Day 47 & 48 (June 30 and July 1). Interior Alaska

From: Tok, Alaska

To: Fairbanks, AK; near Denali South Viewpoint, AK

Miles today: 205, 235

Total miles: 10554

From Tok, I traveled northeast along Alaksa 2 (the Alaska Highway) about 200 miles to Fairbanks.  The road was strait except where it passed through the mountains, but fog and low clouds prevented what I’m sure were spectacular views.  I missed the opportunity to stop at the town of North Pole along the way, with its gigantic Santa and Christmas store (sorry Doug).  Fairbanks is centered on the Chena River, which enters the Tanana (a large tributary of the Yukon River) a few miles downstream.  It strikes me as a utilitarian town; it seems that it gets a limited amount of tourist traffic, and downtown (where I stayed) seems to empty out at night.  There are a few things; here I am in the Ice Museum, holding an empty beer bottle (a prop) in a 20-degree (Fahrenheit) refrigerated display area.  It documents the annual ice carving festival that has been held in Fairbanks for over 25 years now. The artist in residence is Chinese, as were most of the other tourists around me.  Apparently there is also a significant Thai community in Fairbanks.

Temperature is 20 degrees Fahrenheit.  I am cold. 

There is a college (U. of Alaska, Fairbanks) on the other side of town.  It was in this neighborhood that I met Melinda the next morning for breakfast.  Melinda is the sister of a dear friend of 40 years from college who lives in a nearby town.  She has a day job, but much of her efforts focus on Yukon Quest, a dog sled race similar to the Iditarod (Anchorage to Nome), but run from Fairbanks to Dawson City, Yukon, and considered much more challenging.  Melinda has lived in Alaska for six years now and loves it; she fishes almost every day.

After breakfast, I got on the George Parks Highway (AK 3) and drove south through the edge of Denali National Park, hoping to see this famous mountain.  As is common this time of year, though, it was raining, overcast, and foggy.  I could see large foothills like ghosts along the edge of the road, but nothing further. The rain was cold and steady, bone-chilling, and I was glad for the layers of clothing I had on and again for the heated motorcycle grips.  Even so, my toes and fingers were chilled, the first time on this trip that this had happened. I pulled into a beautiful small hotel right along the roadside called the McKinley View Lodge, which was actually located in the wilderness until Highway 3 was completed a few decades ago.  My room has a lovely view of where Mount McKinley / Denali would be, but actual sightings are famously rare. Nonetheless, here is a picture that hints at the view. The mountains seen here are not Denali, but are in front of it.

Views from McKinley View Lodge.  Left: my best shot, with smoke and clouds.  Right: what you would see on a clear day from the same spot.  That's Denali / McKinley.

 Tomorrow I push off for Anchorage and a few days off with my lovely and charming wife, whom I will pick up at the airport (with a rental car!).