Fairbanks Area

The Drive from Tok to Fairbanks was reasonable, with only short stretches of frost heave damage. We stopped for lunch at Delta Junction so that we could get our “official” Alaskan Highway Completion Certificate and stand in front of the final milepost marker.

Our stay here in Fairbanks has been a little smoky thanks to some wildfires in the area, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the area and the week-long down time. We visited the Chena Hot Springs for more soaking, wandered the downtown area, visited the University of Alaska Museum (CA only), visited Botanical Gardens, and joined in the 4th of July festivities at Pioneer Park.

Shortly after our arrival in Fairbanks rumors started circulating about a major washout on the Alaskan Highway, and then official news came. It looks like the highway will be shutdown for awhile. Here’s where the washout occurred (the red triangle old news now, it’s been repaired). The only way around this washout is via the Cassiar Highway, which we were already planning on taking on the trip back south. The problem though, is that the Cassiar is narrow and not built for truck traffic, nor do they have fuel for the sudden influx of vehicles. We’ll see how this goes over the next couple of weeks.

We’re off to Denali National Park for a couple days on our next leg of this journey.