Fairbanks and the Arctic Circle

From Denali it is a relatively short 150 +/- mile trip to Fairbanks. Much different and smaller than Anchorage, Fairbanks is the "other" major city in AK. The Univ. of AK is there and it has a great small town/college feel. And most importantly it is the gateway to the Arctic Circle. We visited the Musuem of the North on the campus at the university. Although somewhat small this musuem was perhaps the best we have visited so far. The main exhibit combnies AK history, culture and art as represented throughout the stages of AK development.

 

Museum of the North

 

Our main objective here was to journey to the Arctic Circle (AC). I had this strange goal of wanting to ride my bike there. So on a beautiful Sunday morning we headed north for the Dalton Hwy. The AC is 200 miles from Fairbanks and although not a difficult drive most of the trip is on gravel/dirt roads and you need to be aware of yield the ROW to oncoming truck traffic. The Dalton was originally called the "haul" road as it's main purpose was to haul supplies to Deadhore and Prudhoe Bay for the AK oil drilling. The road was built along with the AK pipeline, the two following each other north. There is one main stop to the AC (and others beyond) at the Yukon River crossing where food, gas and lodging are available. Also at this stop is a BLM visitor's center describing the area you are travelling through.

 

Heading north

 

 

 

Yukon River Camp

 

"Gas Station"

 

One interesting aspect of this road is the Alaska pipleine. In a few places you can get direct access and see how it was constructed. The line is both above gground (where the soil is unstable) and buried (where there is a base of rock) and above ground the line zig-zags. This design allows for small sections only to be damaged, in an earthquke for example, instead of larger sections if the line was straight. Also shock absorbers are designed into the upright supports to minimize earthquake dangers.

 

Section of the AK pipeling

 

Closeup of support

 

We made it to the AC easily and fortunately the wind was strong so the mosquitos were at bay. Except for the sign there is really no designation where you are. Since this is a high point for many tourists the BLM posts volunteers here and will even give you a certificate upon successfull crossing! Tour busses come this way as well and bring a special carpet with dotted line to "mark the spot". Now I can say I have ridden my bike across the AC.

 

 

 

 

The "official" line?

 

 

 

Traffic along the highway is relatively light but it is still used as a "haul" road so care must be taken. Although not very visible in this photo, the main truck is being "pushed" by a push truck to help with the inclines.

 

 

We did a short hike to "Finger" rock just south ot the AC. It is said this rock points directly to Fairbanks so travellers will be able to find their way south. The hike out is on tundra, a soft spong like terrain.

 

Finger Rock

 

It was a long day, 400 miles RT but well worth the effort

 

After leaving Fairbanks we made a short visit to Chena Hot Springs for a nice hot soak. This is more of a resort but has a CG, restaurant and other visitor facilities. This was a good break.

 

Chena Hot Spings

 

Having a nice soak!

 

Our stop in Faibanks ended our trip north and we officially headed south from here.

 

More to come....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Denali National Park

We finally made it to Deanli NP, the main goal of the trip! Denali is perhaps like no other US National Park. First this park was created for the protection of the animals, mainly the Dall Sheep, then the preservation of wilderness. Most other parks are the opposite. Secondly access to the park interior is highly limited. Although thousands of visitors travel deep into the park, all travel during the summer season is by bus, with a few exceptions (detailed in a minute). Then once inside the park there are no established back country trails as all hiking is through the bush which allows for the tundra to remain intact. And the mountain itself, the tallest in the US at 20,320 ft (and growing at 1 cm/year) technically named Mt. Mickinley, but called is Denali by most. The word Denali is Athabascan for the "Tall One" or the "Great One". With such a high elevation the mountain creates it's own weather thus only 30% of visitors to the area see the entire mountain. We are in that 30% although on separate days we saw most of the base and then the tip. It is quite impressive just seeing what little we did.

 

 

Entrance to Denali National Park

 

Camping at Denali is setup into several sections. Our first two nights were spent at Riley Creek CG at the entrance to the park. This is where most people stay and the CG is quite large with three loops with at least 50 spots in each. Also at this location are the store, showers and laundromat, all of which are needed at some point. Before going further into the park we spent our day hiking and visiting the sled dog kennels. Sled dogs here at Denali are considered park rangers and are used in the winter months to haul supplies to various parts of the park. These dogs, considered to be the 18 wheelers of the sled dogs vs the racing dogs, are larger and stronger for the job they perform.

