Day 7

We made it……………… We arrived in Fairbanks, Alaska at 4:15 this afternoon, one week after leaving the Georgia coast. We had a great day of travel after a restful night of sleep and our cooked to order breakfast at the 5th Avenue B&B in Dawson City, Yukon (thanks Tracy for hospitality). It was a strange feeling getting in bed at midnight with the sun still brightly shining in Dawson. I told Debbie this just wasn’t right, going to bed with the sun blaring through the blinds. Chicken Man this would drive you crazy, no darkness and the sun always up. Just think of all the playing and fun we could do here with the four grandkids (Trey, Parker, Allison and Ambry), lots of mountains to climb. Sharkbait, this place would get us in trouble, we couldn’t go bear hunting with a switch, too much of a chance in finding one. Curly and Squirt, they have reindeer sausage, very good, you would love it. We had lunch in Delta Junction, Alaska at the Buffalo Center Diner. We all tried the buffalo chili, and burgers, and enjoyed it very much. This is a must stop for anyone traveling the highway. There was a miracle today, Janice got her own snacks out of the snack box for the first time in 5 years, she had to lean over the seat all by herself. Debbie made the remark that her little girl was growing up. Of course as luck would have it she missed seeing a big moose while doing it, and as usual blamed it on Debbie. Rod and Mike are now old pros driving the Alaskan Highway, we know when to dodge the potholes, and bounce over the frost heaves. Tomorrow we have reservations for dinner at the Alaskan Salmon Bake for Salmon, Halibut and other Alaskan dishes cooked over an open wood fire and served outdoors. Afterwards we plan on driving to the Arctic Circle on the Dalton Highway in hopes of catching a sight of the Northern Lights and a chance to check out the pipeline. We have many things planned for the Fairbanks area for the next four days so check often to see what adventure is next.

Total Miles To Date: 5083

5th Avenue B&B - A+++

Buffalo Center Diner - B (for buffalo)

Springhill Suites Fairbanks - A

Andrea, thanks for pointing out that everyone has been getting "A's" in the reviews , you are right, they have all been fantastic. We are batting 100% as far as our selections have gone.

Matt and Beth, Yes that is a new 2007 Crimson Suburban that we picked up in Billings............. Roll Tide. Luke, its not affecting the inheritance... We love all of you, miss you and wish everyone were here.

Jamie, we all have our rain suits this time, no more rain forest mess-ups. Wish you were here too, just not your luggage.

Lindsey, tell Justin to feed the dogs.

More Pictures

As you can see, this is a fantastic drive. We would not have done anything different. The Alaska highway has many looks as you can see. There are muddy sections, loose gravel and pavement, but all will leave you breathless and waiting to see what is around the next turn.

Just Pictures

Here are some of the pictures we have taken of our RoadTrip Views and Wildlife.

Day 6

Woke up early since daylight here is at 4:00am!! It doesn’t get dark until like 2:00am and then it is not really dark. We had a great night’s sleep at the historic Air Force Lodge which was built in 1941. We met nice people there from Yulee, FL of all places!!! Go around the world and stay at a remote place and meet people from Yulee…go figure. Janice said we have to behave now since we met people from nearby. We left there and went down the road to Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake. There are literally thousands of signs from all kinds of places, mostly cities, from all over the world. It was very cool!! We need to go back home and steal a sign to send to Watson Lake. Janice said she would take care of that since she knows the sheriff personally. Then we headed down the road to Sally’s Café, just a little stop on the side of the road. We assumed Sally was a female. This really nice guy comes out and takes our order, gets us coffee, etc. There was a picture of a family on the shelf and we again assumed that was Sally. Come to find out…..he was Sally!! The truckers named him that so he said……..hmmmmmm….wonder how that happened. He also had a frilly apron that the truckers provided him to wear….hmmmmm…..don’t ask, don’t tell….decide for yourself. He did however, refuse to let us make his picture. Said something about it would appear on the internet!! We had great food, pancakes as big as the plate, sausage as long as your arm and met some really nice truckers. Oh, Sally’s “wife” made the bread which was delicious. It is amazing how many people have moved to this area for the peace and quiet and little traffic. Seems we came at a good time. Most everyone says if we waited another couple of weeks, it would be bumper to bumper. We arrived in Dawson City at about 6:30pm and checked into the 5th Avenue B&B. The owner, Tracy, was not here, left the keys to our room on the counter and told us to make ourselves at home. She was in the local play down the street. We met up with another “road people” couple that we met in Watson Lake. They did not have a reservation, but just signed themselves in. It is the honor system. We walked around the little town, found an amazing restaurant called the Aurora and had the most amazing gourmet dinner. The chef even came out and talked to us. The restaurant was beautiful. We then went back to the B&B and the girls had a nice 45 minute walk to walk off some of the calories! It was 10:00pm when they came back in and it was still daylight! It is very hard to go to bed when it is daylight!! Anyway, had a great night’s sleep, and a wonderful hot breakfast with Tracy, the “road people” from Arkansas and some nice people from Australia, they just all talk really funny, heh?! Well, we are off to catch the ferry and on to Fairbanks. More fun, fellowship and food awaits us down the road. Signing off……”The Four Amigos” AKA “Road People”!

Total Miles To Date: 4698

Air Force Lodge: A+
Sally's Cafe: A
Aurora Restaurant: A++
5th Avenue Bed and Breakfast: A++