Spell of the Wild

Chuck:

We spent last night at the Green Acres RV Park in Delta Junction.  This little Alaskan town is the northern terminus of the AlCan Highway.  It is 1,390 miles from here to Dawson Creek, the southern  terminus.  This is the bit we have left to do in order to complete our saga.  We plan to put the biking on hold for about 3 weeks while we link up with Suz & Christy in Anchorage, then go to Denali National Park and on to Fairbanks where they will catch a flight home and we will return to Delta Junction and bike south to the finish line.

Not long after we departed our campsite, Betty said “Ok guys, this looks like moose country so everybody on ‘moose watch’.  About 5 seconds later, she excitedly said “Moose, in front on the right”.  She has “powers”!  Fifty-five miles later, we over take Matt, who got a much earlier start on his bike.  He drank a cold Pepsi, while he explained the many features of his bike packing method, very compact, organized and functional; no panniers and no “bob” trailer.  At Glennallen, we turn right off of the Richardson Highway and onto the Glenn Highway leading to Anchorage.  We are crossing through the Chugach Mountain Range.  Our campsite, Grand View Campground, is just beyond the Matanuska Glacier.  There are beautiful mountain vistas all around us, plus it is much cooler and no mosquitoes.   Also, the camp has a restaurant that delivers a “motherlode” pizza to our RV.  Life is good!

Betty:  This little RV park with restaurant is absolutely beautiful.  There is not much to it but they have all the essentials and we’re loving the cooler weather.  There are forest fires sprouting up in Alaska now.  Yesterday we heard that the Parks Highway was closed – that is the highway that leads to Denali, so I hope it’s back open by the time we want to visit Denali.

Chuck:

Last night was interesting.  Not only did the site not have hook-ups, but about 5 minutes after we cranked the generator, it quit.  The diesel fuel in the RV tank was down to one quarter and the generator is programed to shut off at that point.  Not really a big deal but, no A/C when it is 92 degrees outside and if the propane range is used it creates more heat inside makes an uncomfortable situation worse.  This morning it was cooler and I used the propane range to perc coffee, usually we use an electric coffee maker.  Betty and I took our coffee mugs and drove over to the lake to see if more moose or other critters might give us a show.  Not, but we did enjoy the stillness and the beauty of the lake.  Back at the RV, we packed up and drove to the highway.  They sent me off on my bike and, minutes later, tooted as they passed on their way to Delta Junction.  It is another hot day.  About 10 miles later I saw that I was closing on another south-bound biker.  Matt is biking from Deadhorse to Valdez (the entire length of the pipeline), then back to his home in Anchorage.  We chat as we ride and at breaks, I invite him to come over to the RV for a cold beer when we get to Delta Junction.  In the early afternoon we encounter two more bikers who are stopped along the highway.  These guys spotted a plastic covered case of plastic water bottles that must have fallen off of a passing vehicle.  The excessive heat had caused all of us to run low on drinking water, we all enjoyed the hot water.  Since I was the only one not carrying camping gear, I slowly pulled away from the others as we set out again.  It is hot, only have 5 miles to go, I drink the last of my water.  Three miles to go, there is a roadhouse type bar, looks good.  Reluctantly, I pass it up and continue to Smith’s Green Acres RV Park.  Betty & Bren are hooked up to all the utilities.  A couple glasses of water, a cool shower and I collapse.  Later, Matt comes over, we all have a good time talking of past adventures and future plans.  A few beers later, he is saying good-bye and invites us to their home in Anchorage; hope that works out, we all have a lot in common.  Betty whips up some kind of oriental noodles, very good and I am off to bed.

Betty:  Even though we have all the hook-ups at Smith’s RV Park because of the excessive heat they have been having problems with the electricity.  When we first got here Joe said he wasn’t taking in any more RVs because with the heat everyone wants to run their AC and lots of other things too – refrigerator, hot water heater, fans, microwaves, washers and dryers, etc.  He finally decided to let us stay and stressed that we should use one thing at a time conserving as much as possible.  It’s been extremely hot in the RV and we left the AC off as long as possible but decided to cool the rig down before bed.  The ramen type noodles I could fix in the microwave prior to turning on the AC.  It’s much the same problem as cities with brown-outs.  We’re just ecstatic to have some conveniences.

