North to Alaska By RV 2021

With the US-Canada border closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we decided to ship our RV and toad to Anchorage and fly ourselves there to embark on a 14-week trip ... including the travel time required to get us to/from Tacoma. Read more

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North to Alaska By RV 2021
Detour to the Dalton Highway
June 3, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
When we came to Alaska for the first time in 2001, we did a Princess CruiseTour.

The cruise was southbound from Seward, Alaska to Vancouver, BC, Canada. The ship portion of the trip was preceded by a week-long, train/bus/airplane land tour that took us from Anchorage to Denali NP and Fairbanks by train; up the Dalton Highway — aka the Haul Road — by bus ... a two-day trip with a break in Coldfoot; and back to Anchorage from Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay by plane.

For two people who don’t much care for group tours, we chose to make an exception because Mui wanted to be able to focus on the scenery and experience instead of the road.

Since we have been on the full length of the haul road — 415 miles from where it junctions with the Elliott — we have no plans to drive it this time. But we couldn’t resist a short detour today — 11 miles in ... 11 miles out.

The road follows the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and goes through the Brooks Range and the North Slope. It was built as an access road while the pipeline was being constructed. It remains as the only road access north ... both for freight haulers and for recreational travelers who want to reach the Arctic Circle, and further, the Arctic Ocean.

75% of the road is unpaved ... a combination of rough gravel and/or chip seal. The short distance we drove today was all chip-sealed and in very good shape.

It was tempting to keep going for 56 miles to where the pipeline crosses the Yukon River ... and where we had a box-lunch picnic in 2001. But it would have added over 100 miles to our already 300-mile+ day trip. In hindsight, it would have made for a more exciting drive than the one we did on the Elliott today.Read more
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
Day 32 Ends With a Stroll @ Olnes Pond
June 3, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
We returned to the campground from our Elliott Highway day trip to find a lot more people than there were when we left.

It’s only Thursday, but the locals have come out to “stake out” sites for this weekend. One RVer has put his rig in one site, lawn chairs in another site, and his tow vehicle in yet another site ... holding them for the rest of his group, I assume. There are lots of ATVs parked near the trailers, but no one has been riding them ... something for which we are grateful.

The only noise is from three dogs in one site who bark incessantly at the smallest movement halfway down the road in either direction. I get that they are supposed to be on alert to protect the occupants, but this is ridiculous.

Anyway, since we were in the car all day with little in the way of exercise, we went for a stroll around Olnes Pond ... stretch our legs and check out the birds along the shoreline.

According to the US Fish & Wildlife service, “Alaska is home to more than 470 species of birds.” Most of these birds are migratory ... here for the breeding season.

Today, we saw lesser yellowlegs; a semipalmated plover ... a first for me; a merganser pair; and other waterfowl too far to identify.

Even though we weren’t very active today, we’re exhausted. Methinks an early night is in order.Read more
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
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Quiet Morning @ Olnes Pond
June 4, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F
The receipt that the registration machine spit out when we paid the campground fees two days ago indicated that we had the site until 11:59a today. And by golly, I was going to make the most of every minute of that time before checking out.

It was only 42F when we had breakfast around 8:00a ... so we ate indoors. But by the time I was ready to relax on the patio with my thermos of hot tea, the temp was up to 55F. Armed with the Thermacell mosquito repeller, I made myself comfortable, opened my Kindle, and read ... trying to tune out the dogs that were still incessantly barking from a nearby site. No adults around so the ATVs were still thankfully silent.

Mui had just joined me when a commotion overhead had us glancing up to see what was happening. Two mew gulls were trying to keep a bald eagle at bay. And they did. Anything to protect the nest … I still have no idea where it was hidden. It was such an unexpected sight that I never even thought to click on the phone for a video.

There are multi-use trails in the forest … and mosquitoes, too. Though our Thermacell unit does a pretty good job of keeping these pests at away from us, we decided to just do another walk around the edge of the pond.

