As we left Bear Paw RV/campground in Valdez, AK we stopped at the gas station for Mike to fill up with gas and propane.  While filling our tanks Joanne walks to the adjacent Safeway Grocery Store to pick up a few things because our next stop will be our  first Rally/Convergence at Isabel Pass, AK. When we had planned our route for this 4 month adventure we realized early on we would be strategically traveling through the area of the Escapees/Escapers 2nd Annual Alaska Convergence at just the right time to include in our itinerary. We have been members of Escapees for a few years and while people have raved about their rallies we just haven’t made the time to do one..

The drive up the Glenn Highway was pretty rough; as it had been on the way into Valdez.  Much of the drive was on the same route as going in to Valdez, just driving the opposite direction now. We did stop at the Wrangell St. Elias National Park Visitors Center (about halfway through the drive)- to read the interpretive signs and watch the movie about the park (and of course get Joanne’s passport stamped!). This was a very nice stop and we ran into our Assateague friends from Seward and Valdez there doing the same as we were! Great movie, and who knew this National Park is actually the largest in the US!

We continued North arriving in Paxson, AK at the location of the XSCAPERS Convergence around 5:30. It is actually just off part of the “Old Denali Highway”.

We had signed up for our first “rally” back in March for several reasons:

Once we reached the turn-off road, to get into the camping area,  we were pretty happy after the long days drive – until we started down the 1.5 mile access road full of potholes, sharp rocks, and more washboard areas than we had bargained for. It was a tough road, though we navigated slowly and arrived at the actual Rally entrance and camping area with no issues. We discover about 20 rigs already there, (which grew to 25 rigs by later in the evening…)  We were instructed by a fellow camper/volunteer about the guidelines for parking and finally decided on a spot toward the rear of the group. This ended up being a terrific spot as our views of Gulkana Glacier (visible from the front window), view of the lake behind us, and mountains out the side are all spectacular!

After a fairly quick set-up we head over to the the gathering of fellow participants enjoying happy hour and informal meet & greet. These are the people we will spend the next 5 days…. Several propane fire pits are going and we settle in for a relaxing, social, evening.

Throughout the weekend we have so much fun with these fellow participants…  There is a very flexible schedule set up by our hosts for the 5 days which includes, a pot-luck breakfast Sunday morning, a group hike on Sunday afternoon, group picture time, a pot luck dinner Monday evening, and daily evening get-togethers. Actually we find there is plenty of time to catch our breath and relax after moving at such an exhausting pace thus far on this Alaska adventure.  We are very lucky that with our WeBoost Cell Booster and AT&T hot spot… we are one of the only ones with connectivity at our RV. 🙂

The two of us spend several afternoons taking walks around the area. The sun is shining and it is nice and warm for most of the time we are there!

Sunday afternoon we take the formal hike with about 25 other folks in the group; the hike is listed as moderate.  It is about 8-9 miles roundtrip mostly over rocks and crossing a pretty long suspension bridge over the river. This is an exceptional hike to the glacier and both we both agree that it might be considered strenuous because the entire hike is on rocks and boulders. It is adjacent to the river,most of the way, and getting to the glacier feels like a definite sense of accomplishment.

As we get back the crowd is gathering again for social time. We all spend time swapping info of our respective Alaska experiences and many recommendations are received as to what to see on the remainder of our trip along with some excellent boon docking spots along the way… Mike gets some yard games in (as the men share his vintage ‘85 Johnny Walker Black scotch. They actually drank the entire bottle)… Most of the women head back early (as Joanne did) to read some and enjoy some private time.

We met so many nice people at the rally including our friends John & Lisa (in a vintage airstream and their (2) australian sheperds), They are actually from Southern California, moved after college to work in NYC and then a few years ago bought a home in Phoenicia, NY (not far from Joanne’s hometown of Woodstock, NY). Our host Gary & Stacy (“Pau Hana Travels”) are great organizers and people, and I’m sure the lion’s share of fun times we experienced were because of the efforts they put into this event. Many Thanks!

Tuesday, when it is time to say goodbye it is a bit sad. Many of these people we might never see again though we hope to attend another rally with Escapees in the future given how much fun we have had at our first RV Rally on this Revolutionary Journey….