We made it to the Arctic Circle........
After bidding Chelle farewell, we took another look at Downtown Anchorage and sampled a reindeer hotdog! The children had fun at the Science Discovery Centre – Imaginarium. Later, at Creekwood, we enjoyed spending time with some locals at the campsite (Garrett, Renee, Daniel, Elizabeth, Joseph and Colt) and the children were entertained with magic tricks. Heading north bound once again, the clear skies were on our side and we had amazing views of Mount McKinley and the rest of the Alaska Range. At Trapper Creek the World Famous Wal Mikes store was the ultimate in Bric a Brac experience! We stepped back in time and could have spent hours exploring the wide selection of goods on offer! We stayed at the North Viewpoint and Phil even took the tripod and camera up onto Nessie’s roof for a photo shoot – is that dedication or what?! Further north along the Dalton Highway (or the Haul road) – we went for a distance of about 125 miles on an unpaved track. The truckers were busy with deliveries and it is recommended not to get in the way of these guys! We took the challenge of the most remote and challenging road in Alaska – although to us everything is relative and this road was in much better condition than some of those we have tackled in Eastern Europe. Nessie did, however, take off and perform her very first wheelie at one point, which was interesting! For us and Nessie to have reached the Arctic Circle was almost a surreal experience. We were on the top of the world and the furthest north that Macswayround would see. We took the necessary photos of us and ‘the sign!’ and then scrambled back into Nessie as the Heaven’s opened. A while later, a couple of Irish lads arrived on motorbikes and Phil offered Steve and Peadar a warm up coffee and a dry awning to shelter their bikes and ‘stuff!’ It was great to meet these guys- both with amazing travels stories of their own. They ended up sharing some roast meat, a film and a wee dram too and kipped the night on Nessie’s spare bed (rather than tackle a tent in the rain!). On this trip they have travelled up from Argentina and are heading to Prudhoe Bay – the point at which the land meets the Arctic Ocean! Take a look at their entertaining journey blogs at www.footstops.com/argentina2alaska . Having reached this point came the realisation that as we turn south we are actually beginning to head towards home ........although we still have plenty of miles to do and places to see along the way! The next scheduled appointment is happening in Michigan at the beginning of October and so as long as we head in that direction(ish), for that time – we should be right! The next day we saw our first Alaskan Black Bear – and our biggest bear to date, as he circled the very remote Trading Post that we had stopped off at on our way back down the Dalton Highway! As we did the tourist thing, with cameras and camcorders, we were made aware of the realities of living with these potentially dangerous animals. The lady had been left there by herself for the day with no car and was not relishing the idea of having to look over her shoulder all day, to check what her big ‘cuddly’ friend was up to. The bear was not at all worried about us watching him and as winter approaches they are solely concerned with finding food and stocking up for their imminent hibernation. We camped a little further along the road at a free dry spot, all by ourselves once again. During the night, when Phil heard a very low pitch and prolonged growl NOT very far away from us......he did not sleep any more. Instead, he sat up and brandished the good ‘ole faithful axe in one hand and pepper spray in the other – not at all nervous then! We came back down to Fairbanks – the golden Heart city and the hub of interior Alaska and to the relative safety of the River’s Edge RV Park! We were grateful to Leo (whom we had met a few weeks ago), as he came by to share a few tips on things to see and do around Fairbanks and the nearby town of North Pole, where he lives. At the Creamer’s Field in Fairbanks, we saw lots of the 200,000 Sand hill Cranes, who are busy returning from Northern Alaska, where they have spent the summer. This dairy farm has diversified into a migratory waterfowl refuge and in order to keep these spectacular birds away from the Fairbanks International Airport, they began to spread tons of enticing barley over their fields! This plan has succeeded and the refuge now covers 2,000 acres. The University of Alaska Museum of the North, was a great place to discover more about Alaskan life and culture. It was incredible to see the