July 13, 2007 – Travel to Fairbanks

Our travels today took us thru the town of Delta Junction. This town is the official end of the Alaskan Highway.

Here is a picture of Andy and me at the final mile marker – 1472 miles since Dawson Creek. We even got an “End of the Alaska Highway” Certificate.

We also could not resist a picture with Alaska’s state bird (only kidding):

This is a picture of the Trans Alaska Pipeline “Pig” which is used to clean the pipeline. Newer “pigs” also check the status of the pipeline.

We also stopped at a local meat processor that was advertised and picked up some reindeer, elk, bison, and yak. Samples tasted good so I will let you know how the rest of the meat tastes…

North of Delta Junction, we stopped at Rika’s Roadhouse (now a National Historic Site). The Fairbanks-to-Valdez road first opened in 1901 allowing thousands of miners to get to the goldfields. With the newcomers came the birth of the roadhouse system. (There are quite a few of them along the trails.)

This area was originally started as a trading post and developed into a roadhouse in 1905. In 1917, Rika Walton took charge of the roadhouse. Along with the roadhouse, she ran the local post office, a boarding station for pack and stagecoach animals, a repair shop, a sled dog kennel and she kept the local liquor supply, which she stored in her bedroom to prevent theft. What an incredible pioneer woman!!

All the buildings have been refurbished and are now a museum. What an interesting time we had.

Here is a picture of one of the buildings:

Here is a picture of the main roadhouse:

This is also the first time where we start to see the oil pipeline. This is a view from the front of the roadhouse overlooking the river – notice the bridge in the background. The bridge is carrying the pipeline.

This is also the first time we start to see the Alaskan Range. We will see more on our way out of Fairbanks.
We are staying at the Tanana Valley Campground near the fairgrounds. Tonight we are in the overflow area and tomorrow we move to the campground. We will be here at least 4 nights.

Once we settled in, we stopped at the Visitor Center downtown. A picture of the river thru Fairbanks.
The town has got the Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Safeway, etc. It was great to be able to buy the items we use without paying double. Canada was high in groceries (among other things) and many of the other small towns have small groceries or just convenience stores. (I guess I am not one of those pioneer women – love the sights but need some amenities.)

Miles Traveled: 214
Routes Traveled:
Alaska: AK-2 (ALCAN and Richardson Highways)