Tok to Fairbanks to Denali

On Monday June 2, we woke up to Cold, Windy and Cloudy temps only in the mid 40's. We had breakfast but were not moving very fast. I went to the laundry to do one last load and finish my blogging. Bob went to the Post Office and picked up the two packages we were expecting. Over lunch we talked about spending another night in Tok. It was so cold and threatening rain we couldn't even go out for a decent walk. Tomorrow looked to be quite cold also. We decided to move on to Fairbanks. We had plenty of heat in the cab. It rained most of the way. The scenery wasn't anything special so we didn't miss much due to the weather. We found a Fred Meyer's (kind of like Walmart) and bought some needed groceries. Back in the camper I made a nice chicken dinner. We planned on spending the night in "Fred Meyer's" parking lot. After supper it was still early so we headed off to find a tire store. On the east side of town, in a more industrial section we found Alyeska Tire. We decided to stay in their parking lot and be there when they opened at 8 AM. The next morning I'd set the alarm for 7:10 am. We got up, had breakfast and Bob went into the tire store. He says his "luck" didn't change, three or four phone calls later and we still had nothing. Next we tried the Chevy dealership, they really didn't want to bother with us, "no tires our size". We tried another dealer, Alyeska had called them earlier, and they sent us down the road to talk to the Goodyear dealer. The Goodyear dealer thought they had one in Anchorage. NO, wrong style, not 10 ply. We talked for a while and suddenly he had a revelation. He had 2 used tires the exact one's we were looking for! He brought them out. Your choice he said. $50. We couldn't believe it! The tread was pretty good on both tires. It was only to be our spare. We picked one. They swapped our spare onto the good rim and put our new spare on the steel rim. We were finally set for the grand total of $86! A new tire was going to cost $350-400 Installed. In the process a new little problem did emerge. Our remote control for the electric jacks on our camper quit. We had to remove the camper to get the spare back under the truck. Bob had to hand crank the legs down. A bit of a drag and much more time consuming but we are finally set. After getting the camper back in place we had lunch and made plans for the afternoon. First, we went to Pioneer Park, There was no entry fee and it was interesting, and a good place to stretch our legs. Many of the early 1900 homes had been moved to this park. There was a small train museum and a train ride around the park. Also, there were many early steam shovels, tractors, etc; that were used in the early gold mining days. Many young families were there with a playground, mini-golf and a carousel. I learned how the pioneers kept their Cache of food safe from bears. Next we went to the Cultural and Visitor's Center. A US Parks rep gave us lots of info and explained how we needed to make camping and bus sightseeing reservations for Denali. Good to know! Now to relax. We headed to Fox, (a tiny village on the outskirts NE of Fairbanks). On the way we stopped at the access point to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. You could walk right out to it. Neat for Bob as Texas Eastern Corp. had been involved in the project. (His former employer!)

On to Fox and the Silver Gulch Brewery. Some very good Beers and Appetizers as well. (Seafood Hushpuppies and crispy fries!) Then onto Chena State Forest and the Rosechip Campground. Around 30 miles east of Fairbanks. We had a very nice and quiet night there. Almost no one else, just the host and two other campers. We planned on staying in the Fairbanks area another day but when we woke up on June 4th the weather was so beautiful, with a bright blue sky, we decided to head to Denali and spend 4 nights instead of 3 there. After breakfast I set up a Beef Stew in the Crock Pot (we would have a great meal shortly after we arrived.) I did this while Bob was out chatting with a friendly man from Michigan with a lovely story. On our way from Chena River to Fairbanks we could see white mountains far off in the distance and I thought I could see McKinley but there were plenty of clouds too. I wasn't sure. (After arriving there I read that it is visible from both Fairbanks and Anchorage in clear conditions.) Once we got south of Fairbanks we stopped to top off the gas tank I found some Silver Gulch Fairbanks Lagers, and Bob was out of Ultra's so we stocked up. Travel was very good until we were about 25 miles away from Denali (150 miles total for the day). The next 15 or so miles were being completely rebuilt. Some sections were farther along than others so the total slow down wasn't too bad. It probably added 30 to 45 minutes to the trip. We checked into the park around 4 to 4:30 pm. Our reservations and bus passes were already at the main desk! (We called to make them about 1 to 2 hours prior to arrival!) There are 3 loops with campsites. First come first served to choose the exact site you want. We drove all 3 loops to find the perfect spot. Next we settled in for a comfortable stay.