We have arrived…….in Alaska! Growing up, and even as an adult, Alaska seemed a far away unattainable country with vast expanses of wilderness and unexplored terrain. Photos, stories, and films were the only introduction we had to learn about the Land of the Midnight Sun and the pioneering spirit that still endures. The Scamp has taken us over 4,000 miles through the Lower 48 and Canada to finally set our feet into The Last Frontier. To quote John Muir, “To the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world.” Our stops included: North Pole (Alaska), Fairbanks, Chena Hot Springs, and Denali National Park!
After replenishing our groceries in Tok we camped overnight at charming, albeit mosquito ridden, Moon Lake - don’t let this alluring name fool you. I was excited to take a much needed refreshing swim when I stopped to ask a couple of girls how the water was. Their mom was picking off leeches. Nope.
Our next destination was Fairbanks, Alaska’s second largest city and hub for Alaska’s interior and Arctic. On the way we passed a section of the Alaskan Pipeline and had to make the obligatory stop to see North Pole, Alaska. This town has embraced the theme for its name with candy cane poles scattered throughout, reindeer, Christmas shopping galore, Mr. and Mrs. Claus, St. Nick’s Workshop, and one of the largest (creepiest) Santa statues I have ever seen.
Alaskan Pipeline
We made our stop in Fairbanks short - due to the campground we were going to stay at for the night being shut down. Like so many other places in the United States, Fairbanks has a homeless crises. Shelters are made available in the coldest of winter months but offers less in the summer. Those in desperate need gravitate to the city campgrounds so this resulted in its closing for campers. We did stop at the Fairbanks Visitor center which also had an excellent museum featuring local history. This particular display moved me.
Chena Hot Springs was on my list for places to visit since planning our time in Alaska. The springs are located about 90 minutes outside of Fairbanks. On our way we stopped for one night at Rosehip Campground, located within the Chena River State Recreation Area. Although the property was absolutely stunning, this was the most mosquito infested area we encountered so far and made for a pretty miserable stay. Not even the lingering smoke from the wild fires helped to reduce the madness of the mosquitos.
Wild Fire Smoke Everywhere - Fairbanks Area
As soon as we had arrived over the border in Alaska we became aware of the smoky air. You could smell/see the smoke ahead and behind while driving which became increasingly worse in Fairbanks. A local resident explained to us that the weather patterns created an early dry summer thus creating ideal conditions for these fires. With Fairbanks being located in a “bowl” the smoke lingers, even if the fires are further away. However, between Rosehip Campground and Chena Hot Springs we began to question our safety. All of the campgrounds were closed due to bordering fire activity after Rosehip. Signs and water hoses along the road indicated that fire was nearby. We had not heard from Chena that they had closed (with no cell service available to contact) and since we had a two night reservation there we kept to the plan. Although still smoky, the fire danger signs stopped prior to arriving at Chena Hot Springs and the resort was open.
Driving to Chena Hot Springs - Water Hoses
We had a wonderful two day stay at Chena: relaxing in the springs, visiting the Aurora Ice Museum (savoring an Appletini served in an ice glass), touring the grounds which included seeing the geothermal operating facility, and dining on delicious fresh salads from their own amazing greenhouses. Chena Hot Springs has a high level of smelly sulfur, wonderful for soaking but I had a hard time drinking it (they did not filter). As some of my family and school friends may remember I grew up with sulfur in our well water. You could smell it right away when visiting our house in Boston, NY. Thankfully my parents opted for a fresh spring water cooler and saved us from consuming the stinky sulfur tasting H2O. After Chena we headed back to Fairbanks for an overnight in the Walmart parking lot, thankful there are still some Walmart locations allowing for travelers to stay the night. We were able to spend time working with WiFi at the Visitor Center and restock our pantry for the next leg of our travels - Denali National Park!
Aurora Ice Museum
Amazing greenhouses where they also grow all of the flowers on the premises! We parked our camper at the end of their small plane runway, lol.
We began our stay inside Denali by opening a bottle of Runquist Petite Sirah (one of Steve’s favorites), reveling in the wonder that our travels had brought us this far. Unlike the touristy feeling of Yellowstone, Denali emitted a more rugged attitude with fewer visitors and six million square miles of undeveloped wild landscapes with only one road leading into the park. We had hopeful expectations of being in the 30% of visitors to actually see Denali (formally Mt. McKinley and renamed to Denali in 2015 which in Kuyokan Athabaskan means “the high one” or “the tall one”) and adding some new wildlife sitings to Steve’s running list.
Denali - We made it!!!!
Since cars can only drive to mile 15 into the park we opted to take a visitor bus which went to mile 43. Unfortunately in 2021 there was a landslide that ended up shutting down the road through Denali National Park at Mile 43 of the 92 mile road. According to our very chatty bus driver a solution to the road erosion problem will be some time coming so for now these areas of the park will not be accessible by vehicles. During our stay we clearly saw snow covered Mt. Denali, met up with my friend Jen from Ohio, visited the park’s sled dog kennels, took a ranger lead hike, explored Savage River, tried reindeer (caribou) corndogs, photographed multiple flower species, and saw a few animals: moose, grizzly bear, golden eagle, and our first caribou!
There she is - Mt. Denali! North America’s tallest peak at 20,310’
4th of July in Denali, visiting with my friend Jen from Ohio on a ranger lead hike, trying Reindeer hotdogs, and visiting the park’s sled dog kennels, The photos are of sled dog, Pika - Jen is responsible for walking her! Steve is demonstrating how tall male moose are. If you look at the tree behind him you can see how high they male moose reach to rub their antlers, lol. The Purple-pink flower is Fireweed which I have fallen in love with and plan on planting upon return to Buffalo!
Savage River - Amazing hike in Denali National Park! One of the very few sunny days so far on our Alaska journey.
A final farewell to this magnificent park, so much more to explore here but not enough time. We are heading towards Anchorage and then on to the Kenai Peninsula - so very excited to see what is next. Love and hugs to all of our family and friends, we miss you all!
Coddiwompling “To Travel in a Purposeful Manner Towards a Vague Destination”
“There is little to offer visitors who need attendants to make them comfortable, who think of walking in terms of cushioned motor cars….but there is much to offer those who understand the language of the ‘great silent places.’” - Harry Karsten’s, Denali’s first Superintendent.
https://www.nps.gov/dena/index.htm Denali National Park