Tok to Fairbanks

JULY 1, 2012    TOK TO FAIRBANKS

Another cold, rainy morning greeted us as we prepared to leave Tok.    We were on the road by 9 AM and were rewarded by seeing a female moose a few miles down the road.  She was running beside the road and we were lucky that she did not dart out in front of us.  It happened too fast for a picture, but it was very exciting!

We stopped at the Visitor Center in Delta Junction  because it is located at the official end of the Alaska Highway.  The unofficial end is in Fairbanks.  We stood in the rain to have our pictures taken at the final mile marker and with the giant mosquito sculptures on the lawn.  A few miles outside of town we stopped to see a spectacular view of the Alaska pipeline crossing the Tanana River like a strange round suspension bridge.  

Sod roof cabin in Delta Junction

We made it to the end!

The last milepost

Gary and Barb at the last milepost

Pipeline crossing the Tanana River

Mosquitos at Delta Junction

By the time we arrived in North Pole, AK the sun had come out and the temperature was about 70 degrees....yeah!  We are camped at the Riverview RV Park right on the Chena River with full hook-ups.   After setting up, Steve and I took off for the PX at Ft. Wainwright about 4 miles away.   We had a great time shopping in a real store instead of a souvenir shop for a change.   My vacuum cleaner has died, so we purchased a new one.  

Barb and Gary have friends from their high school days in Minnesota who live in Fairbanks.  They had a nice reunion for the first time in 50 years or so!   Carl and Jerry have lived here for many years and had a lot of advice about sightseeing, eating, and fishing in Alaska.  

Carl, Jerry, Gary, Barb--after all those years!

Steve and I took off to see some of downtown Fairbanks, and we stopped for dinner (at Carl and Jerry's suggestion) at the Pump House Restaurant.  The Chena Pump House was a part of the vast system of pumps, sluiceways, ditches, and flumes constructed in 1933 in order to carry on gold dredging operations in the Fairbanks district.   The decor is authentic gold rush antique, and the food is local or flown in daily.   We had halibut, shrimp, and scollops and the food was WONDERFUL! 

Upside down mush sculpture at the Pump House

A Sunday evening tour of downtown Fairbanks included a stop at the mega-store, Fred Meyer's.   It is like a super Wal-Mart, a Target, and several other stores combined!   We located the Sam's for later shopping then headed home for the rest of the evening.  It is 11:30 PM now and the sun doesn't set until 12:35 AM!  Sunrise is at 3:20 AM!   Weird!!