Day Four – We Found Fairbanks!

Someone once told me all roads (in Alaska) lead to Fairbanks – if you keep driving long enough. I don’t know about that, but if you turn right when you exit the Delta Junction State Recreation Area, you will indeed end up in Fairbanks – eventually. It’s sort of hard to miss.

Rhonda and I were startled awake at 7:00 this morning to the sound of marbles rolling across the roof of the Winnebago. The first thought to make it into my sleepy brain was that the squirrels Ronni had harassed the night before were getting back at her by pelting us with nuts! But when the sound of nuts on the roof was joined by a loud whooshing sound, I sat up enough to raise the curtain and peek outside.

Our glorious sunshine of the previous two days was gone, replaced by leaden skies and loudly gusting winds. Enough wind, it seems, to be shaking spruce cones (Alaska’s version of pine cones) off all the trees surrounding our campsite.

With branches swaying and moaning around us, Ronni and I bundled up and ventured outside. I noticed with relief that none of the wildly waving limbs were dancing too close to the fiberglass sides of the RV. Ronni noticed that the squirrels were still ready for action, chittering and scolding as they scampered across the forest floor from tree to tree.

I was a tad embarrassed for Ronni when I realized that she – accustomed to bunnies who scurried along the ground – had not yet figured out that the squirrels were out-witting her by climbing UP. 🐿 She circled and circled those trees, trying to figure out where the heck the hole was … [snicker].

So much for an early start. With winds this high, the last thing I wanted to do was try to drive this oversized kite down the highway. I sensibly made coffee and went back to bed.

Several hours later, the wind having abated too no more than a stiff breeze, we pulled out and headed north once again. I was SO glad I’d stayed on the road longer than planned the previous day when it was so pretty. With gray skies and fog drifting low over and around the mountains I knew were hiding somewhere nearby, the drive became pretty much just that – a drive.

Still, a few gems were found along the way. Hidden Lake sported a lovely, well maintained roadside park where Ronni took great delight in checking out mini waves on an equally small “beach” – just the right size for a dachshund.

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While Ronni was occupied by wavelets pushed to shore by jet-skiers, I snapped a few pictures of shoreside flowers … and a few not so shore-bound as well.

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In spite of our late start (I pulled out of our campsite in Delta Junction about 5 minutes shy of mandatory evac at 11:00 am), we found ourselves pretty much lost in downtown Fairbanks before 3:00 pm. I pulled into a handy Fred Meyer parking lot to toy with my options.

Crossing the Chena River had nudged a possible night’s destination into mind, so rather than wander around town like a whale in a kiddie pool, I popped the name of an RV Park into my GPS and let it direct me through traffic. So much simpler! It seemed only a matter of minutes before I found myself checked in and settled. And OH! The view!

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We’ll likely fall asleep tonight with the sound of rain on the roof (one of my favorite sounds, so no complaints), but tomorrow is another day. I’m sure it’s going to be a good one. Rhonda agrees.