 

The sled dog "Rangers"

 

Kennel name plates of retired dog rangers

 

 

Sled dog demo

 

After two nights at the entrance to the park we moved to our next CG 29 miles into the park. This is the lone exception to driving into the park during season. At Teklanika CG, with 53 sites, you are allowed to drive your car/RV to but must stay a minimum of 3 days. From here you take the shuttle bus further into the park. Our reservation was for 4 nights, drove in on Monday, out on Friday. In between we took the bus each day into the park. Our first trip in took us to the Kantishna area at 90 miles, which is the end of the road. At this area are several private lodges/resorts that have essentially been grandfathered into the park. These were here long before the park was created thus their present status. You can even fly in if you want. Our other two trips in were to the Eilson Visitor Center located about 60 miles in. From here there a few day hikes easily walked. The bus rides can be interesting in that each driver talks about the ride and describes where you are at. Our first driver was great (but almost talked too much) and had a great knowledge of the entire park and animals we would see. Others ranged from hardly saying anything to only speaking when needed. While riding if you see an animal you yell STOP, describe the time position, i.e. 1 o'clock, and what you spotted. The driver stops and everyone moves to that side of the bus for viewing/photos. Unfortunately most of the viewing is beyond a camera's telephoto lens but other times the animals are quite close.

 

Teklanika CG-29 miles into the park

 

View from Eilson visitor's center

 

Wet bus ride in

 

Another view

 

 

 

End of bus ride

 

Of course Denali is all about the wildlife. On our various trips we saw grizzly bear (some with cubs), caribou, Dall sheep, moose, wolves and Willow Ptarmigan (the state bird of AK). It is simply amazing to see these animals in their natural environment still mostly undisturded by humans.

 

Grizzly Bear

 

Willow Ptarmigan

 

Caribou

 

Grizzly and her cubs

 

Caribou keeping nose close to water to keep bugs away

 

I consider Denali NP to be the adventurer's adventure park. By this I mean to do any back country camping/hiking you should have a very good knowlegde of map and compass and know basic (at least) survival skills. Due to the weather, terrain and animals an "easy" hike could trun into a very serious situation fast. We did not do any of this type of hiking but just being there to view the majesty of the park was enough (at least for our first time).

 

On Friday we retuned to the Riley Creek CG on the rain soaked road. Another night here was needed to shower, do laundry and dump the RV tanks.

 

Drive out

 

Muddy (soon to become familiar) drive

 

On Saturday we began our dive north to Fairbanks.

 

More to come....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Trying to Get Updated

Sorry for the long delay in my updates but we have not had a decent wifi in a quite a while (and I only have an hour connection here at the library, just not enough time). We have done and seen a lot since the last update but I will try soon. Right now we are back in Whitehorse, YT heading south toward Edmonton, AB. All is well and we are truckin on. Be back soon.

Posted with Blogsy

On to Denali, but a Couple of Stops First

We had a great but very quiet weekend hanging out at Celeste's. Mostly we just stayed around the house as one day it was hot and sunny, the next cold and wet. This made for a perfect time to relax, get out of the truck, drink some beer, reaquaint with a long time friend (and her 2 dogs, 2 cats and horse). Monday was our scheduled day to move on and Celeste and Joe decided to go to Talkeetna with us so we followed them to this town about an hour north.

 

Talkeetna is best known today as the starting point for anyone that wants to climb Mt. McKinley. The climbing ranger station is located here so anyone that is scheduled for a climbing expedtion must begin here. Climbers shuttle from here to the Kahiltna Glacier by plane where base camp is set at about 7,000ft. Over a period of three +/- weeks the climbers attempt to reach the summit at 20,320 ft. Only about half are successfull and this year the success rate is about 36%!

 

Scorecard in ranger station of 2014 climbers

 

But Talkeetna is also a major tourist stop with the requsite shops, breweries, art galleries, etc.

 

Cynthia and Joe in the historic Farview Inn bar

 

Beautifull downtown Talkeetna

 

Rules at the Fariview Inn

 

So we spent the afternoon here with Celeste and Joe then they headed home and we made camp for the night. Early the next mornning we headed back into town for breakfast then left to move further north.

