Day 20 Ends @ the East Fork Wayside

After our lunch break, we continued north on the Parks Highway, making a brief detour when we saw the barrier was open on the road to Byers Lake Campground. Alas, the road was open just so park volunteers could clear away tree debris ... the campground remains closed until 25 May.

So, we kept driving, checking out the various turnouts listed in the Milepost and the boondocking spots on the iOverlander app.

Around 4:00p, we pulled into what so far has been a great place for an overnight. It’s not boondocking per se because there is an actual campground here with designated sites, picnic tables, and either fire rings with grates or grills. No services, except for a pit toilet, so we’re dry camping. All this for the grand price of ... FREE!

The sites here at the East Fork Chulitna Wayside accommodate various size rigs ... most of them back-in sites ... two pull-throughs for big rigs. We’re in one of those pull-thrus ... #8. The camping area is separated from the rest area and the highway by trees that muffle the traffic noise.

The rain and overcast that accompanied us all the way here has since been replaced by patchy blue skies and a bit of sunshine. Though we can’t get down to the Chulitna River — there’s a big ole creek blocking our way — we can see some beautiful mountain peaks through the trees that separate us from the river.

This campground has nothing to attract those who are looking for a weekend playground, so we expect that it will continue to be quiet here. The only other camper — coincidentally, also from Colorado — is at the other end of the campground, so we feel like we’ve got the whole place to ourselves. A nice change from last night.

We’re taking the blue skies and sunshine as a good omen that the forecast for better weather the next few days is going to hold true🤞🏻.

Now, if only we can resolve our data roaming issues, we’ll be good to go.Read more