Day 15 space July 16, 2024 space Delta Junction, Alaska to parking lot on highway 149 miles
We left the apartment at approximately 9 o’clock. Filled up with gas and hit the road again. We saw a big section of pipeline that crossed one of the large rivers and was exposed above ground for a ways.
The terrain is more rolling hills not any big hills, but everything is covered with trees. The day is mostly cloudy with little chance of rain. Eventually, we came to a section where a high range of mountains can be seen on a clear day. Unfortunately today was not a clear day. We could see the bottom of the mountains and clouds covered all of the top. A very large river flows near the road. It’s extremely wide. I’m assuming somewhat shallow.
We encountered major construction at three times. All three times were pilot cars. Two of the projects were installing new culverts along the way and making a wider drainage system. The other one was actually reconstructing a large section of the road. That should be very nice when they get it finished. Wonder how long before the permafrost makes it a mess again.
We realized that Eielson Air Force Base is very nearby. We decide to stop so that Rob can get a haircut. This airbase has the second longest runway in North America. We got on base without any trouble and had to go quite a distance to get to the BX. Rob found the barbershop but determined there was quite a long line. Connie went into the shopping center and took a look around. She found a new sweatshirt on sale and a very clever T-shirt about moose. Connie returned to the barbershop where Rob was still waiting, and we both continued to wait for over an hour while the one barber did one person very slowly, very accurately. Rob finally did get his haircut and we quickly departed.
We are now headed for the Costco in Fairbanks. We’ve learned that they have gas, which is undoubtedly the cheapest in the area. We also plan to get muffins and more instant oatmeal. On the way we found a pickup that was very much on fire and had traffic slowed down. There’s actually a freeway leading to Fairbanks. Well like any Costco trip we did some impulse buying. The first item was a giant cherry pie. The cost for it was almost the same as one piece of pie from Fast Eddy’s the other day in Canada. The other thing we purchased was Odin noodles that you can heat up in the microwave. Thought that might be a nice change of pace.
We checked the GPS and determined that the Visitor Center was only a mile or so away from the Costco. They supposedly have lots of current information about the Dalton Highway. We thought it might be a good thing to check especially since it was that close. So off we went. When we drove up, we were the hit of the crowd that was outside waiting or just chilling perhaps. One guy who talked to us said he had just gotten back from there and thought that it was not as bad as most people seem to think. There were a couple of pretty rough sections, but if you take it slow, you should be OK. Just be sure you get off the road for the big trucks. We went inside anyway just to check with them. Found a very nice park ranger and talked to her. She gave us a new pamphlet about the Dalton Highway and talked a little about the camp sites that are along the way. Rob decided that it’s worth attempting.
We got a ways out of Fairbanks and encountered yet another stretch of construction. Rob visited a little with a guy from the car in front of us and a little from the guy in the car behind us. The flagger was also informative and talked about places we might stay for the night. They both thought any of the large turnouts would be acceptable. You are far enough off the road to be out of the way of traffic. We drove a little further past the construction and did find a large paved pullout. Stopped there and set up camp for the night. Mosquitoes aren’t swarming so maybe it won’t be too bad. Also found the sleeping masks. Sunset today is at 11:55 PM.
But wait, now the mosquitos are swarming!
Spoffords Travel 