Chuck:

On the road again! The RV crowd at the Fairbanks Wal-Mart is thinning, we will also be moving today.  During the last couple of days I have been cleaning both my hybrid and my old road bike in hopes of selling them.  They were both brought along as backups and so far I have not needed either.  It is a pain trying to haul around 5 bikes, if I can get rid of two, it will be more manageable.  Now that the two are ready to sell, I made a place to carry them inside the CRV to keep the road dust and mud off them.  Now we have: 2 inside the CRV, none on the CRV’s rear bike rack, 2 on the Motor Home’s rear ladder rack and I will be riding the fifth one.  Betty and Bren were closing up the RV to make it “road ready” as I biked out of the parking lot.  A quarter mile later I was on Alaska Highway 2, the Richardson Highway, heading south.   Mid-morning and it is warm, forecast is a high of 92 degrees today.  I am moving along creating my own breeze.  After all of the “hill & gravel training” during the past few weeks, the flat, smooth highway with a wide safety lane is slipping by quickly.  Eielson Air Force Base is on my left, five old B-52’s are parked on the tarmac, an even older C-130 transport is on a landing approach.  Forty-Nine years ago this month I was in Jump School, we made five static-line parachute jumps from C-130s, the old bird is still a work-horse.  In the early 1950’s my Uncle Mac & Aunt Vivian with their daughter Vivian (Poochie) were stationed here when what is now Fort Wainwright, was called Ladd Field and what is now Eielson AFB was a satellite to Ladd.  I am proud to say my Uncle Mac was in the United States ARMY-Air Corps.  While they were in Alaska, we would get wonderful letters telling of life in this frozen frontier.  It is still a frontier without a lot of creature comforts that we, in the lower 48, take for granted; I can only imagine how rugged it was over 60 years ago.

Up ahead I see golden arches, hey, it’s 11am, close enough to have lunch.  While standing in line a lady asks me about my Key West to Alaska T-shirt.  We chat a bit and I go to get my drink.  Then while looking for a seat, I see she is alone and ask if I can sit at the table.  What a gal! Barbara Moore and her adult daughter are the only mother and daughter to have completed the Iditarod Dog Sled Race.  She keeps asking about my bike trip and I keep asking her about sled-dogs, training for long races, how many dogs, what do they eat and more.  I think she said she completed the Iditarod in 1980 and her daughter in 1987.  They now have about 30 sled-dogs which they have trained and they mostly “lease them out”.  In the summer, the off season, the dogs mostly eat dry commercial dog feed, but in winter they eat mostly salmon.  She and her crew use a band-saw to cut the heads & tails off salmon that is about 2 feet long, then they cut it into three pieces.  The heads and tails get fed to the dogs right away, the rest is frozen till needed in the winter.  When the salmon are running they buy about 200 pounds at a time, it takes a couple of hours for three people to “process” it.  They do this several times in order to freeze enough for the winter.  Too soon, it is time to go our separate ways.  I bid Barbara farewell and feel privileged to have met her.

Now, back on the bike, it is warm.  Betty calls to say, they have parked at the Harding Lake State Recreation Area.  She is on her way to the local Post Office, in Salcha, and will meet me there.  Ahhh, she can’t wait to tell me of their “sighting”.  She and Bren saw a moose and her two calves, which posed for pictures.  We are the only ones in this entire “primitive” campground.  “Primitive” is code for no hook-ups; no electric, no water, no sewer.  But they do have moose.

Chuck:

Scrap the well laid plans.  We like all the RVs in the Wal-Mart parking lot cannot tear ourselves away.  Not really, life’s little chores sometimes get in the way of fun and progress.  Today, Betty & I returned the extra spare tire mounted on an extra wheel, for a half-price refund.  Next we picked up the hybrid bike we had left in a bike shop for minor repairs.  We stopped by Rivers’ Edge RV Park to make reservations for our return in mid-July.  Also, we checked to see if they might have found a bike bar bag that has gone AWOL.  While in that area, we checked on the possibility of a sternwheeler paddleboat cruise, when we return to Fairbanks with Suz and Christie.   I got a haircut.  We did some searching for a birthday present for our daughter Suz, whose B’Day is between now and when they meet us in Anchorage.  And, there was the waiting for a lady who really wanted to buy one of our extra bikes for her 16 year old daughter.   A test ride revealed that my bike did not fit her 6 ft 3in little girl.  With Bren, we watched Chicago come from behind to win the Stanley Cup and got rid of all that old Alaskan beer. Anyway, tomorrow we will get serious.

