Alaska – 14 July 2024
Chistochina, Alaska
Date: 14 July 2024
On the way to Glennallen, we stopped overnight at the Red Eagle Lodge and Campground in Chistochina. This campground consisted of a wooden lodge and several wooden cabins. While they advertised RV spaces, there were no utilities and RVs just had to find a place on the grass.
Once Derek had registered at the lodge and was given directions to our space, I got out of the truck to help direct and was immediately swarmed by mosquitoes. I grabbed the bug spray and with one hand sprayed myself all over and the other tried to help Derek navigate along an extremely tight road on the side of the lodge. He eventually gave up and backed out, and finally we got to our space down another path. We immediately put on our new Mosquito outfits, thank goodness we had them with us, as it had been raining and the area was quite boggy and infested with bugs. We ended up staying the rest of the day inside the RV leaving only to let Jax pee. Each time we had to gear up and run with Jax as the bugs eagerly attacked his body. We could not wait to leave.
Glennallen, Alaska
Dates: 15 – 17 July 2024
The following day we reached Tolsona Wilderness Campground in Glennallen. The purpose of the visit to Glennallen was to do a tour of the Kennecott Copper mine which was highly recommended. However, after a bit of research we learned that the road to the mine was very bad – even for a truck. Derek at this stage had, had his fill of bad roads so we decided to give it a miss.
True to its name, Tolsona Wilderness Campground, was tucked away in a highly forested area in the middle of nowhere, with a fast flowing creek running alongside it. Once again we were inundated with mosquitos. It was such a pity as the area was very pretty but we couldn’t even walk around the campground without full mosquito gear and Jax getting constantly attacked. So instead of seeking out trails in the area, we decided to find an area nearby which was close to the road and away from water and forests. We were able to find a gravel parking area and walked along it to another lodge. Miracle upon miracles, no bugs. So pleasant and even a pretty lake at the end of the road.
Our second attempt at a walk led us back to the Visitors Information Centre that was next to a gas station as we came into Glennallen. When I enquired about a non-bug trail they pointed us to a nearby bike path. We followed the bike path and it led down the hill to the IGA market. After a steep walk back we stopped at a small coffee shop near the Tourist Center and had an Iced chai and a Sourdough toasted cheese for supper.
Eager to arm ourselves as much as possible against what was turning out to be a bug filled summer, we visited the local Glennallen hardware where we purchased an outdoor Thermacell mosquito device, as well as a magic magnetic mesh screen that was supposed to automatically close behind you when you walked through it . We installed a velcro strip above and on the inside of our existing mesh door which had a couple of small gaps in it. It helped for a while but the quality of the screen was inferior and the mesh kept on falling off the Velcro. Also the magnets didn’t always snap together so after a few days, we gave up and threw it in the top of the cupboard.
The most exciting part of our visit to Tolsona was when a female Moose and her calf walked past our RV window in the creek. Derek was the first to spot it as my head was down working on the computer. Once it had gone past I ran outside to film it. The Mother at this point disappeared up the bank of the creek and the calf ran up the middle of the creek looking for it. Then it turned around and ran down the creek – straight towards me crying loudly for its Mother and then disappeared up the bank after it. This was just a thrilling experience for me and I managed to capture the calf on video. I have finally seen a Moose in the wild!!
