June 26 – To Soldotna, Alaska

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So we are on our way. Still pretty lousy here. The rain has let off a bit and the clouds are a bit higher. You can actually see the glacier behind the campground.

Back on the Seward highway, we worked our way around the other side of Turnagain Arm,

Then we went up and down Turnagain Pass and followed a valley between the mountains for a while. It’s too bad about the low clouds. I really hope the weather is better on the way back.

There were a lot of turnouts on the highway with amazing views (if it was clear). You are allowed to stay overnight in them unless it is posted no camping. We saw a lot of RV’s  that had obviously stayed the bight.

Then we left the southbound Seward highway and headed west on the Sterling Highway. I guess this way is not as popular because the highway got a lot narrower and rougher.

As we got out of the mountains the skies started clearing. Sunshine at last!

The reason for stopping in Soldotna is that the RV needs an oil change. I tried to get on in Fairbanks but I could not find a place with a service bay tall enough. I had read in someone else’s blog hat there was a place ere that did a good job.

We are also “camped” in a Fred Meyer parking lot. They are a western chain of grocery stores. This store caters to RVers in a big way. It is even has a listing as a campground in my guide book. Whereas at a Walmart you just park your RV around the edges wherever you can fit, this store has specifically marked wide and long spots just for overnight RVers. They also have a fresh water filling station and a waste dumping station. All free. The only downside is that is is kind of noisy.

We arrived in Soldotna about 11:30. The oil change place said they could take us about 1. It was done about 2. We planted the RV back at Fred’s and then did a bit of stocking up and general shopping. We also took advantage of a local WIFI hotspot to get our email and update the blog.

Soldotna is mainly about fishing. It is on the Kenai River, which is a world famous salmon river. We just happened to hit a lull between the runs of the different kinds of salmon but when they are here they call it “combat fishing”, shoulder to shoulder along the river bank.

There is not much in town to interest us but I went to the visitor’s center and one brochure said there was a nice drive up the coast so we will stay another day and try that tomorrow.