When we started this saga from Key West to Alaska about five years ago we wanted to raise funds for the American Cancer Society because so many in our families and friends have been victims.  Recently, Tori Austin Kenney, a lady from the town Betty lived in as a child (Harmony, Minnesota) sent me a pair of “Pink for the Cure”  mohair socks.  This gesture immediately “clicked” with us; I have worn the pink socks on the Dalton Highway and plan to continue wearing them on the connector miles and the 1500 mile Alaska Highway.  Already, they help; as I pump up steep hills and glance down at the odometer to see my miserably low speed, I see pink socks.  Whamo, in a micro-second, thoughts flash:  I don’t do pink, oh yes, pump harder for the cure, maybe someone will live with a little less pain, keep pumping, maybe someone will live a few days or months longer, maybe a cure will be found.  You can have a pair of these very comfortable socks, check our home page for a link to Austin’s Mohair Socks. 

Please select an amount to pledge to the American Cancer Society, at just a penny a mile there are three options:

 Key West to the Arctic Circle (this is the whole trip)   6597 miles  = $65.97

Montana/Canada border to Arctic Circle 2013   2660 miles  = $26.60

Or the historic Alaska Highway (aka ALCAN)    1390 miles  = $13.90

         Consider pledging more than a penny a mile.  Those extra pennies every mile are incentive to push harder.  Thanks!

Betty:  On the first phases of the trip (Key West to the Montana/Canada border) we raised nearly $10,000 dollars.  We would like to keep the momentum going.  We’ve offered some options and hope all our friends and family will pick one.  If you let me know what you are pledging, I will keep a running total.  At the end of the trip you can send the money in to the American Cancer Society – or you can give it to me and I will send it in.  I will not put names with the amounts, but would really like to keep track of the amounts.  Some of you will see this message again as I am going to place it on facebook and will also send some by email.  Let me know your pledge via email.  Many Thanks to you all.

Chuck:

The big news: about mid-night Bren was the only one still up, he heard something outside.  He looked out one of the RV’s side windows to see a moose only a few feet away.  He grabbed a camera but by the time he got to the door he saw it trotting into the under growth.  We had seen moose droppings all around this campsite and at the site at River’s Edge, but, no moose.  Actually, we have not seen a moose since the 14^th of June when Betty spotted one near the Yukon River.  Last night was Bren’s first sighting.

Just north of our campground is a spring with public access.  Betty had read about it before, seems that both locals and visitors go there to get drinking water because it is so much better than the private wells.  As Bren was taking me to my start point, we stopped to fill our 5 gallon jug.  The terrain was pretty good for biking, even the long steep hills were doable with some effort.  As I entered Fairbanks on Alaska Highway #2, I was flying on a long downhill slope.  I coasted into a Wal-Mart parking lot where I was to meet the B-Team.  They had not yet arrived, I parked in the only shade I could find.  A young guy in a compact SUV was also in that bit of shade.  He was sitting on some homemade arrangement in the back of the vehicle with his feet hanging out over the back bumper and was playing a violin.  I asked if I could share the shade, he smiled and nodded yes, but kept on playing.  I sat on the curb and listened as I sipped on some water, quite pleasant.  For years we had heard about the RV dry camping at the Fairbanks Wal-Mart.  When I arrived at about 2 pm, there were 18 RVs and several car campers like my speechless friend with the violin.  Later, we counted 33 RVs and about a dozen car campers.  This weekend is very special here; it is Solstice Weekend.  The actual solstice was Friday but related events continue throughout the weekend.  Friday & Saturday nights were filled with parties, mid-night Fun-Runs, all night cruises and the like.  Sunday multiple family oriented events are scheduled in downtown Fairbanks.  We have avoided the parties, probably disappointed Bren, but he did get to see a “Mid-Night Moose”.  But really, which is better, an all-night session with the Grizzly Growlers at the Howling Dog Saloon or a Mid-Night Moose sighting?

“There are strange things done in the mid-night sun, by the men who moil for gold.                                 

