This was a surp
rise -
a mostly frozen river north of Tok. We hadn't even seen much snow in the previous days. We stopped in Delta Junction AK at the Official End of the Alaska Highway, even though we won't see the beginning until we're on the way home. We camped at the Chena River State Park area in Fairban
k
s. This is a really prett
y, wooded campground right in the center of town. We backtracked a little the next day to visit North Pole & Santa House. Since it's the off-season, Santa and the elves must be in the tropics bu
t we did see a few reindeer. We also visited the Knotty Shop, which had great burl sculptures and some other fun things, including a mini-souvenir for our favorite boy. It's a secret, but here's a hint - it's moose related & tacky enough to appeal to a teenage boy. The University of AK Museum was fairly intere
sting, with lots of artifacts and wildlife exhibits. We saw musk ox at the Large Animal Research Station - creepy looking things! You'll have to believe this, as they were too far from the fence to get a good pic. Our planned Fairbanks highlight was the Midnight Sun baseball game, which has been played since 1906. First pitch at 10:30 and no lights us
e
d. It was fun and there were people from all over the globe in attendance. The Oceanside (CA) Waves were the opposing team. The sun glared in our eyes at 11:45pm, but we survived it! We had a few sprinkles and left at about 12:15 when it looked like a real storm was coming. Good thing - it poured shortly after we got back to the RV and we heard that the W
aves and umpires ran off the fiel
d. Th
e Goldpanners won the game when it resumed the next day. Our unplanned Fairbanks highlight came about after talking to our fellow campers, who advised us the road to the Arctic Circle was in much better shape than we had been led to believe. Exaggeration of road conditions seems to be common and we wonder if some of those who travel up here don't have a little too much dramatic flair! We had a mostly sunny day for the 400-mile round
trip. A tour bus driver was nice enough to take our picture at the Arctic Circle sign. About half of the road was paved, but the gravel sections were hard-packed and usually
smoother. We had one little section of constr
uction & the Jeep ended up suitably muddy. There was less truck traffic than we expected, but we did see several Carlile trucks (of Ice Road Truckers fame). The pipeline was visible from most points on the road, but did go underground in places without permafrost. It was a really
enjoyable day and we were glad to have met the right people so we knew to do it. And we have a winner for the oxymoron sign of the day. Our final day in Fairbanks was dedicated to laundry, shopping and other chores so we'd be ready for our next adventure - 29 miles into Denali National Park with the grizzly bears and all the other critters! If this is the last blog entry, you'll know why...
rise -
a mostly frozen river north of Tok. We hadn't even seen much snow in the previous days. We stopped in Delta Junction AK at the Official End of the Alaska Highway, even though we won't see the beginning until we're on the way home. We camped at the Chena River State Park area in Fairban
k
s. This is a really prett
y, wooded campground right in the center of town. We backtracked a little the next day to visit North Pole & Santa House. Since it's the off-season, Santa and the elves must be in the tropics bu
t we did see a few reindeer. We also visited the Knotty Shop, which had great burl sculptures and some other fun things, including a mini-souvenir for our favorite boy. It's a secret, but here's a hint - it's moose related & tacky enough to appeal to a teenage boy. The University of AK Museum was fairly intere
sting, with lots of artifacts and wildlife exhibits. We saw musk ox at the Large Animal Research Station - creepy looking things! You'll have to believe this, as they were too far from the fence to get a good pic. Our planned Fairbanks highlight was the Midnight Sun baseball game, which has been played since 1906. First pitch at 10:30 and no lights us
e
d. It was fun and there were people from all over the globe in attendance. The Oceanside (CA) Waves were the opposing team. The sun glared in our eyes at 11:45pm, but we survived it! We had a few sprinkles and left at about 12:15 when it looked like a real storm was coming. Good thing - it poured shortly after we got back to the RV and we heard that the W
aves and umpires ran off the fiel
d. Th
e Goldpanners won the game when it resumed the next day. Our unplanned Fairbanks highlight came about after talking to our fellow campers, who advised us the road to the Arctic Circle was in much better shape than we had been led to believe. Exaggeration of road conditions seems to be common and we wonder if some of those who travel up here don't have a little too much dramatic flair! We had a mostly sunny day for the 400-mile round 
trip. A tour bus driver was nice enough to take our picture at the Arctic Circle sign. About half of the road was paved, but the gravel sections were hard-packed and usually 
smoother. We had one little section of constr
uction & the Jeep ended up suitably muddy. There was less truck traffic than we expected, but we did see several Carlile trucks (of Ice Road Truckers fame). The pipeline was visible from most points on the road, but did go underground in places without permafrost. It was a really 
enjoyable day and we were glad to have met the right people so we knew to do it. And we have a winner for the oxymoron sign of the day. Our final day in Fairbanks was dedicated to laundry, shopping and other chores so we'd be ready for our next adventure - 29 miles into Denali National Park with the grizzly bears and all the other critters! If this is the last blog entry, you'll know why...
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