 

We still had several days until our Denali reservations so we headed toward Cantwell, AK and the Denali Hwy (not to be confused with the Parks Hwy which Denali NP is on). The Denali Hwy is a 130 mile unpaved "highway" connecting Cantwell on the west with Paxson on the east. The first night we drove about 10 miles in and found a nice pullout next to a small lake, just perfect for our small trailer. Later that evening a lady, her son and grandaughter parked next to us to fish. As the young man gathered his gear he shoulderred a nice size rifle-necessary fishing gear here, used to ward off the moose and bear. A little while later they returned with only one fish and no shots fired. Although the road and 100ft of right-of-way are public, along this stretch the land is privately owned by the Ahtna (Alaskan Athabascan People). Several miles further out the land becomes public.

Camped along the Denali Highway

 

Later that night around midnight we discovered a moose grazing in the lake behind us. Unfortunately she was too far for photos but we discovered that early the next morning she was still around and I got this photo of her.

 

Moose grazing in the lake

 

The next day we moved further in to about mile 35 to a BLM campground. Once setup we drove further up the road to check it out. Along the drive we passed several cyclists moving west and a cabin which (somewhat) looked to be under construction.

 

Cyclists heading west

 

Cabin

 

We also discovered the "Sluice Box" something of a bar, grocery store, flightseeing whatever. Fun place to check out.

 

Cynthia inside the Sliuce Box

 

The Sluice Box

 

Susitna River bridge

 

When the road crossed the Susitna River we turned back and headed to camp. A wet evening made for a difficult fire but Cynthia got it going and we enjoyed that. The next day we headed back toward Cantwell and still a few days out from Denali we got a space in an RV park for 2 nights.

After setting up a couple questioned us about our TT. Turns out she and her husband are somewhat locals, living here in summer and AZ in winter. We were invited to their place that evening and of course we went. It was a short distance from our RV park and they own an acre or so with a cabin and a nice covered visiting area with a wood stove. We enjoyed our visit and it was great to hear the "local way" here.

 

The next day was pretty quiet and then on Saturday we headed toward Denali NP.

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Captain Cook SP and (almost) Anchorage

We drove from Homer past the city of Kenai to Captain Cook State Park located further up Cook Inlet. There was really not much to do here at this park but again it was interesting to watch the tidal change. As we were getting close to the 1st of the month I needed to get on line to check some finances. Finding a secure connection is difficult unless we are at someone's place but I figured that down on the beach was as good a place as any. We had no signal in the CG but a short hike down to the beach got us online-me an internet connection and Cynthia a call back home to her parents. And it was the first time we needed to use our mosquito net hats. They work great!

Cynthia call home!

 

Same spot as above photo. Notice tidal change.

 

Along the beach

 

Mosquito net hats-not fashionable, but functional!

 

We had plans to be north of Anchorage for the 4th so we needed to get closer to the city. We found a great campsite, Bird Creek SP. Again another dry camping spot but a nice place at that. At this CG we were accpmpinaed by several "Earthroamers", RVs that are built for extreme travel. These units were traveling together in their own small caravan. It was nice to see the owner of the company traveling with them as well. But we just don't have the $400,000+ for a new one (but we could get one used for only $175,000+)! Oh well. Later in the day I looked out our trailer window and saw what looked to be something like the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile. I went over to the site and found this: the Atomic Camper! The owners were great and although I was skeptical about interrupting them, they were very accomadating and very gracious in showing their creation. The man built this from scratch and it is INCREDIBLE! Out of respect for them I did not photograph the inside but one day you will see this on TV.

 

 

The Atomic Camper!

We spent a full day in Anchorage doing the big city things we needed to get done. In anticipation of the July 4th holiday we knew that we needed to be off the road and made plans for a visit with a former UTMB coworker. For those Biocomers that remeber her, Celeste Franco (from Graphics) moved up here 20+ years ago and having recently connected on FB we made plans to visit at her and her husbands place just past Wasilla (yes, that one and don't ask!) We got here yesterday and plan to stay until at least Monday. It is great visiting her and seeing real Alaska!

 

Over the next two weeks we will finally get to Denali NP, the main goal of the trip. The weather in that area has been spotty so we are hoping for a few clear days.

 

Oh and why do they shoot off fireworks up here? There is no "night" so you can't see anything!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy