Glitter Gulch

We finally broke down and checked out the home of the $9.99 fleece (which I couldn't find).

 We went to the gift shops and the Harley store and the coffee shop and finally had dinner at the Salmon Bake.  Pretty good and we got to watch part of a Met game on TV.

Tomorrow we're heading into the Teklanika campground 30 miles inside Denali.  No hookups and we can't drive out until we're ready to leave on Tuesday.  I'm not expecting any wi-fi, so don't be suprised if the blog goes dark for a day or two.  It's time to re-read the older messages and study them for hidden meanings.

Sled dogs

We went to visit the sled dog kennel at Denali today.  Belle has smelled the smell of strange dogs on us and is referring to us as "traitors".

Nonetheless, here are some photos of the dogs.  Unfortunately, I don't remember any of their names.  I can say that they go wild when they think they are going to be chosen for the sled dog demo and alot of the rest of the time they are asleep.  Remember, dogs like to sleep up to 16 hours a day if they can.

Some dogs that are awake.

Some dogs that are asleep:

These dogs are ready to go to work with their sled:

And these have returned from work and are ready to have a treat and play.

Near Denali

Now we are camping on the outskirts of Denali preparing to go into the park for 5 days starting July 1.

We went over tothe visitor center and found that much had changed since 1994.  The lodge is gone, there is a new visitor center, a special backcountry/wilderness center and a science center for children.

Outside the park there is a boardwalk/mall area where all the flightseeing, ATV, rafting trip stores are along with those selling t-shirts, ice cream and a Subway.  There are all sorts of major hotels like the Denali Princess and something called the Grand Denali (Denali already means "the great one".

Fortunately the grandeur of the scenery has not changed...

LARS

LARS is the Large Animal Research Station, a part of UAF devoted to the study of muskox, caribou and reindeer

The hit of the show was Ingrid the muskox who kept eating and eating and eating whatever the student guide gave her. When asked about who was smarter, muskox or caribou, the student said that the muskox have developed a very sedentary life style and they didn't really have much to think about since they didn't do much. Neither do caribou for that matter, although their brains might be slightly bigger.

This is Ingrid the muskox.

What is really interesting is that the undercoat of the muskox is combed and spun into yarn.  It is softer than cashmere and 8-10 times warmer than wool.  It is also very expensive.  This is a $60 skein of Qiviut, as it is called, in the Mountain Lingonberry colorway.

I wonder what I shall make from it??????

Exploring Fairbanks

Along with trying to deal with the situation of the broken spindle and how it will affect the rest of our trip, we've also been exploring Fairbanks.

Yesterday we went to Pioneer Park which one of the guidebooks referred to as Fairbanks' "guilty pleasure". It has little shops and trains to ride like a theme park and authentic Alaskan houses that can be visited just like Williamsburg.

We had ice cream, visited houses built for short people and got tie-dyed, batiked t-shirts that have gotten us compliments throughout Fairbanks.  Then we shared nachos and apple crisp at Boston Pizza.

Today we checked out the georgeous vegetables (giant radishes, mammoth zuchinni) jams and baked goods at the Tanena Farmer's Market.

Then over to the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. There we saw Blue Babe, the world's only mummified Ice Age steppe bison.

Excellent exhibits on Alaskan life and a really nice campus.  Made us both wonder what it would have been like to go away to school.
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And, of course we had to go to Barnes and Noble and Walmart.

At the Walmart there were lots of RV's parked in the lot looking like they were there for the long haul.  Most were unhooked, had their slides and awnings out and there were even a few grills and people seated in their lawn chairs observing the shoppers coming and going.  A bit much.  Mark said that if we ever boondocked like that, we'd do it by Barnes and Noble or an equally "upper class establishment:)

North Pole, Alaska

We are spending June 25, six months to/from Christmas in North Pole, AK. The streets have names like "Santa Claus Lane and the street light poles are decorated like candy canes. The Santa Claus house in town has tons of ornaments, decorated trees, and a full time Santa.

So get a preview of the holiday spirit and enjoy our trip to the Santa Claus House.

Even Mark had a moment with Santa...

discussing the Alaska Highway.

The end---of the Alaska Highway

On June 23 we reached the end of the Alaska Highway in Delta Junction. As you can tell, Belle is quite non-plussed by the whole thing.

We're now staying outside Fairbanks in North Pole AK.  Unfortunately we've developed a problem with the tires wearing due to rubbing against the spindle of our axle- probably brought on by a frost heave or other dip on the Alaska Highway sometime after leaving Burwash Landing.

