DrewE's Alaska Trip Travelogue
I returned about a week ago from a marvelous ten-week trip to and through Alaska (and back) with my dear mother. I went in a 32' class C, actually about 35' overall with a bicycle rack on the back, w...
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I had technical difficulties uploading photos last night, so this part was delayed. "We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works." (Douglas Adams)
July 23rd -- the part after Dawson City.
We filled up with gas outside of Dawson City at the cardlock station (significantly less expensive than the stations in town) which accepts "normal" credit cards in addition to the usual fleet cardlock cards, and then headed across the ferry and over the Top of the World highway. It was a bit of a misty/overcast day so the views were not as spectacular as they might have been, but it's still a pretty road. It was a little bit rough in places.
Click For Full-Size Image.
A view along the Top of the World highway, showing the highway itself and illustrating why it may have gotten its name
The Top of the World highway becomes the less colorfully named Boundary Spur Road after crossing the border into Alaska.
Click For Full-Size Image.
This is the old US customs facility and, I assume, now the housing for the three officials who work there.
Click For Full-Size Image.
We made it!
The spur road (to Jack Wade Junction, where it intersects the Taylor Highway) is very nice and smooth pavement.
At Jack Wade Junction, we turned north to head to Eagle. This part of the Taylor Highway is not entirely recommended for the faint of heart, nor would I suggest traveling on it if there had been a lot of rain as I imagine it gets rather muddy. It was quite rough, probably among the roughest roads we encountered, and is fairly narrow with some quite sharp and blind corners. For a good portion of it, one side of the road is a steep cliff going up, and the other side an equally steep cliff going down, so it would be very rough going for someone with acrophobia or a propensity towards vertigo. That being said, it's pretty scenery along the way and aside from the bumps and potholes was for me a quite enjoyable adventure.
At Eagle, we stayed at the immaculate BLM campground. I doubt there are any vault toilets in existence that are cleaner than the ones there.
Click For Full-Size Image.
Site 13 at the Eagle BLM campground
Eagle is a fascinating little town, with a surprisingly long and significant history. It was a regional seat of governance for some time, and had a military outpost at Fort Egbert, and was part of the early telegraph and later telephone systems. Many of the historic buildings in the town and the fort form a sort of museum tour together, with a wide variety of exhibits and historic artifacts, through which tours are offered. This is one place where, in retrospect, we should have taken an additional day.
July 25th -- We started the day by wandering around the Eagle cemetery, and then wandered into town to join the afternoon tour that was advertised on the campground bulletin board. Apparently the posting on the board was outdated as they didn't regularly offer afternoon tours any longer, but we were able to get--for an additional fee, of course--a custom, non-scheduled tour along with another party that found themselves in the same boat. The moral here is to make every effort to get to the morning tour if you visit Eagle.
Click For Full-Size Image.
The stables (on left), carriage house (rear right), and I think quartermaster's store building (front right) of Fort Egbert. I may well be remembering the identifications of some of the buildings incorrectly.
Click For Full-Size Image.
The Jeffery Quad is a very early four wheel drive vehicle, first produced in 1913. This particular one is still operational and is driven in the 4th of July parade in Eagle every year.
We left Eagle in the afternoon, and ended up spending the night at the West Fork BLM Campground, a little south of Chicken. We did very briefly stop at Chicken. Unlike Eagle, I have no real desire to spend more time there. It's pretty standard tourist trap fare.
July 26th -- We continued along towards Fairbanks.
Click For Full-Size Image.
A typical view along the Taylor highway, if memory serves...possibly it may be along the Alaska highway.
We stopped at Tok for fuel and groceries and to get some literature at the information center. That information center, and indeed the adjoining public library when it's open, are quite nice facilities. Among other things, we did pick up a map of the state-run public campgrounds in Alaska, for which one must pay a nominal fee. It's available from many places, and handy enough to pony up the dollar or so it costs.
A bit before Delta Junction we stopped briefly at Delta Meat and Sausage company and purchased some pretty tasty reindeer sausage. It's perhaps worth noting that there wasn't a whole lot of reindeer in the sausage, which was primarily more typical meats (pork and beef, if memory serves), but still it was tasty. They do have some straight cuts of reindeer, buffalo, etc. available.
