Are we there yet??: North in Alaska

From Haines to Fairbanks is 1030 km and Google maps told us we could drive it in 12 hours and 23 minutes! As if!! It took us five days and four overnight stops. These stops were certainly varied and included a remote rural airstrip in Burwash Landing and the back of a Chevron station in Tok (rhymes with poke). We enjoyed a meal at a fishing lodge next door to our State Park camp at Delta Junction and on our way back to the van discovered a young moose resting on a path just below us. Most memorable though, was the beautiful frozen lake surrounded by woods, complete with cabin and roaring log fire. It was very fittingly called Kathleen Lake and so forever now in our minds it is Kathy’s Lake. We had our first bear siting here too as a young grizzly walked across the ice. Unfortunately we were not quick enough with the camera.

We drove through hundreds of miles of spruce forest – but it was a ragged, ‘drunken’ sort of forest. The permafrost and very poor soil means that trees are shallow rooted, have sparse foliage and seem to be on a drunken lean. In addition, warmer temperatures have meant a proliferation of spruce bark beetle which has devastated thousands of acres of spruce forest leaving hillsides covered in dead trees – fuel for the hundreds of forest fires which rage during the summer, usually caused by lightning strike. It probably seemed more bleak because the cottonwood and birch trees that line the road were not yet in leaf.

The driver though, was required to keep eyes on the road to look out for ‘frost heave’. In winter damp soil freezes and forms mounds, often splitting the tarseal and causing large hummocks which bounce everything around in the van. This happens everywhere there is permafrost (so nearly every highway in Alaska and Yukon) and there is no shortage of work for highway maintenance crews repairing the roads every spring.

We were pleased to reach Fairbanks and were greeted by the howl of half a dozen airforce Tomcat jets flying past us at Eielson Airforce Base. However, they were nothing compared to the mosquitoes that greeted us at the provincial park we planned to stay at! They are huge! We abandoned that idea and headed for the city. We didn’t even stop at the Santa Clause House in North Pole on the outskirts. It was right next to the motorway, had lost all its snow and just looked a bit tacky as we sped by.

Fairbanks is the second largest city in Alaska and home to a large army and airforce base and the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. It is spread out, designed for cars and does not really seem to have a ‘centre’. Most shopping is done in a couple of malls. Because of the climate, buildings seem to be lacking in windows and really the only architect-designed buildings we saw were the university buildings high on the hill.

Once oriented though we enjoyed our stay. The University of Alaska Museum of the North is magnificent as is the display at the Visitor and Cultural Centre. We stayed at Pioneer Park, a historic theme park which allows RV parking in the carpark area and cycled along the river into town. We visited an outstanding antique car museum, walked for miles in a waterfowl sanctuary and treated ourselves to a cruise in a paddle steamer up the Chena River. It was the first day of the season and we shared it with three bus loads of cruise boat tourists. A sign of crowds to come as summer approaches! Neverthess, we enjoyed the afternoon and even had our photo taken in a room where the temperature was -60F degrees! Didn’t hang about in there!

The College Coffee House close to the university became our home away from home though – great wifi, good coffee, friendly staff and comfy leather armchairs. We could imagine that on those -40 degrees winter days with the fire roaring, it would be a popular place to hang out. They even had a regular gathering of ‘good old boys’ – just like Ozone in NP!