We picked up an enhanced and improved Arthur at Ultimate Airstreams in Clackamus, OR on 22 May, and after driving 3,388 miles over 42 days, we were finally in Alaska until mid September. Woo-hoo! Our last stop was at the Tundra RV Park in Tok (population 1,243) for 3 nights before reaching Fairbanks, our first major destination in Alaska. We mispronounced the city name as “Tock” and were quickly corrected. Nope. It rhymes with “Joke.”
The leg from Discover Yukon RV Park to Tok was only 144 miles, but it took 1st Place for the worst section of road we’d experienced on our journey thus far. The weather wasn’t much better either, with rainy and muddy conditions most of the way. We drove through a large area that had experienced a recent wildfire, as proven by a blanket of purple Fireweed. Fireweed, chamaenerion angustifolium, also known in Great Britain as rosebay willow herb, is an aggressive, flowering plant that helps ecosystems recover after disasters, such as, fires. It is a pioneer species, which means it colonizes areas such as burned forests beginning as soon as one week after a fire. While it propagates with seeds, its survival secret is growing via underground, nutrient-rich plant stems called rhizomes that quickly spread horizontally. We also saw this attractive plant lining most of the northern Canada and Alaska roadways.
The name of our Tok campsite highlighted the business priorities, Tundra RV Park and Bar. When I registered upon arrival, the host was quick to tell me the bar closed anywhere between 7 pm and midnight depending on the number of patrons. Her point was to get there early if we wanted a drink. Our spot was a roomy pull-through, tucked comfortably in a pine forest at the north end of town. I picked this park primarily because they had a large wash rack on site. For $25 and with no time limit on water use, we were able to clean both Sid and Arthur before setting up. We always feel tired after a day of driving and set up. So, having our vehicles clean added much satisfaction to relaxing with a glass of wine.
I googled coffee shops in the morning, and while three popped up, only Auntie Helena’s was open for service. We met Helena and her husband, Rob, a friendly middle-aged couple who came across as movers and shakers in town. The coffee shop took up only part of a larger building which also accommodated their bar called Bear’s Den. Rob managed operation of the bar, but his primary job was as a local general contractor. They both shared stories about their lives in Tok, while we enjoyed our coffee and shared stories of RVing.
Helena’s was also a small gift shop that sold mostly local handmade merchandise ranging from wooden lamps to an assortment of artwork, such as, paintings and quilts. Given where we were, the recurring themes understandably included indigenous ancestry, mountains and lakes, flowers, moose, bears, and northern lights.
As good timing would have it, we were in Tok on the 4th of July, and witnessed the town’s annual parade. We surmised the entire population showed up either as parade participants or cheering bystanders. We exited Helena’s to find the parking lot filled with all the parade floats and vehicles lining up for the start.
We found the variety of vehicles used for towing the floats to be interesting. No surprise that politicians were capitalizing on the event. We learned that Smokey Bear was celebrating his 80th birthday, and groused about our being only a few years younger than him. The crowd was filled with kids of all ages gathering up the loads of candy being tossed, and every once and a while there’d be a good old boy with his truck and his dog.
After the parade, the festivities continued at the nearby fair grounds. A local entertainer was performing on a mobile stage, and we listened to a singer and guitarist while enjoying baked beans, potato salad, slaw, and hot dogs. We didn’t find him very talented and were disappointed at how much he just talked about himself being a veteran (OK, somewhat appropriate) and his troubled brother, who had spent much of his life in and out of prison. Not sure why we needed to hear or care about that. The grounds were full of booths/stalls/tents selling all sorts of food, handmade crafts, and other wares. I lost MFI momentarily but found her sampling cookies at a booth where people paid for a ticket to taste all the displayed cookies, vote for their favorite, and earn a chance to win a dozen if their ticket was drawn. MFI admitted she didn’t care about winning a dozen. She just wanted to get a low cost chocolate fix.
I saw folks moving to an small open area and followed to see what was happening. I was delighted to stumble onto a greased pole event. Organizers had planted a 15′ tall steel pipe in the ground, greased it with what looked like Crisco, and stuck along the height of the pole paper money in denominations of $1, $5, $10, and $20. I zoomed in for a picture of the bill stuck at the top, which was obviously the highest goal for participants. The event was divided into three age groups starting with the younger and ending with high schoolers. The kids were really in to it.
What would a 4th of July be without fireworks? Well, it was exactly what we experienced. The chances for a fire would have been too great, and permitting was required across Alaska for anyone to burn anything during the most critical months of the year. Regardless, we still enjoyed the local celebration and thought it felt sincerely patriotic. The next morning we drove the last leg to Fairbanks.
