Denali to Fairbanks--August 7 to 15, 2010

Take your time and enjoy this blog as it will be our last until we get to the lower 48 or a place with free wi-fi!

Bob and I enjoyed our time at Denali and would like to return one day. But, it was time to move on to our next adventures in Fairbanks. We stopped along Parks Highway to get a few geocaches.Once we arrived in Fairbanks, we stopped at Ft. Wainwright to see if they had
campsites available. They had a lot of sites, but only 8 with electricity. We took one of the sites without hook-ups. Once again we were relying on solar power to run our electronics--computers and tvs.After setting up camp we headed out to explore Fairbanks. There was a lot to see and do in the area. University of Alaska Fairbanks has several great places to spend time. One was Georgeson Botanical Garden.The vegetables grow pretty big during the long hours of summer light in Alaska.
So do the flowers.The gardens were beautiful and peaceful.There was even a garden with a play cabin for kids!Another day we spent almost the entire day at Museum of the North--also at UAF. It is a must see for anyone visiting Fairbanks. Bob liked "Outhouse Experience." Too bad it was just a one-holer!We also visited North Pole, Alaska. The visitor center had a sod roof like a lot of the old cabins.We visited Santa's House, but it was lots of ornaments from China and a few made in Alaska. I was disappointed in Santa's House.

This Santa was one of three made for Seattle's Worlds Fair. No one is sure if the others have survived.
The Riverboat Discovery took another day. We rode Discovery and saw some exciting sights along the Chena River.One stop was to watch a float plane take off, land, and take off again.The next stop was to see Susan Butcher's sled dogs. She was a four time winner of Iditarod Race. Unfortunately, she died of leukemia in 2007. Her husband and daughters carry on the sled dog tradition.These dogs enjoyed pulling the sled around a lake before they were let loose to enjoy the river.Discovery docked at Chena Village which is an interpretive center for Athabascan Natives.
Our guide, Jofina, modeled a traditional ceremonial parka made of animal furs.We learned about cache cabins where food was stored so animals couldn't get to it. They used it to display animal furs while we were visiting.It was an enjoyable day on the river.

On the way to UAF on one of our first days in Fairbanks, we passed Creamer's Field which used to be a dairy farm (appropriate name for a dairy). It is now a bird observatory.The area is filled with trails and observation towers to view birds.In fact, next week there will be a huge festival in honor of Jennifer's favorite bird--Sand Hill Crane Festival! This is where they come to spend their summers. We went back to hike the fields and watch the birds. I learned that sandhill crane colts (babies) have brown feathers instead of gray.

The trails are multi-use and have a much different use in the winter!Thursday, we set off on another adventure--to visit the Arctic Circle.

We started off at the pipeline visitor center in Fairbanks.
Then we took Steese Highway to Elliot Highway where we stopped at a local rock climbing area to take a picture of a travel bug who wanted to visit a cache located near the rocks. The bug wants to make its way back to Florida, so it is still traveling with us.

Another geocache was located under this old bridge.We continued on to Dalton Highway, sometimes known as Haul Road.We stopped in several places to find geocaches as we made our way to the Arctic Circle. One geocache was located up high--I sent Bob up for it!Also in this area were blueberries! We didn't have a container to put them in so we left them for the bears!

At another place we stopped, we saw a French couple with the rv they shipped from home!We crossed the Yukon River at Yukon Crossing. We topped off the car with gas at the only station ($4.59 a gallon) and saw rooms for $199 a night. Yes, they were located in this building!After we reached the Arctic Circle we decided to continue on to Coldfoot. This was the trucker/tourist area--gas station, restaurant and hotel--just like the one at Yukon Crossing. There was an Interagency Center run by BLM, Forest Service, and Wildlife Preserves.

As we drove Dalton Highway, we followed the pipeline. We have seen it from its southern terminus in Valdez all the way to Coldfoot. We didn't make it to Prudhoe Bay to see its beginning--Coldfoot is halfway from Fairbanks to Prudhoe.We had enough with us to spend the night in the car, but since the weather was okay and we knew it would be light until 11:00, we decided to return to Fairbanks.

Pioneer Park is located in Fairbanks. There are some pioneer museums, a riverboat with dioramas of towns along the Chena River, a flight museum, a train, a carousel and small shops.

There is also a Salmon Bake. Bob and I walked through during the day and I rode the wild Alaskan salmon!
We also rode our bikes around Ft. Wainwright. The bike trail follows Chena River. There is a plaque near the river commemorating the spot where Wiley Post and Will Rogers landed on their ill-fated trip to Barrow in 1935.

We have been lucky at most military bases when it came to laundry--it was either free or $1 a load to wash and $1 a load to dry. Not at Ft. Wainwright! It was $3.25 to wash a load and $2 to dry! Needless to say we didn't do wash all that we planned to wash. We even checked prices off post--$4 to wash!

We've had a good time in Fairbanks, but the fireweed is about to turn! We've been told that when the top blooms, the first snow is not far behind! Hard to think of that when we have finally had our first days of warm weather! Yesterday and today the thermometer actually hit 80! The best we have had prior to that was 70 and only a few days of that!

So, it is time for us to head back to Tok. We wanted to take Top of the World Highway, but torrential rains have caused problems with the road--major washouts. The other road we would like to travel is Stewart-Cassiar highway, but it too has had problems--wildfires. It looks like they may be under control, so that route is still a possibility.

Once we leave Tok, we won't have cell phone or internet in the rv. We will keep in touch through e-mail (libraries in towns along the way have internet).

Sooooo enjoy this blog and we'll post again when we get back to the lower 48 or before if we get wi-fi somewhere!