July 31

Hello from Copper Center, AK were we have Daisy settled at the Klutina River Campground. The river has a very fast current! Here's a recap of our day... Stopped at North Pole, AK and I enjoyed some shopping at Santa Claus House and then someone took this picture!!! And then we saw a cow moose along the road.
This is Donnelly Dome which for years has been used to predict the weather. Once snow appears at the top, the folks in Delta Junction know they can expect their first snow within 2 weeks.
A beautiful site along the Richardson Highway

Mark and the Alaska Pipeline - 800 miles from Valdez to Prudhoe Bay. He's standing on the beam that allows the pipe to move in an earthquake up to 30' wide. We followed the pipeline along the Richardson Highway today. This was all built in 2 years with the first oil flowing in 1977 at 5 mph.

Another scenic view

Rainbow Ridge was given this name because of the varicolored talus slopes

Summit of Isabel Pass

Tomorrow we are off to Valdez and planning a 6-7 hour glacier/wildlife cruise aboard the LuLuBelle

July 30

We left Fairbanks this morning with lots of smoke in the air (over 1 million acres are currently burning). We drove 60 miles east and arrived at the end of the road at the Chena Hot Springs Resort.After getting Daisy settled at the RV campground in the woods, we walked around this wilderness resort that offers so many family-oriented activities. We ate lunch at the lodge (my salad was very good with the greens grown right at the greenhouse next door). And then we signed up for an "afternoon of FUN"!

Starting with a one-hour (4-mile) horseback ride. I'm on "Rusty" and Mark is riding "Kodiak". There were six in our group, plus our guide who looked like Jessica Simpson!The Aurora Ice Museum - always 20 degrees and a husband/wife team who are world-famous ice sculptures did the carving of all the wonderful items inside
Along with 4 bedrooms, a bar, fireplace (actually lit), knights josting, winding staircase, the Coca Cola Polar Bear, was this chess set (everything totally carved from ice). They even have a wedding chapel and average 60 weddings per year (they are "quick" weddings because of the cold!)
A decorated Christmas tree in one of the bedrooms with lights and large ornaments (all ice)
At the bar, I had an "appletini" and drank from my ice glass which became a souvenir and is now in Daisy's freezer. Because it was rather dark inside, several of our pictures didn't turn out - bummer! But this tour was a real treat and if you're ever in this area, don't miss this attraction!

We also had a tour of the geo-thermal system used to provide them all their electricity. And we saw the large greenhouses where they grow their veggies (for the restaurant and employees) using the hot water and electricity provided by the geo-thermal system.

This snow machine takes guests to the top of the mountain to view the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights in the winter time. Many Japanese fly into Fairbanks and take a bus to this resort - they come for the Hot Springs and Northern Lights

And then, we so enjoyed the Hot Springs for soothing, relaxing rejuvenation.....ahhhh, it was wonderful with waterfalls and all.

We had a picnic outside Daisy and while I was cleaning up, Mark took off with the camera and came across a Mama Moose and her calf. What a fun, interesting day here at The Chena Hot Springs Resort!!!!

July 29

We stayed over another day in Fairbanks for "maintenance" issues. Mark got a haircut and Daisy got an oil change and good washing. Toad needed a good cleaning inside and straightening out of all our stuff ! I browsed around Barnes & Noble (only 2 in all of Alaska) and then did some other errands. Beautiful evening and enjoyed a walk around the park (always fun to check out all the RV's and where they come from). We were entertained to a Model T parade thru the park, too. Tomorrow we are off to The Chena Hot Springs Resort and Aurora Ice Museum (60 miles east of Fairbanks)

July 28

We enjoyed our 3 1/2 hour riverboat tour today taking us down the Chena River on the Discovery III. It was a beautiful day and here are some of the sites we saw along the river...Float plane taking offWe passed the Trail Breaker Kennel owned and operated by Susan Butcher (4-time Iditarod champion) and her husband, Dave Monson (Susan won the Iditarod race 4 years). Dave is on the engineless ATV and we enjoyed the dogs taking him for a ride! The story of Susan and her great accomplishments have made her an Alaskan legend. She died of leukemia at age 51 almost 3 years ago.Some reindeer out grazing along the riverThe Athabascan Indian reservation - we enjoyed 3 different programs explaining their clothing, hunting for animals and types of housing Angela explaining the various animal peltsBack of beautiful woman's coat depicts which tribe and where they come from Waiting to board the boat for trip up the river

After the Riverboat cruise, we went to Pioneer Park and stepped inside the freezer (-40) - burrrrr....we weren't in there too long, but was an experience to see what these Alaskans deal with many days in the wintertime.


Had a very good dinner at The Alaskan Grill (has become a favorite of ours here in Fairbanks)

July 27

We left Healy this morning and stopped along the way in Nenana, a neat little town that was very smoky from nearby forest fires.Beautiful flowers at a shop in downtown NenanaSt. Mark's Episcopal Church, built in 1905 and a Nenana landmark.

