Around these parts the major roads go by name not number. Some are obvious – like the Chena Hot Springs Road which dead ends at (you guessed it) Chena Hot Springs. The Richardson starts in Valdez and goes to Fairbanks (and changes route numbers along the way at Delta Junction) and was named after General Wilds P. Richardson, first president of the Alaska Road Commission. Then there’s the Steese Highway (starts in Fairbanks and dead-ends at Circle (pop. 102)). Yesterday we took the Steese up to Fox (pop. 369), picked up the Elliott (151 miles of road that starts in Fox and goes to Manley Hot Springs – about ½ of it is paved) up to Livengood (we tried our best to find this town (pop. 25) but had no luck) where we got on the Dalton – which connects the Elliott to the city of Deadhorse, right on the Arctic Ocean.

The drive to Deadhorse and the Arctic Ocean (Prudhoe Bay) from Fairbanks is about 500 miles. As you can see by the dotted lines, it’s only about 25% paved and the steepest grade is 12%. Yes, 12% grade on gravel roads. It’s recommended that you bring TWO spare tires and ALWAYS give way to the trucks that barrel up and down that road. Oh, and once you get to Deadhorse you can’t actually get to the Arctic Ocean unless you are part of a tour ($40.00 each!). Although John and Rosie decided that they couldn’t come this far and not make it to the Arctic Ocean, the rest of us opted to do just part of the trip, and go as far as Arctic Circle (about 200 miles from Fairbanks). It sounds like their two day trip (6:30AM Friday to 12:00AM Saturday) was amazing – from the long grueling drive (but it was filled with wildlife and scenery that they will probably never have the opportunity to see again) to the fascinating tour of the oil community in Deadhorse (the longest anyone is allowed to work there at a stretch is 6 weeks, and then they have to return at least to Fairbanks or Anchorage for 2 weeks) to John actually putting his fingers in the Arctic Ocean (brrrrrrrrr). Our “little” drive to the Arctic Circle was just a taste of their adventure, but it suited us just fine.
We followed the same pipeline north –

We had our share of paved road –

More than our share of gravel/dirt road-

A good selection of 12% grades –

Gave way to some pretty big rigs coming and going-

Crossed the same Yukon River-

And saw some amazing scenery along the way (even though it was cloudly and rainy most of the day)–



(those are white wildflowers in those fields!)

While we didn’t see herds of caribou, we did have a little baby moose run beside us for a bit and then cross in front of us. (All the time thinking, I’m sure, “Mommy, Mommy, I’m on the wrong side of the road!!!”)

We also enjoyed some of the fine facilities along the way-

We made it to the Arctic Circle

(where we were able to take a quick picture before we were eaten alive by the skeeters!)
and home again all in one (long but good) day.

And Sunday after church, we washed the truck!

Hope your weekend was filled with adventure too!

After a productive morning of dusting, vacuuming and bathroom cleaning, Gary and I took off to Chena Hot Springs Resort - about 50 miles east of us. It was threatening thunder showers all day, but we had a nice ride through countryside that really reminded me of Vermont.

Here are the Hot Springs -

Somehow, once we got there, we just didn’t feel like paying $10.00 each to sit in giant hot tub. So we saved ourselves the money (and the need to put on those swimsuits) and checked out the ducklings in a nearby pond.

Have you ever seen ducklings swim half under the water?

Maybe they just aren’t strong enough to stay all the way above water?

Here are a couple of other shots from around the grounds -



The Model T of Snowmobiles!

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The wildflowers are bustin’ out all over up here. We’ve heard a lot about
Fireweed - a wildflower that is one of the first vegetations to appear after a forest fire. (It’s also the Provincial Flower of British Columbia.) I thought I spotted some today
but when I googled a picture of it, it didn’t quite match. Maybe they just aren’t open all the way yet? Whatever they are, they sure are purty!
Other beauties along the road (yes, I did make Gary stop so I could take these pictures!)

So, Saturday One – Chena Hot Springs -
Saturday Two – The Arctic Circle!

Man, I love these three day weekends!

Tonight, after a lovely dinner provided by our hosts, I loaded up with bug spray and took a little walk around the camp. I hadn’t checked out all the different areas and since the evening was so very lovely it seemed like a perfect opportunity. Want to come along?
This is where we are parked.

We’re very cozy (and close enough so I can yell at Rosie if I need to borrow a cup of sugar!). Jay and Naomi and Pete and Ellen are parked on the other side of this building (where we meet for devotions, break and games).

I took the pictures standing in the same place, so even though we aren’t all together, we are certainly all in the same neighborhood!
I hadn’t checked out the horse barn, so I wandered over that way.

Along with their horses (they have quite an equestrian program here)

they also have a petting zoo of sorts.

Busy place, that barn!
But, on with the walk-

This is the building where we ladies have been sewing. Once it’s finished it will be used as cabin space for campers. Right now it’s pretty cluttered with our sewing stuff as we’ve been working on curtains. (We’ve completed 17 pairs, with 9 more to go!).

I’m not sure who gets to sleep in the tent – maybe some of the summer staff?

The cabins and dining hall are down at the “lower camp” – just a short walk down the road,

But I thought I’d explore a path down to the lake


I had spotted something white high in one of those pine trees on the other side of the lake and thought it might be a bald eagle.

