Friday, June 11, 2010

Gateway to the Interior

Sunny and cool as we mosey down Chena Hot Springs Rd. A moose was grazing in a pond, but we didn’t see him in time to stop. We really enjoyed this area and would definitely come back again. Passing stands of birch and wild roses we crossed the Little Chena River. The road starts to climb and becomes a four lane highway traveling up and down hills, through woodlands, and rural areas. We see cows grazing in a pasture which we haven’t seen in a long time. The road ends at the junction of Steese Highway. We turned south and headed towards Fairbanks.

The scenery alone makes this a worth while drive. We are only 2 miles out of Fairbanks and we spotted Wal-Mart ahead of us…. Time to grocery shop. Alaska’s second largest city, Fairbanks is the heart of Interior Alaska. Born out of the gold rush, today historic log cabins mix with award-winning architecture. Visitors are just as likely to see a dog sled cross the road as be passed by an elegant limousine. Fairbanks is the ‘Gateway’ to Alaska’s Interior and extensive Arctic.

About 15 minutes up the road we arrived at River’s Edge Resort. It’s a nice place and after a couple days in the woods dry camping we need some basics…like showers! We settled in and then went to the office to find the location for our tour on Sunday. We signed up for the Discovery boat tour tomorrow and were lucky to get the last seats on the 8am departure. We are seeing a lot more tourists in the parks and at activities now.

Back at camp Ken did the laundry and I worked on the blog. Today was beautiful and we sat outside watching a caravan of 25 Class A’s arrive, its fun to watch them try and maneuver the big rigs into small spaces -- no thanks!

It was a really nice day.

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