Sunday 5-18-2014
Fairbanks – Paxson
Another easy going morning. Mostly cloudy. Coffee and small talk with
the lady at the front desk. Bagel place for breakfast. Quiet morning
in Fairbanks. Later I learned that the whole Fairbanks area (the size
of the state of Vermont) has almost 100,000 people and is called
North Star Borough. Over 22,000 people belong to military (soldiers
or their family members). Short drive to the town of North Pole.
Santa Claus house – closed – perhaps he was in church or
drinking, who knows. Not much else in this small town (post office,
some fast food, street lights painted as candy canes). Slow driving,
few stops along the way, great views of valleys, river, and some
mountains in the distance. Windy and breezy day (barely 50 degrees).
We stopped at Quartz Lake Recreation Area (the only one listing
hiking trails). Nice lake, few cabins on the other side and few nice
loops. Walked along the lake for a while, cross the hill (decent
incline and decline on the other side). Great views. After a while
weather got better and it felt pleasant. Small lake on the other side
of the hill, vast valley, and again the mountains in the distance.
Great. Walk back. Delta Junction – small town and apparently the
official end of Alaska highway (the one that starts in Dawson Creek).
Cloudy. Windy. Colder. Goofy weather. Another almost 100 miles along
Richardson highway to our destination (the only accommodation
available in the area). Incredible scenery (even with clouds). Almost
nothing else, there were few houses and “settlements” but nothing
big. It is hard (to impossible) describe the landscape without
actually seeing it. We had to pass the turn to Denali highway to get
to our roadhouse. Somewhat strange cluster of few buildings and like
motel rooms. Sad looking gas station (two pumps). Older gentleman.
Mid-aged lady who was running the place (very outspoken and
friendly). Room (no internet, one television channel – we did not
test it, no hot water – at least we did not get it, portable
electric heater – apparently they were low on propane). Dinner –
cooked by same lady, I had burger (good one), and J. got fish freshly
caught near by (not charged for that as they are not allowed to sell
“game”) - good one as well. It was very unique experience. Two
unrelated notes. Weather forecast (television, radio, paper) includes
the length of the day and the gain in minutes and seconds. Many
brochures compare the size of boroughs or state parks to the size of
other US states.
Monday 5-19-2014
Paxson - Anchorage
Cloudy and cold morning (looked like 37 degrees). We left by 8:00 am,
there was no breakfast and no coffee (that was really hard). 15 miles
north (the same way we came, but there was no other accommodation).
Really windy. Denali Highway – 135 miles between Paxson and
Cantwell. 23 miles paved, the rest gravel. Few settlements, shacks,
and campgrounds – two places looked open. About 4 hours of driving.
Several stops but otherwise just driving. We also saw bunch of
wildlife, J. was keeping the list:
02x porcupine
02x ptarmigan
03x moose
04x white geese
03x arctic tein
03x trumpeter swans
13x caribou
07x cars
bunch of ducks and loons.
It was incredibly scenic and enjoyable drive. It still looked like
winter there. Towards the end we were looking forward to the normal
road. Still, it was an amazing experience and we were happy we took
this scenic road. And obviously it was amazing to see all those
animals. After the Denali Highway we were on Parks Highway driving to
Anchorage. 214 miles. Long and tedious drive. Really windy. Cloudy
and sunny. Two stops at Denali state park view points – we saw
Denali peak again (in clouds). Home at 4:35 pm. Tired and done.