Arctic trails have their secret tails that would make your blood run cold.                                                     

Northern lights have seen queer sights, but, the queerest they ever did see.                                                   

Was that night on the marge of Lake LaBarge, I cremated Sam McGee.”                                                             –                    

From The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert Service                            –

Chuck:

  Betty drove me back to the start of the Dalton Highway which we used about 10 days ago to bike north to the Arctic Circle.  Now, we will be biking south, about 2,000 miles to complete the portion we skipped over almost 3 weeks ago in order to bike the Dalton Highway before the mosquitoes were out in force.  That was a good move, the bugs are now in their glory.  They motivate me to always move faster than they can fly, which is about 5 mph.  This is dicey on some of the steeper hills.  Betty waited for me about every 10 miles, it was good to have a MFZ (mosquito free zone) for lunch.  I had hoped to do about 50 miles today since the roads are paved and I am on my road bike (thin tires, light weight, faster).  Miles 39 to 41 were all uphill, I was glad to see Betty waiting for me.  Maybe 50 miles tomorrow?

  A shower and we are off to the Howling Dog Saloon which is only a quarter mile from our Northern Moose RV Park here in Fox.  Oops, they have special “Solstice” entertainment and a cover charge.  We only want one beer, so we go across the road to the Silver Gulch Brewery.  Happy choice!

Chuck:

Still cleaning and dealing with maintenance errands, etc.  We moved the RV about 10 miles to Fox, Alaska which is on the route we will be biking.  The plan is to resume biking tomorrow at the south end of the Dalton Highway and continue south to the Alaska Highway (ALCAN).  We now know that Suz & Christy will arrive in Anchorage on 1 July.  In the meantime we will knock out some miles of connector roads between the Dalton Highway and the ALCAN.  The RV park is a bit tight but adequate, the owners are friendly and it is only a quarter mile from interesting  roadhouses.  We have drinks in the Silver Gulch Brewery.

Chuck:

  Bren and I washed the CRV and bikes.  Took the ailing hybrid bike to a bike shop near the University of Alaska campus.  Made arrangements to get a crack in the CRV windshield drilled to stop it from running.  Betty washed clothes, lots of clothes.

Chuck:

  A cup of coffee from the Frozen Foot and we are on our way south again.  The drive south on the Dalton Highway is much like the drive north on the Dalton Highway.  We stop at Yukon Crossing for fuel and push onward.  The distance from Deadhorse to Cold Foot is 240 miles then another 210 to the end of the Dalton Highway and 80 more on to Fairbanks.  Almost all of the 450 miles on the Dalton Highway is gravel or some other unimproved surface.   Upon arrival at the River’s Edge RV Park in Fairbanks, we move back into our home on the road.

Betty:  We saw a bear near Yukon River Crossing.  I took some pictures and will post later.

Chuck:

  This morning we took the Prudhoe Oilfield Tour.  Leader Branden, gave us an excellent overview of the local oilfield operations.  He told us a little about bird life, native Alaskan people, efforts to minimize impact on the environment and life in the frozen north.  At a stop along the Arctic Ocean, we waded into the 32 degree water.  Branden was very concerned about the possibility of polar bears or grizzly bears.  Polar bears are very adept at stalking across wide expanses of snow and striking with amazing speed.  He related two occasions when a polar bear had gotten within a couple hundred feet of the tour group.  Today he showed Betty the week old footprint of a grizzly, thanks a bunch Branden.  Many of the oilfield workers are on shifts of two weeks on and two weeks off.  Their company flies them back to either Fairbanks or Anchorage.  The magnitude of the operations and the equipment is amazing.  They drill to about 9,000 feet deep then they can go more than two miles horizontally.  The crude oil mix that is pushed out also contains natural gas and water.  Large separators, centrifuges, remove the water and gas which is pumped back into the well to assist with pressure to push up more crude mix and the crude oil is sent down the pipeline to Valdez.  New and more efficient processing methods are constantly replacing the old. 

Directly after the tour; Betty, Bren and I started on the long drive south.  Again, the tundra area was full of caribou and birds.   We saw more musk-ox (probably the same herd we saw yesterday), red fox, a wolf, lots of little, prairie dog like, critters and more.  As we entered the Brooks Range, we saw more mountain sheep.  We left the North Slope as we cross over Atigun Pass.  Also, we are leaving the cool, mosquito free zone (our Tour Guide had told us that hordes of mosquitoes would descend on Prudhoe in just a few days as the ice melts).  We had supper and a couple of Silver Gulch beers at the Frozen Foot Saloon, then another night in the Ice Palace (work crew dorm rooms).  The good news is that the washers and dryers used by the staff to wash towels and sheets are available during the evening for the use of residents, we needed that.