That turned out to be a good decision as we immediately spotted the bald eagle perched atop a tree, keeping an eye on things. I got a couple of photos before it flew off. But minutes later it perched atop another tree … got my best shots from that spot. We saw eagles on the mudflats along Turnagain Arm earlier in our trip, but this has been our closest encounter yet this year … and an unexpected one since I didn’t think they lived this far in the interior of the state.

No sooner had we moved on from the eagle that a movement overhead caught my eye. I looked up to see three sandhill cranes in flight. I was so dumbfounded that again I neglected to click on the phone for a video. I came to Alaska hoping to see these birds at Creamer’s Field sometime during our stay in Fairbanks. I never expected I’d see them in flight at Olnes Pond.

The rest of our stroll yielded sightings of the same birds we saw yesterday ... lesser yellowlegs; a semipalmated plover; sandpipers; and mergansers.

It’s now 11:00a. We’ve packed up the rig and are ready to leave. But first, we’re going to enjoy our last hour here with a picnic along the shoreline.Read more
Traveler Looks cute, doesn't it?
6/6/21Reply
Two to TravelYup ... had never seen before, or if I did it wasn’t in its breeding plumage.
6/6/21Reply
Traveler They're so stellar in the high country.
6/6/21Reply
Traveler Beautiful!
6/7/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
Day 33 Ends @ Glass Park in Fairbanks
June 4, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
When we can, we like to hub-and-spoke our explorations from a single base as it gives us a sense of being settled, if only for a short time.

The first and last time we were in Fairbanks was when we stayed here overnight on our 2001 Princess CruiseTour. On that occasion, we visited a Trans-Alaska Pipeline interpretive center; panned for gold at the El Dorado Gold Mine ... struck gold, but not enough to retire; and went on the Riverboat Discovery tour to see the Wedding of the Rivers ... amongst other things.

This time we plan to do other things from our base at Glass Park, one of the two RV campgrounds at Fort Wainwright, the Army Post here in Fairbanks. We chose this campground over the one at Eielson AFB because this one takes reservations.

Being a mere 21 miles from the city, we had a short drive from Olnes Pond. The drive would have been about that much had we not had to backtrack to another gate because the main gate on Gaffney Road was closed for construction. Thank goodness for GPS and Google.

Although check-in was not until 4:00p, we were allowed to go to our site on the Moose Loop early ... it was only 1:00p. Our site — #8 — is one of the few here that has water/electric ... no sewer at any of the sites, but there is a dump station at the ODR (Outdoor Rec Center).

The gravel site is quite spacious ... even with a cabin placed in the back, waiting to be permanently installed. Not sure if they are planning to make this campground cabins-only, or if they are simply adding the cabins as an alternative for those who want to stay here without an RV. The newbie at the check-in desk was clueless about what’s going on.

We’ve got considerable distance between us and the neighboring sites ... no one yet to our left where there is a lot of brush and trees to provide privacy. The site to our right is occupied ... totally visible to us, but no one is staying in the trailer from what we can tell. No SatTV since the sky to the south is blocked by trees, but plenty of channels with the off-air antenna. Cell signal is decent with T-Mobile/GCI.

All in all, this campground will make a good base to explore the city and some of the other nearby places.

My only complaint ... the laundry facility is at the ODR Building ... not close enough to walk there with a full load of laundry. But that’s a problem for tomorrow since Mui has taken the car to run errands and reprovision the larder. With a Costco, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Walmart, Commissary and Base Exchange all within close driving distance, he’s in heaven.

I was going to sit on the patio, but we’ve had a rain shower come through, so everything is wet. I’ll just wait until tomorrow to do so.Read more
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
Day 34 Also Ends @ Glass Park
June 5, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F
A beautifully warm, blue sky day in Fairbanks. We didn’t do anything special and I have no photos or stories to tell.

Though Mui got the toad washed yesterday when he was out running errands, the RV was still filthy. Since they allow car washing at this campground, that’s what he had in mind to do. I know better than to get in his way when he’s got his mind set on something. Besides, I built in some down time for our stay here, so today ended up being one of those days.

We had a leisurely morning ... breakfast indoors ... morning tea on the patio with a bit of reading. Then, we hauled the laundry over to the ODR building and while I was taking care of that, Mui gave the Cruiser a good wash. I know, it will get dirty again ... but at least it’s bright and shiny for our stay here at Glass Park.

