Close encounter with Bates motel

Good bye to Gwinn's Lodge and on to Denali
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This day was another pristine weather day! Boy, have we been lucky. We checked out of our Cooper’s Landing Chalet and headed toward Whitter to catch the ferry to Valdez. The ferry was great, the most luxious place we’ve been since we got here. The voyage was comfortable, smooth and picturesque. We arrived in Valdez and found a bar with the most local brews on tap. This seems to be a pattern. Outside of Valdez, we drove through the Keystone Canyon and many waterfalls, the highlight of our day. We headed down the highway towards our overnight stay in Paxton. We now know how Alaska got it slogan, “the last frontier”. We didn’t arrive until 10:30 and oh my goodness, what a dump, and out in the middle of nowhere. Words cannot describe, The Bates Hotel revisited!!! The place was wide open and we couldn’t get anyone to respond to knocking, or honking. Susan got on the cell phone and found the locals very helpful and sympathetic with our dilemma. We finally found a place not booked 16 miles back down the road and a nice gentlemen named Robin, who was willing to get out of bed to check us in. So if your ever on the way to the Denali Highway, we highly recommend, the Atwater Lodge, 16miles so of the cutoff. NEVER try to book at the Paxton Lodge.

I've never seen so much frontier in my life!