An Excuse to Ramble

May 9th might seem to be jumping the gun a little on Alaska’s “camping season”, but I had the perfect excuse – and to be honest, I just couldn’t bring myself to wait even one more day!

At the conclusion of a 3-day AKC Scent Work trial in Chugiak, AK, (and since I just happened 😉 to have my RV, “Roada” with me), I headed South towards Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula instead of North towards home.

Now, don’t go getting the wrong impression. Although Jer often seems at a loss as to why I want to go get lost in the wilderness, often without wifi or Internet (and <gasp!> no TV); this initial spring trip was planned ahead for. Jerry stopped by the trial site on Sunday afternoon – picking up Baxter to keep him company at home and leaving me a sweet Mother’s Day gift.

At 4:00 pm, Rhonda & I headed off on a 5-day girls-only camping trip – to be topped off next weekend by a 3-day Barn Hunt Trial in Soldotna.

OK, admittedly, at the end of a long trial weekend – no matter how fun – I’m in no shape, physically or mentally, to go far. I had this planned ahead too.

I set my GPS and let it guide me on down the Old Glenn Highway for an entire 15 minutes … to the turn that would take me another few miles to nearby Eagle River Campground.

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I couldn’t have asked for a better respite after a tiring weekend. I pulled into what looked to be a spacious, level site – and, happy day – it WAS level!

I turned the key off, took Ronni for a short, exploratory walk, then took a nap.

Later, I ran my generator long enough to cook a quick TV dinner, which was all I had the energy for. After dinner, Ronni and I wandered around the mostly empty campground, with me enjoying the smell of the forest, the sound of birds and squirrels, and the background rumble of the river.

This first night of our first RV adventure of the season, I was lulled to sleep by the sound of the rushing, boulder-strewn Eagle River. Absolutely heavenly!

Fun side note: When I had looked up Eagle River Campground online, checking to make sure it was open this early in the season, I had to laugh at one of the reviews.

A tourist had given the campground only three ⭐️⭐️⭐️. The reason for the low rating? Although the campground itself was lovely, they felt the river was “too loud”! 😂🙄