Copper is King

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Our travels carry us to many places that started with a single lucky event. Before gold was discovered in places in Alaska, a survey crew saw a mountain with evidence of copper. It turned out one of the most productive discoveries in history. One of the suveyors saw how a shear cliff showed the green of copper oxidization. The surveyor had enough sense to tell the the right people (the Guggenheim family and J. P. Morgan.) They thought enough of the find to build a railroad to the site. In the 1920's they made a 100 million dollar profit (over a billion in today's dollars.) We think they did pretty well for themselves.

Mill (background) and Manager's office in Kennecott

We drove across the Denali Highway to the Richardson Highway (we are trying to drive on all the major highways in Alaska) to go to Glennallen. We chose to stay in a rustic motel in Kenny Lake, one of the stops along the shuttle run to McCarthy. The drive across the Denali let us see a rare sight,a wolverine. It was crossing the road in front of us. There are drivers in the Park with 15 years experience that have never seen a wolverine - boy, are we lucky. We also saw a mink, a fox and a moose. You cannot beat Alaska for wildlife spotting.

Wolverine on the Denali Highway

Another welcome sighting on the Denali Highway - road scraper!

We, of course, want to go to the end of every road in Alaska, but we were also intrigued by a book by an Irish author called the "Road to McCarthy", one of the rail stops on the way to Kennecott Mines. We wanted to have beer in the same spot as the author, but the bar/lodge was closed while we were there. (The bartenders in Alaska have to take tests during the year, so the area was using the bar as the test site.) Good thoughts of the site follow us. Maybe next time.
We chose to take a shuttle to the towns (the roads are rough, you can't drive and watch the scenery.) It is about 60 miles from the paved road in Chitna to the river crossing into McCarthy. The first ten are the roughest, but the views from it are fantastic. It was a cloudy day, but we were able to get some of the scenery in photos.

Copper River - beginning of McCarthy Road

Fishwheels on Chitina River near beginning of the McCarthy Road

Downtown McCarthy

Poor Tom - plans to have a beer in McCarthy are thwarted

Shuttles also take you to Kennecott. The mines were developed slowly while the rail was installed. Shacks soon gave way to elaborate buildings. The mill operated from 1911 to the late 1930's. To read the whole story, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennecott,_Alaska. The National Park Service took control in 1998 to try to preserve the history of the region.

One of the ruins in Kennecott - most are better preserved

In an interest to drive each of the highways in Alaska, we took the long way home. We drove to Delta Junction (the end of the Alaskan Highway) by way of the Richardson Highway. We stopped in DJ to get some reindeer sausage and bought some elk summer sausage also. Both are quite tasty. We drove on to Fairbanks for lunch, bought a couple of items, then back to home sweet motorhome.

On the drive back from Fairbanks, we saw smoke from some of the many wildfires in Alaska (and the northwest in general.) The largest wildfire in the country is about 60 miles from our RV spot. On days without a southerly wind, the canyons are filled with smoke. Another big fire is just south of McCarthy, across the Chitina River. Interior Alaska can be pretty smoky!

Unless a fire is an immediate danger to buildings and structures, the authorities allow the fire to burn. It is a natural occurrence, so they try to let nature take it's course. Most fires in Alaska are started by lightening. Luckily, we are a couple of rivers away from the closest blazes.

Fire information board in Kennecott

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