Notice the smoky haze in background.

This tripod for the Nenana Ice Classic is used annually every February when they have the Tripod Raising Festival that culminates at break-up time in April or May. Locals are in competition to see when the ice will thaw on the river and the tripod will dislodge. This contest has been a spring highlight since 1917.

Arrived in Fairbanks this afternoon and walked to the Alaska Bowl Company and saw these young men in action making the bowls! Shopped for a few groceries at Fred Meyer, grilled out steaks and then walked to The Alaskan Grill for dessert (warm cinnamon bread pudding w/caramel suace and grape-nut ice cream for me and chocolate mousse cake w/fresh raspberries for Mark) - both DELISH!!!

July 25-26

Tonight we went to 7:00 Mass in Healy Holy Mary of Guadalupe Church
After Mass we had a nice visit with Peggy (from Mark's hometown) - 3 weeks ago when we were here, we met Peggy's sister, Patty and husband, Mark. Peggy and Mark's sister, Sharon went to school together!

Sunday morning, we left on the 6:30 bus for the 8-hour Tundra Wilderness Tour thru Denali National Park (62 miles each way) This is just one of many incredible views we enjoyed all day long...Our bus driver and narrator, Joe did an outstanding job of pointing out wildlife (we saw a Mama grizzly bear and 2 cubs, bull moose, red fox, caribou, dall sheep, golden eagles, and several other birds, including the Alaska state bird - willow ptarmigan)Mark and a pair of very heavy moose antlersTah Dah....Mt. McKinley. There was some cloud cover, but at different times,
we were able to see each peak very clearly - wow! So impressive!!!
Here we are in front of Mt. McKinley in Denali National Park Beautiful drive from Talkeetna to Healy on Saturday with lots of fireweed along the roadside

We stopped at this beautiful lodge hoping to see Mt. McKinley, but too much cloud cover...

July 24

We drove to Wasilla (Sarah Palin's hometown) from Palmer this morning and toured the headquarters for the Iditarod (dog sled race held each March) and watched a movie - very interesting!Entrance to the Iditarod headquartersSome of the huskies waiting outside the headquarters building to give rides on a dogsled (actually a makeshift wagon) Arrived in Talkeetna - neat little town and this was the sign to greet us as we walked to the "historic" part!One of the cute shops in downtown Talkeetna
Many tour buses bring tourists here

Enjoyed our time here - very quaint little town and of course, ate well....lunch at "Mountain High Pizza"; drinks and appetizer at "The Twisted Creek" and then chowder and dessert at "The Wildflower Cafe" - everything was wonderful!!!

July 23

Rained all night and still raining this morning as we leave Seward. This cute little coffee "shop" was a good stopping point as we headed out of town! As I said a few days ago, these tiny little spots are everywhere and such cute names - "Lindsay's Latte," "Morning Rush," "Peak-a-Brew-Espresso," "Cup on the Run", etc., etc. "The Coffee Cup"

Lots of construction and muddy, rough roads like this
After we got Daisy settled at "The Homestead" in Palmer, we had a delicious lunch at "The Noisy Goose" and then went to the visitor center - more pretty flowers! Palmer is home to the Alaska State Fair which runs from August 27-September 7. Nice little town with cute shops! Visited a musk ox farm in rural Palmer - very interesting as it is the only one of its kind that raises domestic musk ox in the world.

Mark petting his new buddy! The soft under-wool of the musk ox, "qiviut" is harvested once a year and delivered to Oomingmak, an Alaskan native knitter's co-op where they make beautiful scarves in various patterns.

A pretty farm in rural Palmer

A few days ago when we were in Cooper Landing, I met a nice young lady (Felicia) who said she was from Pennsylvania and then "I'm an Eskimo". She and her mother were visiting Alaska to learn more about their heritage!

Another cute name of shop.... "The Moose is Loose"

July 22

Another rainy, windy, chilly day....we left Cooper Landing and drove 43 miles to Seward. Our campground is on Resurrection Bay - very pretty (we think)? Lots of fog, so can't really see the mountains, but have seen the pictures of what's supposed to be out there? Our view this morning when we left our RV park in Cooper Landing - overlooking the Kenai River
This was taken July 6th when we went white water rafting on the Nenana River outside Denali National Park. Mark and I are up front on left side. What fun!
That evening, when Ms. Moose came walking around Daisy, our friend , Heather got this picture. I'm inside Daisy taking picture (in pink)!

Enjoyed our day in Seward despite the weather. Had good lunch at Nellie's Roadhouse and
then I shopped and Mark walked back to Daisy. In the evening we went for a little ride around Seward and stopped at a bakery for some treats!!! It's still raining....