Chapter 7 – Alaska – Fairbanks

We made it! Survived our version of the Canada-Alaska Hiway and have been enjoying Fairbanks for the last week! We decided to get an early start over the Top of the World pass – the gravel road that extends from Dawson City to Chicken, Alaska. We’d heard a lot of stories about this route. The road can be a challenge, the road is horrible on RVs, the views are incredible, go slow and you’ll be ok. All of that turned out to be true, and we absolutely enjoyed the drive! We started with the tiny ferry ride over the Yukon river, then up hill we went! We probably saw a dozen vehicles going both directions, most were cars, but before we knew it, we were in Chicken!

We decided to spend the night, because, why not? The info on Chicken is not lying when they say there is nothing there. The place we stopped for the night made far more money from people stopping for gas, than from people spending the night. But we enjoyed our walk around – mind, to walk between the two available campgrounds and the buildings that qualify as downtown chicken is maybe a mile. But the little town has made the most of its tourist stop! Note, that corner of bottles is the Liquor Store in town….

There was really no reason to stay an extra night, so up the next morning and off to Fairbanks we headed. Our first thought was one more stop along the way, but in the end, we went straight to our reserved campground and asked for the extra day. We are in the China River KOA, in a lovely spot at the end of the row with no one outside our door to look at. We feel like we are living in luxury! We found that the cheapest option for us was to rent a Toyota Tundra pickup truck for the week, so we have been cruising all around town checking things out!

We started at the Visitors Center, because I came here pretty focused on trying to get to Coldfoot, AK – where, from what I read, you can get your NP stamp for Gates of the Arctic NP. There are two ways to get there, well I guess three. We could drive our RV up there – 7 hours of gravel road driving, or join a tour that would drive us up and fly back, or fly up and back. But the accounts I have heard about this trip, in any form, were mostly along the lines of “meh”. Unless you are going to commit to a true backcountry visit to the area, arriving in Coldfoot involves a cheesy little ceremony where you receive a certificate that you crossed the Arctic Circle. Cool idea, but doesn’t seem worth the effort. Especially since you never go into the park! So I have to admit to something. When I was discussing my desire with the kind gentleman at the visitor center, he pointed me to the corner of the room where the Parks Service has a bunch of stamps, including Gates of the Arctic. So, I now have another stamp for my book – and this will be the only one I get without stepping into the park! We then visited the University of Alaska, Pioneer Park, Old Downtown, the Antler Arch, the Reindeer Research Facility, and the Santa Claus House. (we are staying in North Pole, AK, after all.

We caught up with our friends Frank Robinson and Carol Fort, who were in Fairbanks as part of a Sea and Land cruiser with Holland America. We had lunch at Mom’s Kitchen, a GREAT meal located inside a rather sketchy looking pub. Then Dale and I ran off to join the Riverboat Discovery tour, along with a few hundred other cruise folks staying in town. The event was informative – but we were on the open boat on the hottest day in Fairbanks (90degrees!) so we were very ready to jump off the boat first and get back to our campsite. It was fun to see Frank and Carol, but whether them, or one of the hundreds of other cruisers, Dale has now gotten sick..hopefully just a cold….and that I don’t get it!

We took a fishing trip on Thursday, hiring a guide who took us on a float trip down the Chena River, casting for Arctic Grayling. Catch and release only and our guide, Ray, was right, we caught fish! So many we lost count who caught more. We were so focused on catching fish, we never opened the “snacklebox” they had packed for us! Once we left the river, we took a short jaunt to Silver Gulch Brewery, across the street from the Howling Dog Saloon( still trying to recover from Covid days), and up the street from the Pipeline viewing area. It was a really fun day!

And of course, we had to go golfing! A few choices here, but we went to Fairbanks Golf Club. The Oldest and Northernmost golf course in Alaska. Another small town nine hole, we snuck our round in before the weather took a turn! The course had a tournament scheduled for the afternoon. These Alaskans are truly hardy souls, their event and the rain were beginning at the same time. our last day here is being spent at the rig, laundry, organizing, planning our next stay.

And that, Family, Friends, and other dear readers, is the end of this chapter! When next we meet, it will be all about Denali. Till then….

Yours Truly, Lady Wanderingwise