Day 42

Oh what a beautiful day, mostly sunny and about 70. Karen and I went for an enjoyable walk around Reflections Lake and then had lunch at the Noisy Goose; a small restaurant that a local girl said it was their version of Cracker Barrel.

Mirror Lake 

We watched several Loons diving in the lake

The river near our campground

Day 41

We woke up this morning to sunshine, blue skies and white puffy clouds. I was a very nice day to travel to Palmer Alaska where we will spend the next 10 days exploring and resting after 5,450 miles. We are in a campground in a valley of mountains and rivers, very nice. After leaving Denali National Park we got some great views of MT McKinley.

Leaving our campground

(Denali) Mt. McKinley 

 

Along the road to Palmer

Day 40

A cold and rainy morning, we talked with a ranger in the park yesterday and she said this was an unusually rainy and cold start of summer. We drove the park road the first allowable 15 miles today and saw two Bull Moose, which is rare. We were so excited and glad we took the drive in the rain.

Day 39

We took the Denali park shuttle about 66 miles into the park to the Eielson Visitor Center. The day started out rainy with heavy cloud cover and since our tickets had to be purchased ahead of time we needed to use or lose them. Even with the rain the scenery was fantastic and we enjoyed the journey. Along the way we saw Dall Sheep, Grizzly Bears, Caribou and Moose, the most important word on the bus was “STOP” and the bus driver would stop and give everyone a chance to see and take pictures.

Dall Sheep

If you could see Mt McKinley it would be here!

Grizzly Bears

Caribou 

Moose

Day 38

We moved from Fairbanks to a campground near Mt McKinley and this was not a good day. It rained all day and a good portion of the road was under construction. Fortunately we only had 125 miles to travel. We arrived at the campground and it was not among the best we have stayed at. As I was attempting to get into our site I hit a large dumpster with the right side of the trailer, OUCH! scraping the side and the door as well as breaking the rear support arm for the awning. It was still drizzling as Jim and I secured the awning back to the trailer and it will not be usable until we return home to have it repaired. 

Day 37

Made future reservations, got propane and gas relaxed and enjoyed the day.

Day 36

My friend Jim and I took a tour bus along the Dalton Highway to the Arctic Circle. The tour was about 10 ½ hours on a not so good road. The Dalton Highway was built for the Alaska Pipeline and runs from 84 miles north of Fairbanks 414 mile to Deadhorse at Prudhoe Bay. The Arctic Circle is 199 miles from Fairbanks so our tour was nearly 400 miles.
I am glad I did it and would not want to have driven it with my truck although we saw people traveling this road with everything from 5^th wheel trailers to Motorcycles and even bicycles. We got to walk under the pipeline, saw several informative videos on the pipeline construction, the perma-frost, gold mining and the culture of the people of the north. It was a very nice warm sunny day and not what you might expect when you cross the Arctic Circle. OK, now I can cross the Arctic Circle off my bucket list.

First stop was in Joy for a break souvenirs, free coffee 

The pottie break 

Inside the out-house

The Alaska Pipeline

This bridge had a wood surface that snow and ice would not stick to!

 

Lunch and dinner here near the bridge

The pipeline zig-zags to allow for expansion and contraction 

The arctic terrain is barren with tundra and small shrubs

Stepping across the Arctic Circle

These Moose were the only wildlife we saw near the end of the journey

Day 35

We visited the University of Alaska Museum Of The North. From the parking area we had a great view of the Alaska mountain range including Mt McKinley (Denali). I loved the architecture of the building and inside, they had the exhibits of animals, history and culture divided into the different regions. On the second floor was an art gallery with historical art with new artists.

Mount McKinley

Dall Sheep

The boats were carved from the jaw of a wale