After our "repairs" in Anchorage and an update to fresh provisions and a trip to the laundromat, we headed north to Palmer, up thru Wasilla and on to Fairbanks. Along the way we stopped at the Iditarod museum in Wasilla--the "real" start of the event each year.
We stopped at Byers Lake for a few days and 'circumnavigated' the lake (about a 5 1/2 mile hike) and found some wild blueberries along the way. YUM!
We then moved on and camped overnight along the start of the Denali Highway near Cantwell (a gravel road that cuts across from Cantwell to Paxson) in a gorgeous site near a river with a float plane landing site. According to our "Milepost" (the 'bible' of Alaskan road travel), wilderness camping is allowed anywhere along this road where it's not explicitly signposted. WRONG! At 9:30 pm we had a knock on the trailer from a private security company paid to come along the native lands and collect a "use fee". It cost us $10, which actually wasn't bad. I have subsequently visited the BLM Lands office here in Fairbanks and now have a somewhat accurate map of where the native and private lands are along the Denali Highway...but even that's not a guarantee as things change daily!
We made it to Fairbanks and are camped at a state recreation site in lush trees along the Chena River. We are spending 4 days here to explore the museums (Univ of Alaska's Museum of the North was EXCELLENT), visit the farmers' markets, partake of the activities associated with the "golden days" festival and the Eskimo-Indian Olympics (with such events as blanket toss, greased pole walking, seal skinning, and ear pulling), and view the Alaskan pipeline.
Over the weekend we'll head back south to spend about a week exploring the Denali Highway before we head into Denali National Park for several days at the end of July.
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