This is our break from Rving. Kennicott Glacier Lodge is a very special place in the middle of the Wrangell-St Elias National Park (the largest NP – the size of Switzerland!). It was a copper mining town at the beginning of the 1900’s and when the copper was depleted the workers were given 2 hours notice to gather their belongings and get on the last train out of town. So everything was left where it was – mining equipment, clothes, medical records, even dishes on the tables! And then it was deserted for many years until someone decided to resurrect it as a tourist attraction and it became a National Monument. It now has a beautiful lodge with phenomenal food and most of the buildings have been preserved and open to the public.
There are 2 ways to get there – by car or plane. We did the shuttle van last time – 60 miles of the worst road ever. This time we chose plane – small planes…..over BIG mountains. I’m not sure which way was worse for me.
Our plane to Kennecott and some pix in flight (I had to keep myself distracted):
We were joined by Carol & Louise for this part of the trip. Here is the happy group in our 4th of July commemorative t-shirts.
We were there 3 nights. The first day we all took a guided walk to the Root Glacier. 2+ miles out and back, up and down rocky terrain. But walking on a glacier is cool!
The 2nd day we took the town and mill tour. The mill is 14 stories high and the process of extracting the copper is quite impressive for that time.
We also went to McCarthy – the “sin city” of Kennecott since Kennecott was a dry town. If anyone watches “Edge of Alaska” it’s all about this town and its residents. One of the main characters is Neil. We got to meet Neil and he gave us rocks from the Mother Lode mine which he is trying to open as a tourist attraction.
Our plane back to Chitna and some pix. LOVE the moose in the middle of the pond!
Alaska 2016 - C&T 