September 23 - Fairbanks to Wiseman

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Dawn broke on a beautiful day after we were already awake. Once again 6:30 was sleeping in. We took our time getting cleaned up and packed. After loading the car we sat down to a nice breakfast. We snatched several oranges to take to our hosts in Wiseman. When you travel to the arctic circle from Florida you really should come bearing oranges. Sure they probably came from Argentina or some other South American country but it is the thought that counts. Heck it’s oranges in the Arctic Circle. We also scored these really great travel mugs. We saw several guests with them so Dan asked about them. He was told they are for the long term stay guests but she gave us a pair all the same for inquiring. They say “Farthest North Hampton Inn in the World; Fairbanks, AK”. Score and a half. Boo-Ya.
The Dalton Highway.
I (Dan) wanted to make sure we had the fuel to reach our destination. We stopped in a Fred Meyer gas station, which is associated with an Alaskan Grocery Store, and topped off the tank in the brand new Silverado. I figured 250 miles should not be a problem for a vehicle that is typically designed to go 400 miles on a full tank even in harsh conditions. A trip on The Dalton Highway, Alaska’s pipeline haul road has been a dream of mine for nearly 20 years. When I was working in the Treasury Drug Store in the Mall in Gainesville Florida as a student of The University of Florida I had read an article in Road and Track or a similar magazine about some travel group assembled to make the journey on one of the country’s most dangerous highways. I was fascinated. At the time, a permit was required to travel the road and with good reason. It really was dangerous and not for the ordinary traveler. To this day it still requires a lot of attention and planning. With that said, the permit requirement was lifted in the mid 90’s and since then some if not most of the alignment is paved. One of the challenges is at the end of summer, fuel can only be purchased in Coldfoot which is 250 miles north of Fairbanks or Deadhorse at Prudhoe Bay which is 500 miles from Fairbanks and is at the Arctic Ocean.
We made the trip up the Elliot Highway north from Fairbanks to the Dalton Highway and that was an experience in itself. It is a very old paved highway with several mountain switchbacks and frost heaved pavement sections but spectacular views, especially at this time of year. The leaves were past peak, but the gold yellow color was a nice sight to see.
When we got to the start of the Dalton, we had to set up for an obligatory picture of us and the sign stating the start of the road. We then started on the journey and it was a great feeling to be driving on such a storied road that is responsible for the maintenance of a pipeline that helps keep our national economy in check. It started unpaved, but not too rough. Up until this point, I have been reading how this is such a dangerous road and the major car rental companies will not rent to one who desires to make this journey. Upon renting the Silverado in Anchorage, not a word was mentioned by the rental company about this and after driving for a few miles, I did not feel the paint or windshield was in grave danger.
We took our time heading north taking lots of video and photos along the way stopping at the Yukon River crossing and some other rest stops for rest and pictures. It is evident that the State of Alaska has made the road more of a tourist road with all of the signing and rest stop provided. We had stopped at the Arctic Circle rest area and had lunch. While there as solo gentleman traveler had stopped to take pictures and I offered to take a picture of him in front of the sign as we did with our companion tripod. I did and we struck up a conversation. He was an employee of Boeing Corp from Seattle named Dave and he wanted to make the trip to the Arctic Circle. We discussed the northern lights and he felt it would not happen due to atmospheric conditions, but I was equally optimistic because I drove all this way and did not want to miss out. He also inquired if the Silverado was our truck. I stated it was a rental and he was intrigued because he heard that rental companies won’t let people drive on the haul road. I stated my conspiracy theory of the alternate rental companies and the tour guide companies generating such rhetoric. We also encountered three Asian folks as we were there. They were a younger group comprised of two men and one woman. They wanted a picture of themselves in front of the sign so Danielle obliged them. They were really in to pictures because they entertained us for at least a half an hour taking all sorts of pictures with and around that sign.
We then pressed on and stopped at Grayling Lake rest area for relief of bladders and legs and taking of more photos. What a peaceful and relaxing location. The shame of it all is that s fraction of the world’s population ever experience the beauty that this part of Alaska has to offer. It only gets better.
We then drove further and finally reached Coldfoot. It was the oasis we were trying to get to all day. The truck had just over half a tank! At this point, I felt a great deal of accomplishment. We fueled up at an astonishing price of $5.20 a gallon but there was little room to complain as when one considers the logistics of getting fuel to such a remote place and when you think of it, it was a long lonely walk back to Fairbanks. I always find it ironic that gas prices are high in Alaska, although they are one of the leading domestic oil producers for the United States. Unfortunately, they don’t refine it. After fueling, stretching and photographing, we pressed on for the remaining 13 miles to our destination in a quaint old gold mining community of Wiseman, AK which has a population of approximately 20 or so That is no joke. We arrived at the Boreal Lodge at around 5:00 pm or so and was greeted by the son and a couple of dogs of the proprietors. We immediately noticed the people skills were not what we were accustomed to, but he was not necessarily accustomed to the population we are a familiar with in such a small community. We then unloaded into our quaint two (Single) bed room with outdoor access to common kitchen and bath. It was rustic and exactly what we need for such a trip. We then took a walking tour with cameras and libations to capture the charm and antique equipment this town had to offer.
After awhile, we decided to head back to Coldfoot for dinner. This restaurant is featured on The History Channel’s “Ice Road Truckers” as a rest stop for weary truckers to get out of the cold snowy conditions to enjoy coffee and rest up for the trip north to the Arctic Ocean. We both bellied up to the bar because it was closest to the television and ordered food. I had a BLT and Danielle had a 1/3 lb burger. I noted that it was the best dinner I had for the entire trip to this point. Most bang for the buck. Not sure if it was the fresh mountain air or the drive, but it was good! We then made our way back to camp. Upon our return, we wanted to sit and have a campfire by wood we had gathered and listen to music provided by the laptop computer. On a side note, radio was not available after milepost 10 on the road so thank god for laptop for the camp and ipod for the truck. The camp fire was a funny spectacle. We asked the hostess about campfire and she said it was fine to have one. I was hoping to score fresh dry wood from them and she said whatever is lying around would be good. Great, Thanks! We gathered what we could on a day that had rain earlier and was a bit cold and built a fire as we would at home, but after the newspaper we brought up burned, the rest would not burn. After a couple more attempts, we conceded the wood was too cold and damp. At this point Danielle stated she was going to bed and requested to inform her in the event I saw the Aurora Borealis. Due to the thick cloud cover, she was never informed. After a an hour or so I then adjourned to the common kitchen for warmth still monitoring the skies for the Northern Lights, but finally went to my single rack to sleep for the night in the warmth of our cabin a cold brisk Arctic Night.

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