But alas….

It was just a seagull. I guess they get to make nests too!
Looking back from the observation deck you can see the dining hall (left) and another building.

It’s pretty scenic, but the permafrost does an amazing job each year of skewing the buildings and generally wreaking havoc with the roads and floors. The camp is hoping to move the camp center (mostly the dining hall) to up on the same level where the horse barn is. It’s a couple of years down the road, so meanwhile they’ve put up a “temporary” building to use for activities.

I think it’s working well for them!
But a walk around this camp didn’t only bring me to buildings and animals and Lake Li-Wa. (Here’s another lake shot I really like -)

But it also had a lovely selection of wildflowers along the way.

>

Back up the hill….

And home.
A good walk, and a nice quiet evening.
The sun should be setting about 12:32AM today (and it comes up just two and a half hours later at 3:08AM). This daylight thing is pretty crazy!
Off to the dark bedroom!
g’night!

We had some beautiful weather this week – sunny, bright and in the low 80’s. Yes, in the 80’s! I came “this close” to turning on the A/C, but hey, I’m in ALASKA , and it just didn’t seem right. We have been well introduced to the local population of mosquitoes, but they haven’t managed to keep us indoors. I’ll catch you up on our projects here soon, but I wanted to share one of the great blessings of being a SOWER –
Three Day Weekends!
Yesterday we celebrated “Saturday One” by taking a local riverboat tour down (up?) the Chena River. The Discovery Riverboat tour had been recommended as a good overview of the area – and it lived up to its recommendations.
We arrived early and for a while thought that we might have this big ol’ paddleboat more or less to ourselves.

But then the tour buses arrived, and we knew “alone” was not a problem we would be experiencing.

The riverboat took us down the Chena River to where it “weds” with the Tanana River. It was only about two miles, but they packed it full of interesting “Alaskan” details.

It started with a bush plane taking off and landing on the river – very cool!

We saw some beautiful riverfront homes

along with a long abandoned marina.

One of the highpoints was a stop at the sled dog kennel of the late Susan Butcher – 4 time winner of the famed Iditarod. She passed away in 2006 (leukemia), but her husband gave us a little sled dog lesson from the shore and then showed us the dogs in action (with the motor-less quad over on the right).

It was fun to see ALL the dogs get incredibly excited about the exercise – and many of the dogs in the kennel watched the sled team the entire way around the track.

We continued down the river (with interesting commentary about the history of the area, houses of interest, and life in Alaska until we reached the Tanana River.

I don’t think you can see it very clearly in the pictures, but since the Tanana is a glacier fed river (and very cloudy in color due to the glacier silt) and the Chena is spring fed (and mostly clear) it was very obvious where the two waters met. (It was also the first time we’d seen the mountains all week! Although there are no mountains right around Fairbanks, we’ve been told that on a clear day you can even see Mt. McKinley! I’ll be sure to let you know if that happens!)
Anyway, back to the boat-
Our big “get off the boat” stop was at a recreated Chena Indian Village.

It could have been a little cheesy, but it was very well done. We learned about how they caught and smoked salmon, utilized the moose and caribou and what their life was like before and after the white man came. One of the most interesting parts was that our guide through the village was a young native American–

And pretty darn cute!
Do you know the difference between a caribou and a reindeer?

A fence.
Soon we said good-bye to the village –

And returned to twenty-first century Fairbanks (in other words, after our “cruise” we grabbed a bite to eat, hit Sam’s and Safeway and the made it home before the rain started!).
We were treated to horses in the pasture right near our parking spot back at Camp Li-Wa –

I’ll have more to share about Camp Li-Wa later!

(I’m sure you’ll be surprised to know there are a couple more photos from our Saturday One here!

Total miles traveled – 2270
Total days on road – 19
Total days moving – 14
Total gallons of diesel – 304
Total hours of driving – 52

Average Miles per hour – 42.8
Average Miles per gallon – 7.46

Total number of digital pictures taken ……2,394 (how embarrassing!)

Just so you know, not all of the pictures were of majestic mountains or endless blacktop.
For example -
Here’s Rosie during the Sourdough Pancake Toss -

We all gave it a try, and none of us won the free breakfast. Sigh.

Here’s John being attacked by a giant mosquito -

(interesting sculpture for the end of the Alaska Highway Welcome center!)

Here’s Naomi doing what we all did when we had a “couple of bars” -

Calling Home!

Here are John and Rosie crossing the street in Skagway

What these guys won’t do for a picture!

Here’s John and Rosie again —

They’re actually both doing the phone home thing – but John is being John at the same time!

Here’s Rosie making their Signpost Forest sign

(thank goodness for a spare piece of wood and a good black marker!)

This is a shot of the dolphins leading our boat on the Lynn Canal-

Honest – that’s what it’s a picture of. You try it sometime!

This is what happens when you say “look excited to be in Alaska!”

(poor Rosie – I almost clobbered her!)

Some chickens at Rika’s Roadhouse -

“Who you lookin’ at????”

And the big early morning shadow at Lake Kluane -

Ok, so there are some mountains in that picture – but it was mostly of the shadow!

My theory about taking pictures – the more you take, the higher your chances of getting some good ones.
click, click, click.