Since tomorrow is Sunday and the locals will be out playing again, we’re going to go off to explore the Steese Highway ... another long drive, but hopefully one that will be an improvement over the Elliott. Then, when the locals go back to work next week, we’ll go out and explore the city. I’m especially anxious to visit Creamer’s Field to see the sandhill cranes.

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By the way, the mosquito population is growing ... and I think some of them are biters. To keep them out of the Cruiser, we put the Thermacell right outside the door to create a "dome" at the entry point ... seems to have worked, so we'll continue this practice.Read more
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
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Steese Hwy: Along the Road
June 6, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F
Today was the second of our long toad-driving days exploring Alaskan Highways in the area that dead-end at rivers.

The first one was a few days ago — the Elliott Hwy ... from our base at the Olnes Pond Campground. The river in that case was the Tanana. Frankly, we didn’t think that road was worth the time we spent driving 304.6 miles R/T. But as I noted then, if you don’t do it, you don’t know.

The highway we drove today was the Steese ... from our base at Glass Park @ Fort Wainwright. This time the river was the Yukon. We felt the 322 R/T miles we put on the toad was worth it as there were enough “rewards” along the way ... both scenery and sightseeing-wise.

Here are a few of the general stops we made.Read more
Traveler Places in the lower 48 can look like this, too. Crazy, isn't it?
6/13/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
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Steese Highway: Central
June 6, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
Central, so named for its location within the Circle Mining District, is an unincorporated community on the Steese Highway.

There’s not much in the way of sightseeing here, but the Circle District Historical Society Museum was open ... displays covering the history of the area; fossilized remains found in and around creeks where miners worked their gold claims; mining equipment and household items; and other bits and pieces.

Before leaving Central, we went inside Central Corner — through the door with the sign saying “Entrance ... to Everything.” Yup ... bar, food, lodging, gas, propane, gift shop, groceries. We topped off at the single pump and treated ourselves to a couple of ice cream sandwiches before continuing on to Circle.Read more
Traveler Big dude, isn't he (the griz)!
6/13/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
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Day 35 Ends @ the Yukon River
June 6, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
The distance from Central to Circle may only be 34 miles, but it took us nearly 1½ hours to drive that portion of the gravel road. Unlike the earlier section of gravel — from about the midway point of the Steese to Central — this section was in really — and I mean, really — bad shape ... lots of big potholes that had us doing some interesting maneuvers to avoid them.

We ran out of road when we reached Circle — so named because the miners who established it in 1893 thought the location was on the Arctic Circle. In fact, it is about 50 miles south of that imaginary line. Between the summer fires of 2009, the flood that covered the area in 2013, and the pandemic of 2020 ... well, the area has suffered a great deal and felt like a ghost town today ... regardless of the few locals we encountered.

The road dead-ended at a dirt picnic area on the banks of the Mighty Yukon ... Alaska’s largest river ... born in Canada ... draining into the Bering Sea after traversing the state east to west. We had come prepared for a picnic here, but one table was in use by the locals ... the other one was upended near them for shade. So, we ate in the car and then stepped out to chat with the trio and take our photos.

The return drive on the Steese was uneventful. As is par for the course, we didn’t make many stops on the way back. And once we put the gravel section from Circle to Central behind us, we made good time.

If one has the time and inclination to do so, the Steese would be a good day drive ... long but good. Especially when the summer wildflowers come into full bloom in a week or so.Read more
Traveler I always love mighty rivers, especially when they are truly mighty. The Columbia is mighty in my mind and the Yukon is mighty in my heart. it is fun to remember all the rivers we have seen that are referred to as mighty. Some yes, some not really. love your silky surface pictures. will you cross at Dawson Creek in one direction or the other on the ferry?
6/8/21Reply
Two to TravelThe only Dawson Creek I find mention of is in Canada? No Canada for us ... border still closed.
6/9/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
Fairbanks: Morris Thompson Cultural Ctr
June 7, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F
“We are the land between the mountains, where ancient rhythms of the natural world flow as they have for thousands of year. Our lives are part of the cadence, entwined with the change of the seasons and the life of the land. This is our story. This is how we live ...”

