Unfortunate Motorhome Accident - Hope Alaska

Hope, Alaska (58 degrees, blue skies)

In a blink of an eye when you least expect it an accident can happen. We have been fulltiming in our motorhome for eight years without an accident. Our luck ran out when John drove the motorhome into this National Forest campground in Hope Alaska. The wooden guard rail at the entrance seemed to reach out and scraped four panels on the back part of the motorhome. Dang it! John was so devastated.

We assessed the damage and called our insurance agent. She was so nice and said "I haven't written a policy for a motorhome which did not scrape something and I haven't written one for a fifth wheel which hasn't had a tire explode and cause damage". She was very sympathetic and walked us through what needed to be done. Hope Alaska is very remote and our insurance company (Progressive)  said since our motorhome can be safely driven we could wait until we got back to New Mexico this fall to get the repairs completed. 

John and our friend Bob put their heads together and came up with a plan to secure the bins and make it safe to drive. The bent trim around the tire was removed and stored.

Duck tape was used to put the pieces back together as much as possible. John then had a welder cut a piece of sheet metal and secured this with screws to the main panel. He then spray painted it to make it look a little less unsightly. I was really proud of their efforts. 

The contents from the two bins were relocated and we are now good to go. Photos were taken and sent to Progressive. The agent asked if anyone was hurt and I replied "only my husbands pride". The agent laughed and said there wasn't any compensation for this injury.

We were fortunate no one was hurt and that the motorhome can be driven. Trying to get repairs done here would be difficult and delay our trip considerably. We consider ourselves very fortunate.

Our campground is lovely and we did enjoy our stay in the tiny town of Hope. Salmon fishing was in full tilt and we saw lots of happy people lined up along the shores trying to "floss" them. Salmon are not interested in bait at this time of year. They are only interested in spawning. So, the only way to catch one is to snag it in the mouth with your hook. Three salmon/day is the limit per day and most people were doing very well.

Combat fishing

We did enjoy some nice hikes in the area. The vegetation here is intense and tall and lush green. Our friend Becky says it's like hiking in a salad bowl.

Kingfisher

The views and scenic drives here along the Turnagain Arm are beautiful. It's a lovely area.

Little town of Hope in the distance

Campground Reviews:  Porcupine National Forest Campground, 5 stars, had the "it" factor, no hookups or dump on site, beautiful sites with fire ring and well spaced on asphalt. Our site #20 was difficult to level on and very shady. #18 would be perfect for solar panels. Make reservation way in advance especially when salmon are running. It's popular for locals from nearby Anchorage.  Very reasonable $18/night including reservations fee, 50% off senior or access, good Verizon signal, nice hiking trail, close to town.

Celebrating Bob and Jann's birthday

We also stayed prior to this stay in Cooper Landing. We did not take many pictures but enjoyed our stay very much. There was some great hiking in the area and our friends Bob and Patsy enjoyed a drift boat fishing trip. We celebrated Jann and Bob C. birthday too with a lasagna dinner and delicious birthday cake.

Porcupine

Campground Review: Kenai Princess RV Park, 3 stars, full hook up with 30 amp service, level, gravel sites close together with no landscaping, you can use facilities at Princess Resort, nice restaurant, gift shop  and rocking chairs overlooking river. WiFi did not work, poor Verizon signal, hot tub out of order