Snow in June and the Tangle River Inn

There are really only a few paved highways in Alaska. If you stay on one of them, you really can't get lost. However, you will miss seeing most of Alaska. Rental car companies ask you to sign a form stating that you will not take the car off of the paved road. This is almost impossible to do. You just have to be very careful and use common sense. Keep in mind that if you venture off onto an unpaved road and you break down or get stuck, you may be in for a very long and lonely wait. There is no cell phone service in some areas. Even if you do have service, the service station may be many miles away. You might be able to flag down a passing motorist, but it may be hours before you see one. There are large wild animals in Alaska. You do not want to be their dinner!  The Denali Highway is paved for part of the way, and then the road continues, but the asphalt stops. We drove south on the Richardson Highway, and turned onto the Denali Highway. It was raining, cold, and night time. We were in the tundra. There would be no trees to tie a tarp to for protection from the rain. Instead of trying to cook dinner, we stopped at an old road house called the Paxson Lodge and each ate a bowl of chili. From there, we drove down the Denali highway until the pavement ended. We carefully continued on until we reached the Tangle Lakes Campground. This is a free campground, run by the Bureau of Land Management. We grabbed a campsite along a clear, rushing river. It also had a view of the lake. Score!! This was in early June, but it was pretty darn chilly outside. We went to sleep to the sound of the river. When we woke up, it sounded more like it was raining outside. The windows of the van in which we were sleeping appeared to be fogged up. My husband, the early riser, went outside and discovered that the van windows were actually covered by a dusting of snow!! When I crawled out of the van I was greeted by a tiny snow man sitting on the picnic table holding a yellow flower. Over the next hour or two it kept changing back and forth from rain to snow. By 9 am, it was 32 degrees and snowing like crazy! Like idiots, we decided to pack up and go driving farther down the unpaved road. We really wanted to see some caribou and this was supposed to be a great place to spot them. The snow kept getting deeper as we drove and the road was getting muddy. Since we were in a rented mini van, not a 4 wheel drive vehicle, we decided to turn back and find someplace to eat a hot breakfast. We were not exactly near a city with many options. We found the Tangle River Inn. It was actually more of a fish camp. There were tiny "cottages" and a main building with some guest rooms and a restaurant. It was warm, dry, and the only place around for miles. The snow turned to rain as we sat and stared out at the lake across the street. We had a huge, hot breakfast. The service was great. It was a typical country style place with wood paneling, cutesy curtains, photos of the family that owned the place, fishing photos, etc. At the next table were two Bureau of Land Management workers. A sure sign of a good breakfast place is one that the local working people eat at. Almost 2 years later, I can't remember what we ate, but I do remember being thrilled that the Tangle River Inn was open for breakfast. I also remember that the food was good. It wasn't a cheap breakfast, but we were quickly finding out that nothing in Alaska is cheap. By the time we reached Paxson there was no sign of snow. We felt like we had experienced a private little winter wonderland.