Today was the day we set aside to explore Fairbanks and visit a museum or two. What a gorgeous day we had to do so ... the high of 74F felt at least 10 degrees warmer in the sun where there was no shade relief. The beautiful weather, in fact, contributed to a few changes to our plans for the day.

We started out by visiting the Morris Thompson Cultural & Visitor Center. Not that we needed any brochures or anything. Rather, we wanted to check out the exhibits describing life in the Interior and the cultures of the region.

Definitely well worth the time.Read more
TravelerWhat a fabulous cultural center!
6/10/21Reply
TravelerWe were there in June 2019 and were amazed by the history and stories we found there. Worth a few hours visit.
6/18/21Reply
Two to TravelWe enjoyed it a great deal.
6/18/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
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A-Wander in Fairbanks
June 7, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
From the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitor Center, we headed off for a stroll along the River Walk ... 1.5 miles. Somehow, though, we got sidetracked off the path and ended up meandering around the city.

If not for the beautiful weather encouraging a change to our plans, we might have found our way back to the River Walk. Instead, we decided to have lunch so we could make the 2:00p tour at our next stop.

Alas, lunch was a bust. The first place recommended to us by the VC was closed for construction. The second place was closed for lunch. The third place was closed on Mondays. The fourth place — Lavelle’s Bistro — was open and we went in. We were OK that the service was slow ... we’d been warned about it. But the food, when it was served, wasn’t worth the wait. I guess this falls into the “you win some, you lose some category.”

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The white church pictured is the Immaculate Conception Church. Constructed in 1904, it was originally situated on a “non-choice” lot. In 1911, it was rolled across the ice and set where it is located today.Read more
Travelermurals!
6/8/21Reply
TravelerCool moose antler arch!
6/10/21Reply
Traveler Whoa!
6/13/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
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Oomingmak & Reindeer @ LARS
June 7, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F
Blue skies ... sunshine ... and a temp of 74F today. Overcast and rain the next few days. Hmmm.

So, we decided to jiggle our plans and go to LARS — the Large Animal Research Station — operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks. One can wander around the front pen area without a guide. But to have a better chance of seeing the animals and learn about them, one must take a tour ... given twice a day ... at 10:00a and 2:00p.

The only species at LARS now are musk oxen and reindeer ... the latter with a cute calf named Ruth. I was hoping for a few more large animals, but the tour was interesting nonetheless.

The blazing sun made the day intolerable for both the musk ox and the reindeer, so they were hiding in the trees. But a few of them took the “branches of leaf” bribe our guide carried with her and came up to the fence line. We wrapped up the tour in the “touchy-feely” tent where we had a chance to fell the hides of both species and study their skulls.

Overall, a good opportunity to learn about whatever species happen to be at the research station at the time one visits.Read more
TravelerSo interesting that with a temperature of only 74 degrees it feels too hot! In Florida 74 degrees is cool, haha!
6/10/21Reply
Traveler Ruth, nice. (my given name)
6/13/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
University of Alaska Museum of the North
June 7, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F
Drained from our tour @ LARS — the sun was brutally hot even though the temp itself was comfortable — we headed over to the UAF Museum of the North for a breather and a bit of cultural experience.

The museum, located on a high ridge ... with views of the Alaska Range and Denali, is home to some wonderful exhibits ranging from the wildlife of Alaska, to the people and land of the state.

We spent two hours at the museum ... barely long enough for a quick look-see. But we caught a great many of the featured highlights, including Blue Babe, a steppe bison that’s been dated back 50,000 years; and a 43-foot long articulated skeleton of a bowhead whale that is suspended from the ceiling lobby ... virtually unveiled just a few hours before our visit today.

The Rose Berry Alaska Art Gallery on the second floor is not to be missed ... and we didn’t.

P.S. I forgot to look to see if Denali was showing herself ... though I did notice that at least parts of the Range were “out.”Read more
TravelerLove the art gallery...the painting "After the Hunt" is wonderful
6/10/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
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Day 36 Ends @ Creamer’s Field
June 7, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F
Creamer’s Field is a migratory waterfowl refuge ... world renowned.

