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Published: September 4th 2013
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same bull moose Last night we went for a drive up to the Denali Grande Lodge. It is set high up on the side of the mountain overlooking Denali Park. It was a hairy ride up the mountain but so worth it. The views below we're fantastic.
Then we were off to the Alaska Cabin Night Theatre. Was not sure what to expect as we had read mixed reviews. Pleasantly surprised though - it was a great night. Dinner was served family style at a long table with 12 people sitting around. Alaskan style dinner - salad, biscuits, corn, beans, ribs, salmon and potatoes. Plenty of goof for everyone. Iced water, sweet tea and coffee also provided on table. After dinner there was a 45 minute show about the real Alaskans - also known as Sourdoughs. It was a comical show with audience participation. The show was $63 for both dinner/show and once again we were able to use our toursaver coupons making it a bargain night! We both had a raspberry wheat ale as well. A nice Alaskan beer.
Slept well with the wind howling all night. Leaving for Fairbanks today so we stopped at Riley's campground and grabbed a shower
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Alaska Cabin night theatre and filled RV with water and used the dump station.
It has been a great 4 days here in Denali. On our way to Riley's campground we came across 2 bull moose that came up close to the vehicle...They are huge!
Stopped at Healy to fill up with fuel. The fuel at Denali was $4.59 a gallon - 10 miles down the road at Healy $4.26 a gallon. Interesting how the price can be so different! RV took $176 to fill up. So far we have travelled 1,146 in the beast.
The "49th state" brewery is at Healy so we took a quick look around before heading on to Fairbanks. The brewery has large bar and restaurant for a small town bt I'm guessing it gets full.
The place had quite a party feel to it - we had a look and bought a beer to go. The weather has changed much cooler over the past few days so the thermals are coming in handy. Our weatherproof hiking boots have become our best friends! They are so comfortable, give good traction over all types of terrain and best of all keep feet so warm.
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the crew That would be my best tip for anyone coming up to Alaska - make sure you buy good hiking boots and ensure they are waterproof as you will be walking through mud, puddles, snow, gravel and rocks. Mine are "Columbia" brand and Geoff's are "North Face". We got them at a great price in Seattle but you would expect to pay at least $200 a pair home in Australia.
Drive to Fairbanks was good. The highway was an easy ride and scenery once again was magnificent. Miles and miles of spruce line the highway - a majestic sight.
Made it to Fairbanks in time for our paddleboat trip down the Chena River. This was another one of our toursaver coupons. The trip was $59 and was a 3 hour activity. It went down the river and stopped off at the Chena Village where we were treated to the story of the native Abthabascan people. It was very interesting watching how the native people still survive today in these harsh lands.
The Chena river freezes over in the winter and during this time planes land on the ice , sled dogs and their mushers ride the river and
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Roscoe our server in certain parts cars can even cross over on the ice! Temperatures in Fairbanks reach -40 degrees F on a regular basis during winter. You have to be tough to survive the long cold months up here.
Salmon have 2 runs up the Chena River - they come from the Bering Sea to spawn. We watched as one of the natives prepared Chum Salmon ready to be smoked. Had a great time on this trip. Highly recommend this trip when visiting Fairbanks.
We worked out that we have saved around $800 so far using our toursaver coupons. Well worth the $100 investment. Looking forward to exploring more of this area tomorrow.
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