remains of a Steppe Bison: Blue Babe-who is a left-over from the ice age, some 36,000 years ago! We were also dwarfed by a resident brown bear, standing up on two feet to reach an astounding 8 feet 9 inches tall! We figured that this guy really would be popping in to say ‘Hi ‘through the very top window of Nessie! We saw two productions, the first recalling what it is really like to live through a winter in Alaska and the second explaining about the magical phenomenon of the Northern Light (Aurora Borealis), throughout the regions of the north and south poles. These lights are now known to be caused by particles, mostly electrons that are carried to the earth by solar winds. The particles become trapped by earth’s magnetic field, which causes a ring of light around the polar regions of the planet. It was very interesting to learn that experiments have proved that an exact mirror image is happening at the Antarctic, at exactly the same time during the auroras! It would be fantastic to see this beauty of the night...... We were made welcome at Leo’s house and also met his wife, Diane. Leo helped set us up with a campfire at the Chena Lake Recreation Area and later in the evening Phil sat out listening to the howling call of the wild! We enjoyed very warm and sunny weather at the Pioneer Park in Fairbanks – a re-constructed gold-rush-town theme park. Some original buildings have been refurbished to create a variety of houses and stores in the authentic town. It was interesting to see models of the old-time town and to take a wander around the engine room of the SS Nenana. This is the second-largest wooden ship in the world today, coming in at 237 feet (72 meters) long and 42 feet (13 meters) wide. Despite its size, when this ship was fully loaded with ore, it could still operate in just 6 inches (15 cms) of water. These sternwheelers ran every major river in Alaska during the gold rushes, and were a major contributor in the creation of the State of Alaska. We took the 40 below Fairbanks Experience by being dressed in very warm clothing and put inside a ‘freezer’ for as long as we wanted! Not long! There was a thermometer in there as proof and a frozen banana that the lads hammered a nail in with – just to say they did! Our best science experiment of the day was to throw boiling water into the air and watch it vaporize before it touched the ground! It is very difficult for us to comprehend living and working in these conditions. We were told that last winter Fairbanks had 3 continuous weeks when temperatures reached a high of -40 degrees F! Day to day life and school continues a tad on the chilly side for some! A final stop in the Pioneer Park was at the ‘Old-time Photos’ and we were all amused by trying on the period costume and having our family pictures taken! It was not surprising how both Phil and Ben both went for the ‘Outlaw pose!’ definitely a case of ‘like father -like son!’ The photos were taken, expertly by Shaunessy and we would like to thank her for her time. North Pole was our next, and very necessary stop – the place where the spirit of Christmas lives year round. The streets are lined with Christmas signs, and the lamp posts are candy canes! We all had our photos taken at the North Pole, in North Pole. At Santa Claus House, our children (and us too!) were delighted as the very special person was at home and open to visitors! It was fantastic to see Father Christmas in his summer outfit that Mrs Claus had made for him and to see him taking a Coke from the machine, inside his own house! We also saw 4 of his reindeer (Dasher, Prancer, Dancer and Vixen) and learnt that Rudolf was currently taking a break at the Reindeer farm in Palmer. We called back to say our goodbyes to Leo and Diane before spending a final night at Chena Lakes. Back in Tok we popped into the Tetlin Wildlife Headquarters to check in with the Ranger there and prove that the children did the Refuge Manager work to earn their badges and certificates too! Tok RV Village saw us fine for the night and the children missed Dave Stancliff who had entertained us with his Alaskan sing-a-long, last time we were here! We met up again with Ken and June, who we last met in Seward. It is good to catch up with fellow travellers, as we share similar routes around the limited road systems of Alaska! We all enjoyed moose stew (thanks to Leo), cooked over the campfire – another one to add to our tried and tested list! Also mountain sheep breakfast sausage which was on our menu the next morning!
Tuesday, 01 September 2009 05:58:33 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)      Comments [0]  Alaska