It is located in Fairbanks ... on the grounds of a former dairy farm that, during its years in operation, attracted migratory waterfowl. When the dairy was put up for sale in 1966, the local community raised money and bought the farm fields to protect the land and preserve it as a refuge.

My primary interest in visiting Creamer’s Field was to see the sandhill cranes that come here for the breeding season. I got my wish ... though they were in a field that visitors are not allowed to enter.

Our visit here this evening was a quickie look-see. I hope to squeeze in a visit one morning to hike the trails and perhaps see more birds and cranes and waterfowl.

Hopefully, it will be far quieter in the morning than it was this evening ... way too many people with big, barking dogs. I can’t imagine the birds found the noise any less invasive and irritating than we did.Read more
Traveler Bye bye!
6/13/21Reply
TravelerI seriously dislike noise like you describe!
6/13/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
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Day 37 Ends @ the Pump House
June 8, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F
Mui chipped a tooth while we were @ Denali NP. Nothing serious, but he wanted to have it checked out to make sure there wasn’t an underlying issue that needed to be looked at.

This morning was his appointment, so we set the day aside for further provisioning, chores, and errands, including a haircut for me. The wait at the barber was too long, so Mui’s going to try again for his cut tomorrow when the shop opens up.

The weather was overcast and much cooler today ... with occasional rain showers ... one of which started just as we arrived at the Pump House for dinner. No al fresco dining on the terrace as planned.

The restaurant is housed in a reconstructed pump house associated with gold mining operations in the area ... with an ambiance reminiscent of “... an 1890s Gold Rush motif and atmosphere which was associated with the ‘Rip Roaring’ but still Victorian Era in Fairbanks.” The place was hopping — especially the Oyster Bar in the Senator’s Saloon. Glad we had a reservation ... sorry we didn’t get to dine with a view of the Chena River.

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For those interested in such things ... Mui ordered a red Zinfandel from Oregon; I ordered the Kassik’s Beaver Tail blonde beer. We shared an order of Fried Alaskan Barley-Coated Calamari served with two sauces ... marinara and lemon butter. My main course was an herb-crusted halibut with pan fried potatoes, spinach, portobello mushrooms, apples, grape tomatoes, asparagus ... in a lemon butter sauce. It was good, but I’ve had better halibut elsewhere. Mui was very pleased with his reindeer medallions, served with a berry demi-glaze, polenta, and chef’s veggies. For dessert, we shared a chocolate mousse ... tasty, but the portion was too big for just the two of us.Read more
Nice, how is the tooth? [Sonia]
6/9/21Reply
Two to TravelNothing serious so he’ll get it fixed when we get back home.
6/9/21Reply
TravelerReindeer medallions! That sounds interesting. Do they taste like venison?
6/10/21Reply
Two to TravelNot sure ... but I know it’s not gamey.
6/10/21Reply
Traveler Looks delicious!
6/13/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
Day 38 Ends @ Chena Hot Springs
June 9, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
Our original plan called for us to take the Cruiser to Chena Hot Springs after we leave Fairbanks, stay overnight, and then continue on with our road trip. We changed those plans a few days ago and decided to drive the 56 miles x2 as a day trip. Turns out that was a good decision.

The Chena Hot Springs Road has got to be the worst road of our trip thus far ... except for the section of the Steese between Central & Circle. Not only is there a section of the road being torn up completely for re-paving, but also about half the road is nothing but frost heaves. It made for a very washboardy drive.

A picnic overlooking one of the many ponds along the road ... eaten, alas, in the car due to the mosquitoes; a wander amongst ice sculptures at the Ice Museum ... we skipped the appletinis served in glasses carved out of ice; a dip in the hot springs pool ... Mui went on his own as I’m not much for pools (thermal or otherwise); a wander around the resort grounds and a visit to the kennels ... while I was waiting for Mui; dinner at the lodge restaurant ... excellent halibut fish & chips.