At Delta Junction, the Alaska Highway technically ends and seamlessly merges onto the Richardson Highway which continues on to Fairbanks.
Click For Full-Size Image.
The end of the Alaska Highway, as marked at the visitor center.
A little bit north of town on the Richardson Highway is the Big Delta State Historic Park, which preserves Rika's Roadhouse. It was too late in the day when we got there to be able to go into any of the buildings, but taking a stroll around the grounds and reading the various information panels was intriguing in itself. Rika was apparently quite a resourceful and hardworking woman.
Click For Full-Size Image.
The roadhouse proper
This was also the site of a ferry across the Tanana river along the Richardson highway until 1943 when a bridge was built. For a few years before that time, there was a bit of an ongoing conflict between truckers and the government over tolls on the ferry, which the truckers did not want to pay and which the government demanded to make rail traffic more appealing than road traffic. The description of the goings-on reads rather like a soap opera.
Click For Full-Size Image.
In addition to the road bridge, there is now a pipeline bridge over the Tanana river for the Alyeska Pipeline; this is half of it.
We camped for the night at Quartz Lake State Park, not very far away. Somewhat ironically, the park was in "passive management" due to state budget problems, which means that the available services are somewhat reduced (no firewood for sale, less groundskeeping, etc.) and no fees were being charged for camping. Somehow it seemed to me a bit of a strange way to save money by not charging for camping, but I guess that's how it works. This probably was a temporary situation in as much as bid solicitations were being made for private contracts to run the park (and, as it's apparently quite a popular park, I would guess that there would be interested bidders).
July 27th -- We made our way to Fairbanks. I'll cover Fairbanks proper in another posting or two, but mention a few stops on the way to the city proper here.
The Knotty Shop is a better than average souvenir shop with a good many items that are not tacky and go beyond the usual odds and ends. The building and large critter statues formed of burls are worth a peek, if nothing else.
North Pole is just a little outside of Fairbanks, and is probably best known for Santa Claus House, a large (and kitschy) gift shop. There is also a decent visitor's center there in a low log cabin that, oddly enough, we had a bit of a hard time locating at first. Once we got there, the lady staffing it was most helpful.
Click For Full-Size Image.
Outside Santa Claus House...
Click For Full-Size Image.
... and a bit of the inside.
July 23rd -- the part after Dawson City.
We filled up with gas outside of Dawson City at the cardlock station (significantly less expensive than the stations in town) which accepts "normal" credit cards in addition to the usual fleet cardlock cards, and then headed across the ferry and over the Top of the World highway. It was a bit of a misty/overcast day so the views were not as spectacular as they might have been, but it's still a pretty road. It was a little bit rough in places.
A view along the Top of the World highway, showing the highway itself and illustrating why it may have gotten its name
The Top of the World highway becomes the less colorfully named Boundary Spur Road after crossing the border into Alaska.
This is the old US customs facility and, I assume, now the housing for the three officials who work there.
We made it!
The spur road (to Jack Wade Junction, where it intersects the Taylor Highway) is very nice and smooth pavement.
At Jack Wade Junction, we turned north to head to Eagle. This part of the Taylor Highway is not entirely recommended for the faint of heart, nor would I suggest traveling on it if there had been a lot of rain as I imagine it gets rather muddy. It was quite rough, probably among the roughest roads we encountered, and is fairly narrow with some quite sharp and blind corners. For a good portion of it, one side of the road is a steep cliff going up, and the other side an equally steep cliff going down, so it would be very rough going for someone with acrophobia or a propensity towards vertigo. That being said, it's pretty scenery along the way and aside from the bumps and potholes was for me a quite enjoyable adventure.
At Eagle, we stayed at the immaculate BLM campground. I doubt there are any vault toilets in existence that are cleaner than the ones there.
