The Far North - Fairbanks

Big Horn sheep, from behind!

Over the years I’ve taken lots of photos of rumps; animals arses, that is. Moose, elk, coyotes all happily grazing or standing beside the road as cars and trucks whiz by, until I start to slow down for a shot, and woof, they turn tail and run...

So, we headed into the City of Fairbanks as our journey continued. At almost 65° latitude, this is the most northerly place I’ve ever driven (the Arctic Circle is 66° 33’). With a population of 32,000 it’s pretty small but the locals sure are friendly. A woman that served us in a café gave us her home e-mail address so that we could send her some photos, and a senior approached to ask for advice: “Do you have any experience with banks?”. His bank had persuaded him to take on several credit cards he didn’t use, and were demanding fees, “But it’s good to have several cards, isn’t it?” he said. We manage just fine with one, I told him.

Cool Camel

Many stores in Fairbanks sell qiviut, wool from the under hair of the muskox, eight times warmer than wool it’s among the world’s most expensive fibres – we found a fist-sized ball on sale for $60 (£40). We didn’t bite although it would have been useful in the Ice Museum, an old theatre that had been converted to a giant refrigerator. Here were life-size ice carvings of Inuit, sled dogs, log cabins and igloos, polar bears and penguins. And, there are ample, if uncomfortable, opportunities for selfies– creatures to hug, holes to put your head through, and snowmobiles to sit on… …briefly, but, of course, it was the camel that drew my eye.

Food at the State Fair

But it was August and we weren’t dressed for frost so we headed to the State Fair. Like the summer Exhibitions in Canadian cities, the State Fair is a mixture of the local and the exotic; fairground rides (the midway), agricultural show, marketplace, live entertainment and unhealthy food. Last year’s Calgary Stampede boasted donut burgers, fried Coke and Pizza with the extra crunch of scorpions, but here the staples of Alaska are featured… …crab cakes and fried halibut – delish!

Giant vegetables a-plenty, and cakes ornamented to put your grandma to shame, but our limited truck’s living space could accommodate neither, and frankly we were missing the mountains... So we headed south towards the high spot of North America, Mt McKinley, or Denali (native for The High One) as it’s known here. The mountain sits in its park, an area larger than Massachusetts, and the whole thing was shrouded in cloud as we pulled into the RV campsite on its edge. I’d had to drive 500 yards along highway 8, the dirt road ‘Denali Highway’ specifically forbidden by our RV agreement. 

It was with pangs of guilt, no really, that I drove slowly, parked, and pulled out the steaks for supper!

Next week we visit Anchorage. Italicized text in the body denotes a link, for more info.