And that wraps up today’s visit to the Chena Hot Springs.Read more
TravelerWe would enjoy those hot springs! Everything sounds grand except for the mosquitoes and the washboard road.
6/10/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
Day 39 Ends with Antique Autos
June 10, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F
Today — our last day in Fairbanks — we went to see the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum. Having seen other museums of a similar nature, we almost did not go. But I had a 2-for-1 coupon in my Alaska TourSaver app, reducing the price to $15 for the two of us, so we figured we would check it out.

The museum is on the grounds of the Wedgewood Resort. The cars on display are considered historically significant ... all produced in the US prior to WWII. One of the featured cars is the first one in Alaska ... from when it was still a territory. The vehicles represent developmental achievements in the auto industry ... from steam to electric. All but three of the cars are in full operational condition and go out for drive every so often.

In addition to the autos, there are historic photos of vehicles in Alaska decorating the walls. And an interesting addition is a collection of vintage clothes on display ... matching the model year of the cars.Read more
Travelerappropriate for the Alaska Highway.
6/14/21Reply
Travelerexcept it doesn't go this far, right?
6/14/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
North Pole: Not on the Naughty List
June 11, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F
We’ve been to the North Pole twice now.

The first time was with a nuclear icebreaker ... in 2014. That trip was to the “real” North Pole ... at the tippy top of the world.

Today, our second visit, was to North Pole, Alaska ... right off the Richardson Highway. It’s where the tag line reads, “Where the spirit of Christmas lives year round.” It has streetlights painted to resemble candy canes. It has street names such as St Nicholas Drive and Mistletoe Drive. It has places named the North Pole Hotel, the Santa Claus House, and the Antler Academy ... this last one is where Santa’s reindeer reside when they are not flying around the world!

From what I understand, the developers so named the place in the hopes of attracting a toy manufacturer that could rightly say that their toys were made at the North Pole. I don’t think the plan worked.

Anyway, after a quick peek at the Santa Claus House, where we purchased an ornament for our Xmas tree, we continued down the Richardson HighwayRead more
Travelerbet your mother might have enjoyed that, Erin
6/15/21Reply
Two to TravelDefinitely.
6/15/21Reply
TravelerColor me green with envy
6/11/23Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
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Meet Alasquito
June 11, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
A few miles south of North Pole is a gift shop — the Knotty Shop ... not to be confused with “the Naughty Shop.” It’s right off the Richardson Highway ... easy in ... easy out.

Seldom do we stop at places like this. We made an exception this time because I had read that the burl sculptures in the front yard made for a good photo op. That’s where we made the acquaintance of “Alasquito.”

Since we had stopped anyway, we wandered into the shop. Not to buy any knick-knacks mind you. Mui had noticed the ice cream sign!Read more
Traveler the flowers in Alaska are so amazing,. all that daylight.
6/15/21Reply
Two to TravelYes, not as big as we saw them in Anchorage in 2001 ... but we’re much further north here. The difference in the number of flowers roadside in the 2-3 days between driving north- and southbound was amazing.
6/15/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
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Alyeska on the Richardson Highway
June 11, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F
When a pipeline stretches 800 miles — from one end of the state to the other — one is bound to encounter glimpses of it here and there.

When we traveled the Dalton Highway in 2001 — from Fairbanks to Deadhorse on the Arctic Ocean — the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, aka the Alyeska Pipeline, was a constant companion. On our road trip this year, we’ve so far seen it on the Elliott and the Steese highways ... and today, on the Richardson Highway.

I wonder how many more times we’ll be saying “look there’s the pipeline again.” After all, we still have a lot of miles to cover until we reach the pipeline terminus in Valdez.Read more
Traveler that is a dramatic shot!
6/15/21Reply
Two to TravelOne of my favorites so far.
6/15/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
Mountains & Rivers Along the Richardson
June 11, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F
The Richardson Highway is some 366 miles long. It connects Valdez in the south with Fairbanks in the north. Much of the road is rightfully designated an Alaska Scenic Byway.

Today we drove only about 167 miles of the Richardson. A long enough distance for Mui to say that thus far it is his favorite amongst the roads we’ve driven on this trip. I have to agree. The mountains ... the streams, creeks, and rivers. They all added to our pleasure. As did the nice weather-day that ranged from cloudy, to partly cloudy, to partly sunny, to full sunshine.

