Campout at King River

We left our Eagle River campground on Friday morning and, after topping off our fuel tanks and fresh water tanks at a local Fred Meyer store, we headed northeast for about 50 miles to an informal campground at the confluence of the King and Matanuska Rivers. We had been invited to join the Alaska Chapter (yes, there is only one) of the Holiday Rambler Recreational Vehicle Club (HRRVC) at their June campout. We had good directions and arrived at the campsite before any of the chapter members got there. After looking at many possible camping spots on the river rock-covered beach, we decided to park along side each other facing the Matanuska River. We had no more than gotten settled when Ed & Sue, wagon masters for this campout, arrived and pulled up in a large clearing just down the beach from us. At Ed’s request, we scattered our cars around the clearing to save spots for the other Chapter members. It was a good thing we did, ‘cause it wasn’t long before other campers started eyeing our ‘reserved’ area. Within a couple of hours, we were joined by two other motorhomes and a large 5th wheel trailer belonging to club members.
By Friday night, we realized what a popular spot this is, as at least 25 other campers had staked out campsites along the river for their tents, campers, trailers and motorhomes. The size of our group seemed to discourage them from camping in our immediate area, though.

These folks really know how to camp; no hookups, no clubhouse, no wi-fi, no restrooms, but a nice level place to camp alongside a beautiful river. They brought enough firewood to last at least a week, plus tarps to use as windbreaks and a 10’ x 20’ shelter, in case it rained. We all pitched in to stack firewood, raise the tarps and set up the shelter. After appetizers and drinks, we were on our own for dinner, so the three of us travelers had dinner in the Struthers’ rig. We rejoined the rest of the group to sit around the campfire until bedtime. It rained during the night, but it stopped by breakfast time. All the guys in the chapter brought 4-wheel ATV’s, and they invited Debbie (of course!) to ride with them. After a few minutes of instruction, off they went. About two hours (and about 10 miles) later, back they came, Debbie grinning from ear to ear! She said she had a super time, and the guys all said she did really well. After lunch, Debbie taught Alexandra, 14, the granddaughter of one of our new camping friends how to make hatbands out of soda & beer can pop tops. Grandpa Darrell said he’d do his best to keep her in beer can tops. In the late afternoon, we had home smoked and home canned salmon, caribou sausage, and other tasty appetizers, followed by a pot-luck dinner with the whole group. We ate inside the shelter, since the wind was blowing smoke from the campfire all over the place.

It started to rain again during the night, and by morning, it was really wet! Their tradition is to have bacon & eggs for breakfast, cooked in a huge fry pan over the campfire. The storm had, of course, put out the campfire embers from the night before, so a new fire had to be started with paper, dry twigs, small pieces of firewood, and a healthy shot of gasoline. Once going, though, the fire was just fine for cooking our breakfast. We ate in the shelter again, this time to help keep us dry. The rain stopped (or at least slowed down) long enough for us to help break camp and pack everything away before saying our goodbyes and heading off down the road. We agreed to all meet again for dinner in Palmer, when we come back through the area in mid-July.

Since we went right back past Eagle River, we once again pulled into Fred Meyer to dump our waste and refill our fresh water, since we would be camping without hookups for several more days near Whittier on Prince William Sound.