Central Alaska

Morning at Fairbanks and Gold Dredge No. 8

Given yesterday's long day, we take it a little easier and have a chat with John during breakfast. We also take advantage of it for some shopping, filling up with fuel and calling home, since we are in the city and won't have the opportunity for a few days. We also obtain information on some details that we are missing on the planned route. Low mists hint at good weather to come.

We take the Steese Hwy again, where there is an information point on the pipeline, we continue on the Old Steese Hwy where you can see from the outside the Gold Dredge No. 8, a gigantic floating dredge that was used to sift the gold.

North Pole, Eielson and the strategic frontier

Taking us immediately east on Chena Hot Springs Rd, after about ten mi. we descend south into a beautiful rural landscape to reach the Richardson Hwy. A few miles from there we are at North Pole. It is the American counterpart of Rovaniemi, the Santa Claus country, with the usual reproduction of Christmas atmospheres. There is no shortage of reindeer waiting for the time to leave to bring gifts. Santa Claus is temporarily absent but the times when he receives children and others who wish to take a photo with him are well marked.

We pass the Eielson Air Force Base, where there is a coming and going of military aircraft on exercise. It should not be forgotten that until twenty years ago Alaska also represented another type of border, the strategic one with the Soviet Union. The Bering Sea forms a strait just 80 km off the Alaskan coast. Precisely for this reason there are still many military bases, especially around the two largest cities.

Along the Richardson Highway and the Tanana River

Continue along the Richardson Hwy on a splendid sunny day. 10 mi. before Delta Jct you can see the pipeline (supported by silver cables suspended above the river rapids) and the road running parallel above the Tanana River. Once we reach the other side we put some slices of smoked salmon expertly purchased in Fairbanks that morning on top of the bread and we have a great picnic.

As a digestive, a short walk to see the river that descends, well loaded with melting water from the glaciers, near an old wagon weighing station with an adjoining village. Everything is very well kept.

Continuing further, the Tanana River becomes parallel to the Hwy and flows downwards, occupying a very wide riverbed but descending impetuously in a series of relatively narrow streams. The landscape is dotted with forests of deciduous trees alternating with black firs.

The dense undergrowth makes us reflect on the difficulties encountered by the pioneers in exploring these areas, even if in reality they preferred river routes, both in summer and winter. However, the high mortality rate among those who challenged these hostile lands should not be forgotten. In this regard, on the map you can see villages that are literally "in the middle of nothing", not served by roads and apparently in a meaningless position. A more careful observation highlights how they arise on the banks of a river (generally the Yukon) and live according to it. It represents a communication route, a source of salmon supply, log floating and in general the simple economy of these villages gravitates around the river routes. Many of these villages were founded by natives.

In recent years almost all of them have equipped themselves with a landing strip for aircraft. We also learn how Fred Meyer, the ubiquitous supermarket chain, is also very active in the bush (i.e. the almost uninhabited hinterland). Residents transmit orders, which are loaded onto small planes and flown from Fairbanks to virtually any destination with a runway.

Delta Junction and the end of the Alaska Highway

Delta Jct. marks the crossing point between the Richardson and the Alaska Hwy (ALCAN), marking the terminal point of the latter. This is announced a concrete column with the flags of the USA, Canada, Alaska and Yukon. It begins in Canada more than two thousand km to the south-east and represents the only land connection to Alaska. We had already followed it in the opposite direction until it began in 2005, arriving at Dawson Creek. With the sight of this stone the reasons of interest of the village also end.

Going south we see a moose grazing, so calm that it looks like a horse parked on the side of the road. When we arrive he moves lazily past the trees. Subsequently, a small child tries to cross the road, but we manage to avoid a collision thanks to the good visibility.

Isabel Pass and Alaska Range

On the Isabel Pass we also get a shower of water which serves to remove the dust accumulated on the car. In the 1930s, bison were introduced into the area to encourage hunting, thanks to the fertile pastures, but we cannot see any. 20 mi. south of Delta Jct you can see the Donnelly Dome, beyond it they appear the three majestic giants of the Alaska Range, as we end up crossing the chain with the Trans-Alaska Pipeline company always at our side.

Arrival at Copper Centre

We continue south, ignoring the detour on the Denali Hwy, which continues west, to reach the Wrangell Mountain Viewpoint and Gakona Jct, where the Tok Cut-off Hwy joins. We cross Glenallen where we will return the day after tomorrow to take the Glenn Hwy which will take us to Anchorage. We continue towards Copper Center and among an infinite series of photo stops we manage to reach the hotel that will host us this evening.

It is perhaps the only hotel worthy of the name, almost so classy that it seems like a cathedral in the desert. Dinner is instead at a small restaurant in Copper Center where time seems to have stopped, in what was the homestead of pioneers returning from the Klondike with mixed fortunes behind them. They settled there towards the end of the 19th century and created the small town along the emerald Tonsina River.

Here we taste the best dish of the whole trip. If it is true that both salmon and halibut are exceptional, it is also true that the method of cooking them is usually very simple. Tonight, however, the chef prepares a slice of halibut immersed in a cream cheese sauce whose taste alone would be enough to induce us to pitch our tents here for a while. Last walk with photos towards the Tonsina as it rushes down in front of the sunset which dyes the colors with warm hues and we return to the hotel, since tomorrow the alarm rings early.

At the internet station we meet the Australian couple we had together on the Arctic weekend. Our room looks towards the high peaks of Wrangell-St. Park. Elias which rise from 4000 to 5000 m, but today is not the day of the year when they open up. Even though it is clear all around we can see it only the lower half. The temptation to see something more leads us to take another two steps on the hotel's viewpoint to portray some images that are indelibly fixed in our minds, all of which culminates a day that has reserved many positive surprises.