Site 13 at the Eagle BLM campground
Eagle is a fascinating little town, with a surprisingly long and significant history. It was a regional seat of governance for some time, and had a military outpost at Fort Egbert, and was part of the early telegraph and later telephone systems. Many of the historic buildings in the town and the fort form a sort of museum tour together, with a wide variety of exhibits and historic artifacts, through which tours are offered. This is one place where, in retrospect, we should have taken an additional day.
July 25th -- We started the day by wandering around the Eagle cemetery, and then wandered into town to join the afternoon tour that was advertised on the campground bulletin board. Apparently the posting on the board was outdated as they didn't regularly offer afternoon tours any longer, but we were able to get--for an additional fee, of course--a custom, non-scheduled tour along with another party that found themselves in the same boat. The moral here is to make every effort to get to the morning tour if you visit Eagle.
The stables (on left), carriage house (rear right), and I think quartermaster's store building (front right) of Fort Egbert. I may well be remembering the identifications of some of the buildings incorrectly.
The Jeffery Quad is a very early four wheel drive vehicle, first produced in 1913. This particular one is still operational and is driven in the 4th of July parade in Eagle every year.
We left Eagle in the afternoon, and ended up spending the night at the West Fork BLM Campground, a little south of Chicken. We did very briefly stop at Chicken. Unlike Eagle, I have no real desire to spend more time there. It's pretty standard tourist trap fare.
July 26th -- We continued along towards Fairbanks.
A typical view along the Taylor highway, if memory serves...possibly it may be along the Alaska highway.
We stopped at Tok for fuel and groceries and to get some literature at the information center. That information center, and indeed the adjoining public library when it's open, are quite nice facilities. Among other things, we did pick up a map of the state-run public campgrounds in Alaska, for which one must pay a nominal fee. It's available from many places, and handy enough to pony up the dollar or so it costs.
A bit before Delta Junction we stopped briefly at Delta Meat and Sausage company and purchased some pretty tasty reindeer sausage. It's perhaps worth noting that there wasn't a whole lot of reindeer in the sausage, which was primarily more typical meats (pork and beef, if memory serves), but still it was tasty. They do have some straight cuts of reindeer, buffalo, etc. available.
At Delta Junction, the Alaska Highway technically ends and seamlessly merges onto the Richardson Highway which continues on to Fairbanks.
The end of the Alaska Highway, as marked at the visitor center.
A little bit north of town on the Richardson Highway is the Big Delta State Historic Park, which preserves Rika's Roadhouse. It was too late in the day when we got there to be able to go into any of the buildings, but taking a stroll around the grounds and reading the various information panels was intriguing in itself. Rika was apparently quite a resourceful and hardworking woman.
The roadhouse proper
This was also the site of a ferry across the Tanana river along the Richardson highway until 1943 when a bridge was built. For a few years before that time, there was a bit of an ongoing conflict between truckers and the government over tolls on the ferry, which the truckers did not want to pay and which the government demanded to make rail traffic more appealing than road traffic. The description of the goings-on reads rather like a soap opera.
In addition to the road bridge, there is now a pipeline bridge over the Tanana river for the Alyeska Pipeline; this is half of it.
We camped for the night at Quartz Lake State Park, not very far away. Somewhat ironically, the park was in "passive management" due to state budget problems, which means that the available services are somewhat reduced (no firewood for sale, less groundskeeping, etc.) and no fees were being charged for camping. Somehow it seemed to me a bit of a strange way to save money by not charging for camping, but I guess that's how it works. This probably was a temporary situation in as much as bid solicitations were being made for private contracts to run the park (and, as it's apparently quite a popular park, I would guess that there would be interested bidders).
July 27th -- We made our way to Fairbanks. I'll cover Fairbanks proper in another posting or two, but mention a few stops on the way to the city proper here.
The Knotty Shop is a better than average souvenir shop with a good many items that are not tacky and go beyond the usual odds and ends. The building and large critter statues formed of burls are worth a peek, if nothing else.
North Pole is just a little outside of Fairbanks, and is probably best known for Santa Claus House, a large (and kitschy) gift shop. There is also a decent visitor's center there in a low log cabin that, oddly enough, we had a bit of a hard time locating at first. Once we got there, the lady staffing it was most helpful.
Outside Santa Claus House...
... and a bit of the inside.
