FRIDAY |
ALASKAN STOP #8Olnes Pond CampgroundOUTSIDE OF FAIRBANKS, AK |
We hadn't spoken to Winston and VerJean in nearly three days since we left Valdez, so imagine our surprise to learn they were just 17 miles up the road from us last night. We stopped in to visit their campsite after we got on the road this morning, we leave a little earlier than they do each day, to make plans for tonight's stop.
They wanted to check out the Olnes Pond Campground in the Lower Chatanika State Recreation Area just north of Fairbanks, so we planned to meetup there later in the day.
I mentioned we had a stop to make in Fairbanks at the Walmart to pick up some prescriptions and a few groceries. When they asked which one and I replied, "There's only one, and it's on the Johansen Expressway on the north side of town".
BOB, this photo is just for you!
But before we make it all the way to Fairbanks we have a couple of stops to make. The first is a unique souvenir store in the town of Slacha called "The Knotty Shop".
The second stop is another unique souvenir store in the town of North Pole, that's right, North Pole, AK and it's called "The Santa Claus House". Where else would it be located?
SOUVENIR STORE STOPS
This one is made of burl wood and is harder to swat.
Rudolph was mysteriously not here, he must be on vacation in The Florida Keys.
Once we made it to the Walmart in Fairbanks and our necessities were taken care of we were back on the road. Just a few miles outside of town we stopped in a pullout to check out a section of the 4-foot round, 800 mile long Alaska Pipeline.
This display shows the route of the Alaska Pipeline from Prudhoe Bay down to Valdez.
Imagine all that oil flowing directly over our heads, I hope it doesn't spring a leak!
Looking south towards it's final destination in Valdez, still nearly 400 miles away.
Just another 20 miles away we reached our campsite for the night. The pond was nice to look at, but the locals have an ATV trail system that winds it's way in and out of the campground. We heard them out riding until 11:00PM and then around 2:30AM we heard them again, but this time I think they were on the road outside of the campground, maybe heading out to do a little hunting?
Winston and VerJean were on the campsite just below us in this photo.
Campsite #3 for us and Campsite #2 for them.
OUR ALASKAN CHALLENGE: |
| COMPLETED | PROGRESS BAR |
STILL TO GO |
| 13 | 87 |
|---|
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Until next time