We have new tires but this problem may cause us to have to alter our plans after our trip to Denali NP next week. 

Stay tuned.

Alaska - we made it!

Yesterday the road brought us

to the shore of Lake Kluane

We've seen bears and elk and buffalo and today a beautiful grey fox...

and we just got into Alaska today!

Whitehorse, YT

Like everywhere else we've visited, Whitehorse has really grown since we were here in '94. It's a nice size for a town and even has a Walmart and a Canadian Tire, both of which we visited today.

Yesterday we went into Whitehorse, went to some galleries and bookstores and had dinner at the Klondike Rib and Salmon BBQ. It's in the oldest building in Whitehorse, the ambiance is fun and the food is good.

Today we went to the McBride Museum of Yukon history.

We saw a presentation on steamboats that traveled the Yukon river and saw the exhibits including a "clutterorium" in which they display miscellaneous objects that have no real place in the rest of the collection.  We're thinking of starting a similar exhibit at home:)

Then on to the Beringia Interpretive Center.

Beringia is the name of the land mass that existed between Alaska and Siberia during the prehistoric ice ages.  That is how the original North Americans came to the continent.  Alot has been learned through fossils unearthed in both Alaska and BC.  Fascinating.  For more info see http://www.beringia.com/

This is one of the big cats that prowled Beringia.

And finally, the world's largest weathervane - yes, it's really an old airplane and it's at Whitehorse International Airport.

Wildlife

Today, on the road to Teslin, we did see some wildlife and got some good buffalo shots -

Belle, of course, barked furiously at the buffalo while Mark just prayed that it wouldn't charge the camper.

We didn't make it all the way to Teslin, though.  We stopped at Dawson Peaks right on the lake

and we had a delicious salmon dinner.

Dawson Creek to Liard Hot Springs

From Dawson Creek we went to Fort Nelson where we met the first other Airstreamers on our Trek - Adolfo and Vicky from Texas and Jennifer, also from Texas. After admiring each other's Airstreams, We decided to meet up at Liard Hot Springs Provincal Park the next day.

On the way to the park we stopped at Muncho Lake for photos

We also stopped at a special "Wildlife Viewing Area" on the side of the road, and this is what we saw:

At the park we did meet Adolfo and Vicky and spent a nice time in the hot springs pool - temperature about 110 degrees - and then had dinner with them.  Belle was the terror the the chipmunk population.

The weather was warm and sunny and the hot springs make your bones feel all loose and supple.  Altogether, a really good day...

Airstream armadillo

So we set off on the Alaska Highway with the Airstream all armored up like an armadillo and the first thing that happens is we get a ding in the truck windshield just before Fort St. John!  Fortunatley they were able to quickly fix it.

We then continued along the highway and are now at Fort Nelson.  Aside from the fact that Canada gets so cold in winter, it is a beautiful country with many natural resources.  Alot of the towns are operating like boom towns and are nothing like they were when we went through in '94. So much building and so much industry is impressive,

Trick my trailer

We spent a good part of today readying the trailer for the Alaska Highway.

At home, we cut silver insulation to the proper size for all the trailer parts to be covered.  At Minot AFB we tried to glue fabric (Walmart twin sheets) to the backside of the insulation so it wouldn't leave marks on the trailer.  When we found that the glue didn't work we sewed the fabric to the insulation.

What we did today was tape the fabric covered insulation to the appropriate trailer parts.  We used Gorilla Tape and 100 mph tape and covered them over with silver metallic tape.

Here are some photos of what we did:

The finished project.

Additionally, these hoses were covered...

and giant mud flaps were added to the truck.

Now we're ready for anything and everything!

Dawson Creek, Mile 0

We got to Dawson Creek and took pictures in front of the iconic mile marker.

And for those who waned to see the Airstream...

Sherk's Campgrond in Valleyview, AB

Tonight we are staying at Sherk's Campground in Valleyview AB.  What is special about it is that we stayed there in 1994 when we were coming back from Alaska with Josh.  The campground had just opened that summer.  Josh fell in love with the owner's big German Shepard Cowboy and the owners were nice enough to take us on a ride in a neighboring field in their ATV.

Unfortunately, the gentleman passed away and his wife if running the campground alone.  She did not remember us,but told her how our son had grown up and still remembered the dog and the ATV ride and the lovely hosts at Sherk's.

These are some photos of the campground: