Day Eleven - Tok to North Pole, AK

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Can we just be able to hook up and go without running into some sort of delay? This morning Mike discovered water in the basement well where we store our Legos (leveling blocks) and wheel chocks. The well has a plastic tub liner and everything stored there is plastic or rubber so there was no danger of anything being damaged. He mopped up the water and traced the water and drain lines to find the source. Once he had an idea of where the water was coming from he formulated a plan for when we got set at our next destination.

Originally, we were supposed to drive to Cantwell today which is about 25 minutes beyond Denali National Park. The plan was to drive back to Fairbanks to do the activity we had planned there: golf. That was until Dave looked a little closer and realized it was a two and a half hour drive. Five hours of driving for nine holes, plus getting back to camp after midnight. Yeah, that wasn't going to work. Mike did some research and found a KOA near Fairbanks. I read the address and saw it was actually located in North Pole, Alaska! This worked out great because we had planned on a stop there on our way to Cantwell anyway. This extra stop added two days to our schedule. The only person who would be affected by the extension was Teri and she signed off on it, so off to the North Pole we went. Well not THE North Pole.

The best way to get the most up-to-date information on road conditions and wildlife hot spots is to strike up conversations with other adventurers. In this case the intel told us to keep an eye out for caribou and moose today. We'd see if it held true.

How could we manage if we didn't hit road construction at least once during our travel days? Today was no different. Our friend the dirt road was back, however the potholes were dimples on a golf ball compared to the other roads. It was a nice change of pace; very little bobbing and weaving needed.

There wasn't much to see along this stretch of the highway. Tall trees lined the road with more extending to forever. Once in a while we'd seen a bicyclist or two loaded with saddlebags taking on the Alaska Highway, but today was a slow day. I thought I saw someone on a bike coming up the slight incline toward us. As they drew nearer I realized it wasn't a cyclist at all, but a man pulling a rickshaw! That's not something you see every day, or nearly ever. Not in North America anyway.

The tall trees also interfered with any viewpoints along the way. There were a handful of waysides labeled with blue signs featuring a camera signifying great photo opportunities, but the trees had taken over and obscured whatever it was you were supposed to be seeing. I doubt there was a way to safely walk through the trees to get the unobstructed view. Mike joked that he imagined a moose and caribou standing around having a cigarette until they heard a car coming, then they would drop to all fours and act like normal animals. The family would take pictures then drive away and the moose and caribou would continue their conversation and cigarettes; reminiscent of an old Far Side comic.

At long last, we arrived at Delta Junction and the official end of the Alaska Highway. We hadn't driven the entire route, but we got the t-shirts. Shhh! Don't tell anyone. We'll catch the missing section between Tok, AK and Whitehorse, YT on the way back. Per usual, we stayed longer than anticipated because the dogs drew attention which led to conversations. But this is an adventure so we rolled with it (to a degree). Eventually we'd have to excuse ourselves, bid adieu to our new comrades and continue on our way.

It has been a week, maybe a little longer, since we left the smell of the wildfire and the smoky haze that caused every photo taken to have a brown tint to it. It seems longer. The bright blue skies continued to bless us today.

The wildlife decided to take most of the day off. Mike and I did finally see an elk at the far end of a narrow meadow between to stands of evergreens. We'd kept our eyes open, but saw only the one elk. It was so far away it could have been a giant light brown rock and we'd never know.

Making our way through North Pole it was as you would imagine. Many of the street names are Christmas related, the streetlight poles are red and white and shaped like candy canes and of course the major attractions are Christmas themed.

The RV park did not follow the town's common thread. It was a campground new to the KOA family. It didn't have any of the KOA staples such as the cabins, swimming pool, or A-frame office which told me it was an existing RV campground that was bought by KOA. It was a very nice park and our escort to our site was very skilled at directing Mike into place. Directly out our door was a wi-fi pole he made sure Mike didn't back into. We shouldn't have a bit of trouble connecting or keeping the connection.

It's still strange to be up late at night working on this and outside it's still quite light.

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