Day 22 July 23, 2024 Pullout to Fairbanks 134 miles
Mosquitos are worse this morning but still not bad. Very little traffic last night nor this morning. Forgot to say yesterday that the ranger at the Visitor Center said the odds of getting on the flight were slim. The plane is usually full with tour groups. The skies are partly cloudy with very little wind. We left the spot about 8:50 am.
Our first road construction of the day was a small work group putting fresh oil down in short sections. Unfortunately one of the short sections was a small hill. The oil and road mix made the climb a bit slippery. Numerous other patches about the length of the car and trailer continued for several miles.
We returned to normal Dalton Highway roads until we came to the 20 mile section of construction. This requires a pilot car. We had a big truck in front and a big truck behind us. This is a huge project with crews working in multiple locations. Some of the road is quite smooth for dirt road especially. Then there are the sections of rock and big dips and dents. The truck behind us did pass when we got to a smoother open section. Two pilot cars going in the opposite direction went by. They had considerably more vehicles in their lines. They must run quite a few pilot cars. After about 14 miles the pilot car turned off. The next six miles included a detour around what we think might be a new stretch of road. So either the detour road is the old road or they made a lot of new road.
Nothing of much interest until we reached the Dalton Highway sign. We pulled off to get pictures of us and the car at the sign. Then a tour group stopped and a motorcyclist. They all had to take pictures. The motorcyclist had seen us leaving Deadhorse.
Now we are on the Elliott Highway. That stretch couldn’t be left out of the construction. However this stretch was only 12 miles. Of course another pilot car. Don’t know where they are getting all the workers and materials for so much construction. The pay must be pretty good.
We pulled off at one of the parking spots for lunch. A motorhome and a fifth wheel are parked there also. We think they are part of the construction crew. They also park big trucks here. Possibly a repair point.
Oh no one more section of construction. Luckily it was short and not too rough. We made it to the Fountainhead Antique Car Museum about 3:30. That gave us time to look around and ask questions. They have only cars built before World War II. They are beautiful cars and all but three run. They also have a large collection of vintage clothing. Everything is well cared for. They have more cars stored elsewhere so the cars on display change. A trust has been created to keep everything going. No Model As in the current mix of cars on the floor. This was a very interesting stop.
The temperature is extremely warm. In fact downright hot. The display outside the museum shows 99 degrees. We spent a considerable amount of time trying to find a room for the night. Everything seemed booked full or extremely expensive. Finely got something out of town that was expensive and not so good. However, it did have a hot water shower.
Spoffords Travel 