Blogs from Fairbanks, Alaska, United States, North America - page 3

Alaska by Land for 7 Days DAY 6: Saturday - Denali/Fairbanks At 8.00am we departed Denali for Fairbanks driving 120 miles north. Along the way we stopped at the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline. As there are earthquakes known in the area, the engineers designed a snake-like designed pipeline and rubber cushioning for the pipeline. The pipeline is 1200 km long, from north to southern Alaska. Alaskans gain individually from the oil which is drilled from their northern waters, receiving annual dividends from the profits from their oil industry. With the drop in oil prices, they are projecting their usual $2K+ may be greatly reduced. We arrived in Fairbanks, where we had a light lunch before going for a walk along the river which flowed through the middle of the town. The river was almost at flood level ... read more

Sorry, I know it’s been a while but we actually took some time off while we were in Fairbanks. Kind of a vacation away from our vacation. I got off the computer, did a little fishing, read a book, watched some TV (we had cable!!) and relaxed at the wonderful River’s Edge RV Resort. That’s not to say that we didn’t do everything in Fairbanks that we had planned but we ended up there for an extra four days because the Birch Lake Fam Camp, a military campground and our next stop, was closed due to personnel cutbacks. It all worked out though. Our first day in Fairbanks was Wayne and Ronda’s last day in Alaska and we joined them on the Riverboat Discovery Cruise on the Chena River. This cruise was a very well done ... read more

After two days (or nights) of driving long distances in the dark, rain and snow, we made the decision to push on from Denali towards Fairbanks rather than returning to the park. Our first objective was to find somewhere for a hot breakfast, as surviving on cold food in the snow was beginning to lose its appeal. We sped past Healy and made our way to the railway town of Nenana. The whole town seems geared towards tourism, but as we were there out of season, almost everything was closed, from the wood cabin tourist office to almost every diner and restaurant bar one. The Rough Wood Inn was open and serving breakfast, so we headed in out of the cold. There we were treated to the uniquely American experience of listening to the locals deride ... read more

We have four nights in Fairbanks. The roads were good, the distance about 111 miles from Denali ... a short drive on a chilly day. Along the way we made a stop in a small town named Nenana. The story has it that a lady won the entire town in a pool game. It was also the starting point of the 1925 Diphtheria Serum Race to Nome. As we pulled in to the small town, we had a caravan of at least 8-10 motorhomes with tow cars lining the entire length of this town, only to find most of the town closed down since the death of this elderly lady. Nenana also has the Ice Classic yearly, where they place a huge iron piece out on the frozen river and sell chances on the day, hour, ... read more

We woke up this morning rearing to go, albeit slightly hungover after a very social evening! We got into our riding kit and loaded the bike, I jumped up onto my perch and Trev turned the key to the bike and it turned over but wouldn't start! Trev tried it again and then it wouldn't even turn over. We were upset and perplexed as to why it had run so excellently the previous day and then just wouldn't start. Anyhow, we loaded the bike onto the back of the chase truck and jumped in for the drive back to Fairbanks with the hope of having it diagnosed and repaired at The Outpost (a BMW dealership in Fairbanks). We went there first thing the following day and naturally they were VERY busy and could "maybe fit us ... read more