Big Delta, Alaska - July 29th to 30th, 2022

The drive from Chitina to Fairbanks along the Richardson Highway was longer than we wanted to travel in one day, so we needed a place to stop along the way. Big Delta State Historical Park, just north of Delta Junction, was right off the highway, so it seemed like a good choice for staying a couple of nights.

It was another warm and sunny day on Friday as we drove from Chitina to Big Delta State Historical Park. As we left Copper River Campground, it looked like a group of people were setting up for a full day of dipnetting. They had coolers, chairs, and shade tents. They were making a nice social event out of it.

We stopped by the Wrangell View Store in Chitina to see if their gas was any cheaper than what we paid at the other gas pump in town. Google Maps failed us again. We did not see any gas pumps at the store, so we went back to the gas pump we had stopped at before. The price was still $6.40 per gallon, but we didn’t have much of a choice. We needed gas.

The air was clear which gave us wonderful views of the Wrangell Mountains along the way. We needed groceries, so we first stopped at Mt. View Gas and Grocery in Copper Center. That was a mistake. It was more like a gas station convenience store than a grocery store. There were no fresh fruit or vegetables. Ann picked it because it was close to the highway, but it didn’t have what she needed for her menu plan. So we put directions in for the Copper Valley IGA which was a couple of miles west on the Glenn Highway, just a little bit out of our way.

Before we got there, we came across the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Visitor Center. We stopped to check it out. It seemed a little odd to visit it after we had already visited the park, twice (Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska - June 24th to 25th, 2022 and McCarthy, Alaska - July 25th to 28th, 2022). However, the 22 minute park movie was very nice along with the exhibit building with its informational displays about the park. Unfortunately, the Ahtna Cultural Center was closed while we were there, so we missed that.

The Copper Valley IGA was a much better choice. It had a pretty full selection of items with lovely fresh fruit and vegetables. It was worth going a few miles out of our way for.

Although the Trans-Alaska Pipeline follows the Richardson Highway from Valdez all the way to Fairbanks, the pipeline is hidden from view most of the way. However, once we got past Glenallen, we started to see more of the pipeline. At mile 215.9, there is a visitor viewing area where you can walk right up next to the pipeline. It is above ground at that point.

There are areas where it is buried below ground. This surprised us a little. In places where it is buried, there are heat pipes to transfer the heat from the oil in the pipeline to the air above the ground to avoid thawing the permafrost.

There was road construction from mile marker 218 to 234, where a pilot car led us through the area. We heard reports that a portion of the road had been washed out due to a beaver dam breaking. The flooding occurred back on July 11th which closed the highway for a week. Crews worked quickly, rebuilding the road next to the Bear Creek Bridge. One lane was opened just one week later. By the time we crossed the bridge, they had rebuilt both lanes, although there was no pavement for a short section. We’re not sure why the pilot car led us for 16 miles, because we were going close to the speed limit most of the way on pavement. Perhaps it was due to road construction and maintenance with heavy equipment going through the area at various times.

The rest of the drive was just more beautiful scenery. In Delta Junction, we stopped at the Delta Petro-Wash to dump and fill our water jugs and topped off our gas tank. The price of gas was much better here, just $4.85 per gallon. That’s the cheapest price we’ve seen in over a month.

It was dinner time by the time we arrived at Big Delta State Historical Park. The campground is first come/first serve. We were concerned that we wouldn’t get a site coming in the evening on a Friday. However, there was no one there. The campground is basically a parking lot, with no views. The Delta State Recreation Site ten miles back in Delta Junction looked nicer from what we could see from the highway. Also, the Mile Post claims that the Clearwater State Recreation Site has one of the state’s prettiest campsites, but it is 11 miles off the highway. That’s probably why no one was at Big Delta State Historical Park.

We probably should have gone back to one of the other two campgrounds, but we were tired. Keith had been driving all day and he had driven the rough McCarthy Road the day before. We generally don’t have two driving days in a row. So we stayed. We wanted to relax and check out the historical park the next day. Even though the campsites were right on top of each other, it didn’t really matter because we had the whole place to ourselves. A few other camper vans and RV’s drove through the parking lot that evening, scoped out the area, and left.

After a long day of driving the day before, it was nice to take a chill day on Saturday. We had a cell signal so we could catch up on social media and get a blog post out. After lunch, we explored the historical park.

The park signs were not very clear on how much to pay to enter the park. Was the park entrance fee included with the camping fee? One sign said park fee of $5 per person. There were no staff around to ask. There was only a self pay station.

There were several buildings inside the historical park. Rika’s Roadhouse is the main attraction, but there are also some outbuildings, like a barn, a cabin, and a windmill, along with several buildings that were part of the WAMCATS station (Washington Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System), called the McCarty Station. All of the buildings have nice displays inside with all kinds of artifacts.

Richardson Highway used to pass right in front of Rika’s Roadhouse. Before the bridge was built, there used to be a ferry here to cross the Tanana River. When the bridge was built in 1943, the highway was rerouted so it no longer passed directly by Rika’s Roadhouse.

The historical park seemed to have staffing problems. The cafe was closed for 2022 along with the dump station and potable water. The single, small trash can was full. The vault toilets were running out of toilet paper. There must have been someone to come open up the buildings at 10 am and close them again at 4 pm. Music was playing inside Rika’s Roadhouse. A handful of people stopped by to check out the park, but we did not see a staff person the whole time we were there.

From the banks of the river, you can see the pipeline as it crosses the river. Just beyond the pipeline is the Richardson Highway bridge.

Big Delta State Historical Park is not a major attraction in Alaska, but it is worth a quick stop if you are passing by on the Richardson Highway. It was exactly what we needed. It broke up the drive to Fairbanks, had a good cell signal, and gave us a chance to relax and recharge our batteries, both literally and figuratively.

Check out our related video: Big Delta, Alaska

(Ann)