Day 13 - Delta Junction, AK to Healy, AK

Well today was a pretty simple ride. From Delta Junction to Fairbanks is only about 100 miles. Then on to Healy only 100 more. Just before Fairbanks is North Pole, Alaska. I've figured out Santa and the reindeer do it. There's and air force base right there. Either they get escorted or if Santa is really busy he may be able to subcontract some of the deliveries out to the USAF!

This is the first time we get onto divided highway again. Between the air force base and Fairbanks must get a lot of traffic.

The weather started out as one of our best days yet. We seem to be past the overcast and cloudy days for a while. In Fairbanks is it in the low seventies. I'm surprised to see that there are so many birch trees here. Fairbanks is a pretty nice place in the summer.

We stopped in at a couple auto parts stores to pick up a quart of oil. Then went to the Prospector to see the big brother of the store we found in Valdez. The final stop in Fairbanks was this Salmon-Bake thing we had heard about. We went to Pioneer Park and found what people had been talking about. It is a restaurant not an event. They also serve only from 5-9PM. It is an all you can eat place serving Halibut, Salmon, salads, desserts, etc. Since we're there at about noon we just investigated and then moved on.

As we went to Healy we started to hit a light rain. Only 5-10 miles to go... what should we do. We decide to keep on going without rain gear since it is looking clear up ahead. This works out well. The White Moose Lodge where we are staying has about 8 rooms. Clean and nice and remote.

We rode into Denali to sign up for a bus tour. Outside Denali is a bit of a zoo. Too many people. We look over the tours offered and decide that the most we can handle is about 6 hours on a bus. We get the tickets and we're set for tomorrow.

We have a little dinner in the middle of the tourist jungle, then head to the lodge for peace and quiet. It is REALLY nice to stay away from the park. We shutdown about 7PM. TV here consists of three channels. One is NBC(?), PBS, and one is too fuzzy to tell what it is! Not sure what Don and Walt do.... I read a little, watch enough TV to figure the Michael Jackson verdict is in, and go to bed.