Author: Wandering Dawgs

Happily married 55 years, retired baby boomer, mother of 2, grandmother of 4, traveler, Georgia Bulldog fan, Air Force Brat, avid reader, amateur photographer, gardener, ovarian cancer survivor, blogger. Every day is a gift!

Day 46: Riverboat Cruise on the Chena River

Posted in Alaska, Tourist AttractionsTagged , , , , , 3 Comments

Day 46: Sunday, June 30, 2013

What better way to spend a beautiful, warm,  sunny Sunday afternoon than to take a tour on the Riverboat Discovery.

We took a tour down the Chena River on the Riverboat Discovery
We watched bush pilot take off from the water
Float Plane in Alaska
The paddle

Our first stop was at the kennels of late Iditarod Champion, Susan Butcher, for a sled dog demonstration. Susan won the Iditarod sled race four times and passed away from leukemia in 2006.

Susan Butcher’s Trail Breaker Kennels
The puppies are learning to go over the logs
The dogs are anxious to run
And they’re off!
Coming back from their run

The boat docked at an Athabascan Indian Village where two native tour guides showed us what life was like in the village.

Reindeer came out to greet us as we approached the village
We spent some time at an Athabascan Indian Village
Our tour guides in the village were great. Imagine modeling that fur in 80 degree weather!
Up close with the reindeer
Fur Pelts
One of the Alaskan Husky sled dogs
Mush!
Henry with a Grizzly Bear skin
The original Riverboat Discovery
The original Riverboat Discovery

The same family has been operating cruises on the river for many years. We passed by the original Riverboat.

Ted and Ruth Ann, our friends from Michigan who we were with in Haines, arrived at our RV Park yesterday. They left Haines after we did and traveled a different route to get here. It was good to visit with them again this morning.

 

Day 45: A visit with Santa Claus

Posted in Alaska, Restaurants, Tourist AttractionsTagged , , , 2 Comments

Day 45: Saturday, June 29, 2013

My reward for cleaning all the dirt and dust from the camper was to go see Santa Claus and North Pole, Alaska.

Reindeer at the Santa Claus House
Beth at the Santa Claus House
Santa Claus House, North Pole, Alaska
Beth with Santa
Feeding the reindeer
Santa greets you outside the Santa Claus House
Welcome to North Pole
The North Pole
Country Cafe, our second Diners, Drive Ins and Dives stop
Country Cafe, our second Diners, Drive Ins and Dives stop

Lunch at another restaurant from Diners, Dive Ins and Dives was next. Henry had a Bulgogi sandwich at the Country Cafe. It was like a Korean version of a Philly Cheese Steak.

Day 44: Taking care of business

Posted in Alaska, RestaurantsTagged , ,

Day 44: Friday, June 28, 2013

Today was a much needed shopping and work day for both of us. With a list that filled up an entire page in my notebook, we set out to find a new latch for the screen door, a new door handle for the bathroom door, and groceries. Two RV supply stores and a home improvement store later, we had the latch and door handle. A Walmart in Fairbanks had everything else we needed.

After unloading the truck back at the RV park, Henry took the truck to get the oil changed, a front end alignment, and have the ABS system checked out. It started beeping during our trip across the Top of the Road Highway and has been beeping off and on ever since. I did laundry.

Our reward for all our hard work? A visit to one of the restaurants featured in a Christmas special on Food Network’s Diners, Drive Ins and Dives. I studied the descriptions of all six restaurants Guy Fieri visited and we decided to try the Elf’s Den which is located in North Pole. The menu sounded perfect – pizza, pasta and calzones are their specialty.

Guy Fieri’s poster greets you as you enter the restaurant
Our first stop on our Diners, Drive Ins and Dives tour was a hit – a huge Elf’s Special Calzone.
Elf’s Special Calzone

The parking lot is on the side of the building and we entered through the lounge area. We thought the restaurant must fit into the Dives category when we stepped down into a dark pool room. We were pleasantly surprised to find a very nice dining room with table cloths and the waitresses in black and white uniforms. We discovered the restaurant entrance when we left.

We had decided to split the Elf’s Special Calzone. Before we ordered, Henry asked the waitress what Guy Fieri had tried. That was what he chose so we knew it must be good. And it was delicious. And huge, too. We ate what we could and took the rest home.

Day 43: Going to North Pole

Posted in Alaska, RV ParksTagged , , , , 2 Comments

Day 43: Thursday, June 27, 2013. Tok, Alaska to North Pole, Alaska. Riverview RV Park Site 123. 200 miles traveled.

Despite the smoke from forest fires covering the road for much of the day, it was a good driving day on paved, mostly flat roads all day.

We saw smoke from forest fires most of the day
Spectacular views when the smoke cleared
Fireweed
One of the bridges we crossed
We went shopping for Reindeer Sausage

We had our first view of the Alaska Pipeline at the Tanana River.

Our first view of the Alaska Pipeline
Henry and Blondie at the Alaska Pipeline

A nice rest area along the shore of Birch Lake was a perfect place to stop for lunch.

Yellow Pond Lily at Birch Lake
Wild Iris on the shore of Birch Lake
Yellow Pond Lilies on Birch Lake

Twenty-six miles south of Fairbanks the highway passes through Eielson Air Force Base. Signs posted announce no stopping and no photography. Seeing the runway beside the highway took me back to my childhood growing up as an Air Force brat.

I apologize for three posts at once. I am almost up to date!

Day 42: Back on Paved Roads

Posted in Alaska, RV ParksTagged

Day 42: Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Chicken, Alaska to Tok, Alaska. Tok RV Village, Site 709. 78 miles traveled.

A few more images of Chicken before we continue on our journey.

There is a Chickenstock Music Festival coming up in Chicken
There’s even a taxi in Chicken
Downtown Chicken
The signposts show other towns named after chickens. Who knew there were so many?
We passed through areas of burned trees from forest fires
We saw evidence of forest fires

Our journey continued on the Taylor highway. After a few miles we finally were back on pavement! We hit a few more spots with gravel before we turned back onto the Alaska Highway to Tok. In many places we could see evidence of forest fires.

After arriving in Tok we spent over an hour giving the truck and RV a much needed wash before setting up in our campsite. We were so happy to have grass and trees between the campsites!