We’ll be driving a few more miles of this road tomorrow, but the section south from Paxson is going to have to wait until later in our trip.Read more
Traveleran especially lovely drive. I can see why it's a favorite
6/15/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
Day 40 Ends @ a Boondock w/Glacier Views
June 11, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F
When we left Fairbanks this morning, we had no particular destination in mind. Our loose plan was to head down the Richardson Hwy to Paxson or thereabouts ... boondock somewhere along either the Richardson or the Denali highways or camp at Tangle Lakes Campground where the Denali Highway switches from pavement to gravel.

What we ended up doing instead essentially upended our plans as the boondock we settled on at Isabel Pass was supposed to happen on our way back north on the Richardson.

It was the view from a turnout of that did the trick ... mountains and Gulkana Glacier ... wide expanses of open land. It’s a decision that we are happy with ... one that will, as a bonus, give us a few additional days for a slower pace later in our trip.

The drive to get to our boondock where the former Isabel Pipeline Camp used to be was rough gravel, but we bravely ventured forward. Slow and easy. We passed three other campers, but all were dispersed and didn’t take away from the feeling of being “alone” in the wilderness.

We went just far enough that we had an unobstructed view of the scenery without losing sight of the glacier, which is perched atop Ice Fall Peak. Our spot, we think, was once the concrete foundation of one of the old pipeline camp buildings ... made it easy to level ourselves.

Nothing like a peaceful boondock to end a day on the road.Read more
Travelerwill be difficult to pick a favorite boondock when your trip is done
6/15/21Reply
Two to TravelSo far, though, Joe Lake is still #1.
6/15/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
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Icy Summit Lake
June 12, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 50 °F
We woke up thinking we would hike to Gulkana Glacier this morning. But the river of ice was in the shade and it would stay that way most of the morning.

So, we postponed the hike and decided to go for a drive with the toad ... check out Tangle Lakes Campground on the Denali Highway and see if we wanted to move there on Sunday ... compare the campground to some of the boondock sites to see if one of them might be preferable.

But before we got there, we had a spectacular spot to enjoy — Summit Lake!

Seven miles long, the lake is right alongside the Richardson Highway ... making for easy viewing. The lake gets its name from its location near the water divide that drains the Gulkana River into the Copper River ... which empties into Prince William Sound. In the other direction, the Delta River flows into the Tanana ... which then joins the Yukon ... which empties into the Bering Sea.

We’d heard that Summit Lake had a beautiful setting. What we didn’t expect was all the ice floes — thin ones, admittedly — covering parts of the lake. A late break up? Or was the ice coming down one of the rivers? No one to ask the question. No one to answer the question. No matter ... we can’t resist ice ... so we dallied here for a while before continuing down the road.Read more
Traveler Lots of ice!
6/15/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
1
Denali Hwy: Part I ... Mountains Galore
June 12, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F
Denali Highway is a 134-mile road that connects Paxson, on the Richardson Highway, with Cantwell, on the Parks Highway.

When we first began planning our road trip, we intended to leave Anchorage and drive up to Paxson via the Glenn and Richardson highways ... then turn east and drive the length of the Denali Highway to join the Parks Highway. And head north to Denali National Park from there.

We didn’t do that. Why? Denali Highway doesn’t open for the season until 15 May or thereabouts. Our departure from Anchorage on the 19th was just a tad too early then to be on that road ... a road that is only 15% paved ... and one that is described as giving visitors a true wilderness experience.

So, we jiggled our plans, did about 8 miles of the road from Cantwell ... to boondock at Joe Lake. And left the rest of the driving for this part of our trip.

Remember how this drive was supposed to be just for the purpose of checking out the Tangle Lakes Campground and some boondock sites?

Well, while the campground is nice, it didn’t ring our bell. Nor did the primitive camping sites mentioned in the Milepost. We should have turned back at that point to do our glacier hike as planned. Instead, we kept going on the Denali Highway. After all, we’d already driven 25 miles of the road. Why not move up our exploration of Denali Highway to today? Why not indeed?

