THE WEATHER: We’re socked in with clouds and rain! From horizon to horizon there are only clouds. Further west the skies brightened and the rain stopped but we are still covered over with thick cloud cover.
THE DISTANCE: We finally left Fairbanks around 1:00 pm and arrived in Tatlanika RV Park (this is for you Dan) at 3:30. We are only 39 miles north of Denali National Park.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL THE FATHER’S…. ESPECIALLY MINE!!!
Due to the rain, we took our time getting out of the campground. Gary was treated to his traditional strawberries & cream breakfast along with a ham & cheese omelet. After receiving the calls from Kim & Kelsey and making the call to Dad, we got on our way westward. We drove about 100 miles in mostly rain when we came upon a campground on the side of the road that we could tell was in immaculate condition. We pulled in to find a quaint little gift shop that is set up like a museum. There are interesting Indian artifacts and jewelry plus a ton of animal mounts including a polar bear!! Yeah, did you know that the polar bear is one of Alaska’s animals?? I didn’t! Our site sits on the Nenana River, and even though it looks like it should be great fishing, it isn’t. So we will merely appreciate its beauty from the view out our window.
Even though we are still a ways from Denali we have decided to make this home for the next few days. Gary will do some maintenance on the RV (after our teeth rattling ride to the Arctic Circle) and I’ll do some cleaning & laundry. Gary has even pulled out the awning and set up our folding chairs. This is a perfect place to celebrate Father’s Day, grill the steak that’s been marinating and finish that bottle of wine.
If I am able to post some pictures (I haven’t been able to post yesterday’s pictures yet) you will see a guy who worked at the Fairbanks campground who could be Alex’s twin(my nephew from Roanoke, VA)! He let me take a picture of him, so Alex, if you ever need another brother Austin said he would be willing!
So, it helps if I have both the city AND the RV park, but if you only know one, the city is most important. That is the only way I can get another "pin" on the map.
ReplyDeleteI found your RV park is located in Clear, AK, fyi...
Also, once you leave there and continue your journey, your next stop might be in Wasilla, AK, hometown of Sarah Palin. When you get there, let us know if you can see Russia from your porch!!
I added some links about the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) for your followers. You probably won't see them much in the Summer, as they are most often seen around the Equinoxes (March & September).
ReplyDeleteThey are caused by "coronal mass ejections" from the sun (ie. sunspots), which is about to begin it's 11 year cycle going into the active stage and peaking around the end of 2012.
Hmmm, 2012 eh???
"grill the steak that’s been marinating"
ReplyDeleteMmmmmmmmm . . .
So will you guys see the Alaskan coastline? I would love to see some pics of that!
ReplyDeleteTim