Jul 17 2014

Around Fairbanks

Fairbanks is the second largest city in Alaska. Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base are close by. Every now and then we hear the planes fly over. Interesting fact – 30% of Alaskans are born in this state, the rest moved here.

Yesterday, we visited the Tanana Valley Farmers Market – apparently it is one of the oldest in Alaska and has been around since 1971.

Farmers Market

Farmers Market

market
$8 for wild strawberries as small as blueberries

$8 for wild strawberries as small as blueberries

We picked up Russian Kale, radish, basil and some other produce. Jeff made an awesome balsamic basil dressing for the salad, plus we also grilled the ribeye steaks we bought from Fred Meyer.. ya, Fred Meyer, who knew they have groceries.. Yes, that was a really yummy dinner. Nothing like fresh ingredients.

We visited Pioneer Park – It’s an interesting place, well, sort of. As the name implies, it’s about the pioneers of Alaska – the history, people, buildings, gold mining, clothing etc.
pioneer

pioneer2

cannon

This morning we are off to Denali National Park and Preserve to see Denali, aka Mount McKinley, the highest peak in this continent. We have a 25% chance of seeing Denali, and a 90% chance of seeing a bear there. I hope we get to see Denali, it’s supposed to be pretty impressive. We plan to spend 4 nights there as there are lots to see and do. We hope to get some hiking in, everyone (except Jeff) is getting flabby.

Jul 15 2014

Fairbanks, Alaska

We arrived in Fairbanks at around lunch time and are camping at Chenai River State Recreation Park for the next couple of days. Although it’s a State Park, the WIFI is free! America! Land of free Wifi! So, I have updated the previous blog posts with images and also added more pictures to the unorganized album – here

We saw two big moose (meese? lol) along the way to Fairbanks. We also stopped by the North Pole to visit Santa and his reindeers.reindeer

Jeff visited the North Pole 40 years ago with his parents. I think Marcus really believes that Santa is for real after this visit…

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We will spend the day exploring Fairbanks tomorrow and then off to Denali. Hopefully there is free Wifi there too..

Jul 14 2014

Orange Flags on the Highway

As we drive along the highway, we see orange flags alerting drivers of pot holes, frost heaves or loose gravel. Jeff said the workers who place the orange flags should be paid the most as they do an important job – “Hail the orange flaggers!”

Jul 14 2014

Top of the World Highway – We made it to Alaska!

The Top of the World Highway from Dawson City to the US border definitely lives up to its name! The view was incredible and we really felt that we were on top of the world. It was a beautiful day to make that drive. My photos do not do justice to the view we saw..
top2

We crossed the Alaska border at Poker Creek this morning and gained an hour as Alaska is in a different time zone. There was a border line up, well sort off. We waited about 15mins to cross the border. pokerCreek

borderWe were on Taylor Highway – and we don’t think it should even be called a highway – it was a slow go, an extremely bumpy ride. You can see the patchwork on the road…
Taylor

The first town we hit was Chicken. They do a good job marketing their chicken pot pie and and goodies, but it was expensive and disappointing – let’s just say it’s a tourist trap. The only thing worth stopping for is taking a picture with the giant chicken.

Tourist Trap

Tourist Trap

Onwards to Tok. This is when Jeff finally decided to have someone look at the RV tire which has been somewhat flat since we were in Northern BC. Turns out that there was a nail in it, anyways, patched for US$20 and we’re all good again.
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