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We managed to make it from Fairbanks, AK to Haynes Junction, Yukon Territory on Day 3. We left Fairbanks around 9 in the morning after packing up. We found this great looking diner in North Pole, AK (Yes, there is a north pole in Alaska and yes the locals mock anyone from there) and stopped for breakfast. I mean, how many times do you find a diner in Alaska?

The trip was relatively uneventful. We filled up, pulled over for rest breaks, took lots and lots of pictures. Saw 3 or 4 critters along the way. We arrived in Haynes Junction around 10pm Pacific Time (Yay, jumped a time zone, now we’re closer to home!) so the trip took around 11 hours. Not counting breakfast breaks.

The view from the campground is incredible. We’re looking into the Kluane park just to the south of the city. There are these towering snow covered peaks that tower over the campground. It’s so very cool. I now understand why Ryan pushed hard to get us here to camp for the night. Tomorrow is Laird (did I spell that right?) hot springs. Sounds like a plan to me 🙂

Check out the picture summary of the day!

How about that?  A 50’s esque diner in North Pole, AK!!!  (Near Fairbanks)  We had to stop for breakfast!

Mmmmmmm.  Good food for the road!

My first Moose Sighting.  We got lucky and I managed to get this shot from the passenger side of the car.

This is what the road looks like.  All the time. 🙂

We crossed into Canada.

The roads are mostly paved but in worse shape than Alaska’s roads.  Here is one of the areas that wasn’t yet paved.  These were pretty few and far between.

More from the road.

Me pointing at the killer scenery.

We took a quick rest break to enjoy the sun 🙂

The road goes on and on.

This was fun.  Yay for wide angle lenses!

My first Bald Eagle.  We pulled up and he just sort of stared at us.  So we quietly drove closer and closer.  One of my favorite shots!

I think the tarp is too big for the tent.  Maybe they have a smaller one?

The view from the campground.  There is a reason we picked this campground 🙂

Portland airport. There is a Starbucks there. Tucked in this cruddy little terminal where we were waiting for our commuter flight to Seattle. Ryan does point out that we’re in the heart of Starbucks country.

Ryan of course is smart and skips the coffee. I found some juice from the store upstairs and a snack to get me through to Seattle.

When we arrived in Fairbanks the first thing we did was go check on the car. I mean, that’s important given we want to drive 3100 miles in it. It started up on the first try. Good sign! 🙂 It was parked on an ice reserve that Fairbanks was keeping around in case of an ice shortage next winter 😉

I did get help push once I got this picture 🙂

The tires were very flat. So that needed to be addressed before we went too far.

Then it was off to our friend’s house for sleep. Lots of sleep.

Lu Lu’s for breakfast. Yummy bagels. Everyone on this side of Fairbanks seems to know about this place 🙂

While we waited for the car to get checked out, Ryan and I hit Fred Meyer’s. This store reminds me of the General Stores from the American west. You could get food, clothing, furniture, electronics and just about anything you would expect to find from a Walmart or Target. Stocked up on Food and a sleeping bag.

And of course a few other essentials.

After the car got a clean bill of health we needed to check the contents of the car and repack as best we could.

Then it was time for a victory pose 🙂

Check it out! The Alaska Pipeline runs right next to Fairbanks. There is a nice tourist trail here to check out the pipe and explain all the stuff that went into setting up this pipeline. There are some very impressive tricks that were used to keep everything running smoothly. The radiator fins on the support posts that are designed to keep the ground frozen are some of my favorite tricks 🙂

Ryan tells me this is what is thrown on the roads in winter so that everyone can keep some traction. And I thought the gravel in Colorado was tough!

The Daily News Miner. I’ve got a screen capture of Ryan and I waiving to the web came here. Check out the live view from arcticcam.com

I will post the screen capture later 🙂

Something isn’t quite right with this picture… care to take a guess?

Calling home from the webcam parking lot. There has to be someone we know who we can wave to.

We have a long way to go. Still, it’s encouraging that Denver is listed on the board 🙂

Figured it out yet? Could it have to do with the satellite receivers and the direction they are pointed?

A cool theater. It pulls double duty. Preserving the winning ice sculpture(s) from the winter through the summer. In the winter the theater shows some modern classic movies (Back to the future, etc)

Defiantly my kind of pun…

Some poor person is getting their car ticketed. Same model and year as my car. Just a different color 🙂

Dog sled team transport.

The best ice cream in Fairbanks. No fooling. Waffle cone. Macadamia crunch. I don’t think I’ve tasted better ice cream in my life.

Ryan says the milk chocolate was good too 🙂

If I ran an espresso bar… you can bet I’d steal this name.

Dinner at Lemon Grass. The food was excellent.

Ok. It’s late. We’re planning to drive 500 miles tomorrow. I’ve got to get some sleep.

Cheers from Sunny (high of 50 today) Fairbanks!

Writing from the Plane! (Posting from Portland)

Got onto the plane in Denver with minimal problems. Here is a quick scene of our wait in Denver 🙂

We managed to sneak out without the need to de-ice. Lots of snow but it was all melting.

The flight went pretty well. Minimal crying children. (Not 0 but minimal) Ryan and I kept playing the “What state are we over now?” game. Ryan’s winning with Idaho. Now to find some snacks at the airport and check e-mail!!!

p.s. Portland Airport = Booring.

p.p.s. Maybe I can get some coffee in Seattle. I’m sure that will make the trip to Fairbanks more fun! 🙂