We had no idea how far we’d be driving. If the gravel/chipseal portion was as good later as it was at the beginning, we might even go all the way to the other end and back. That didn’t turn out to be the case, however. Around the 50-mile mark, the gravel became rough, with lots of potholes. Add to that the slushy rain we got along the way and the gathering storm clouds. Nope, not going to drive all the way. In the end, we did 70 miles before turning back.

The scenery along much of the road was as spectacular as we’d been told, and the frequent stops to take photos made for a long day ... but we didn’t know then that it was going to become even longer.Read more
Travelerwe saw the highway from the west. pretty sure we turned around at Maclaren Bridge
6/15/21Reply
Traveler Soooooo many stellar photos!
6/15/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
Denali Hwy: Part II ... and More
June 12, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 54 °F
Too many photos to share from our day on the Denali Highway ... hence, a second footprint.

I regret, a bit, that we didn’t get to do the entire road ... but it is what it is. We have so much more to explore.Read more
Travelernow I have to go back and see how far we went. lol
6/15/21Reply
Two to TravelI don’t remember if you came as far as Maclaren River Lodge, which would have been about halfway in the direction you drove.
6/15/21Reply
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North to Alaska By RV 2021
1
Day 41 Ends with a Glacier Hike
June 12, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 45 °F
It was the view of Gulkana Glacier from the Denali Highway that decided our next move ... the one that would lengthen our day of exploration by three hours.

We ended up not only driving a mile further into the boonies from our site at Isabel Pass, but we then also did a three-mile hike to the glacier. Double all those distances for the return! Good thing it doesn’t get dark this time of the year.

The description I had read of the Gulkana Glacier hike said to drive the Isabel Pipeline Camp Road as far as we could, park the car, and continue on foot from there. The question was, how much further could we go? After all, we’d already driven about 1.5 miles to get to the spot where we were boondocking.

Turns out that we could have shortened the hike by driving another mile from where we decided to park the car, but the meltwater running down the road scared us off. No matter, we needed the exercise.

We walked on the rocky road best we could, staying right when the road branched off ... only because we figured the glacier was somewhere in that direction.

When we came to Phelan Creek, which headwaters at the glacier, we found the “bridge” mentioned in the description of the hike. It was a wobbly thing over a fast-flowing creek with deep, silty water. It consisted of some guy wires, braided steel handrails (if you can call them that) and unevenly spaced wooden slats. Yikes. But we managed to cross over without mishap ... whew!

Then we started climbing the hill mentioned in the description. Fighting our way through some heavy brush, that snagged on everything, we eventually found a path of sorts ... visible only by looking into the distance. All part of the adventure, right?

We didn’t make it all the way to the glacier’s terminus. For one thing, from where we stopped, the terminus was still at least two miles away. For another thing, storm clouds were gathering in the direction from which we had come. Sure, we had rain gear on, but the rocky path would be a little too slippery if we were caught in a downpour. Not to mention what the rain might do to the level of the meltwater on the road. Besides it was already 7:00p ... it had taken us nearly two hours to just get to this point.

So, we turned back. Having made note of landmarks along the way, we negotiated the path back without getting into the brush, wobbled our way across the bridge, and walked the rocky road back to where we had left the toad in record time ... one hour. Yay!

We can now add wilderness hiking to our resume!Read more
Travelerwilderness hiking with no gun bearer. would have made me nervous. a soil scientist friend lost a coworker to a bear, black not brown bear, in that part of Alaska. She is still traumatized and it has made field work especially difficult for her. Both women were attacked but Tracy had minor injuries but her friend was killed. Don't ignore the danger.
6/15/21Reply
Two to TravelWe’re not ignoring the danger ... trust me. Had our bear spray and jingled the bells all the way. However, we ran into a gun bearer at the bridge ... local guy ... who said nothing for the bears to eat this time of the year, but that changes later in the year. No indication of their presence anywhere either ... no prints, no scat. Sorry to hear about the loss your soil scientist friend suffered ... I can’t even begin to imagine the trauma.
6/15/21Reply
Traveler Me, too.
6/15/21Reply
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