Sunday 6/19

We had a relaxing stay in Tok. We took a short bike ride to the souvenir shop on the Alaska Highway with almost no traffic. I guess there are other roads here as this is supposed to be the dog sled capital of the area but we didn’t see any signs for those. I wasn’t real crazy about going down other roads for fear of moose and bear which are prevalent although we didn’t see any.

Monday 6/20

We were warned that the drive to Fairbanks was potentially full of moose on the highway. Again, the animals read the memo that we were coming so none were there for us.

We passed a place where the Alaska Pipeline goes through.

We stopped in Delta Junction, the other end of the Alaska highway for a photo op. Their mosquitos were huge!

Then on to Fairbanks, the second largest metro area in the state. I’m not too impressed with what I’ve seen. It’s full of Anytown USA stores. Our best encounter was with the guides at the visitor center who were very helpful with their maps and ideas. 

We checked out Pioneer Park, that had some relocated log cabins with historical significance and nice spaces for families to run and play.

I guess I’m more fond of the small towns and villages where I can get a good feel for life rather than big cities that are hard to know where to start and what to do.

Tuesday June 21

Here’s a real good thing about Fairbanks… We had a lovely bike ride up to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, a bright hilltop campus with a view of Denali off in the distance. We looked in at the Museum of the North and its impressive building. I could just imagine going to college there when it’s really really cold and snowy out and there’s only four hours of daylight.