We awoke early on the eighth morning and headed for the breakfast buffet. It’s been great fun travelling with my new friends, but how I wish we could sleep in a little later occasionally!
Our first meal of the day got us all set to begin the journey that would take us out of The Yukon Territories and back into Alaska.
As we motored down the final stretch of the Alaska Highway, we became quite aware of the smoky haze from wildfires burning up the road close to our destination for the day, Fairbanks!
One of our scheduled rest stops was Delta Junction. This marked the official end of the historic Alaskan highway and provided a chance for a little stretching and photo op.
One thing I’ve noticed is how often we eat on this vacation! Our stop for lunch was at a place known as Rika’s Roadhouse on the banks of the Tanana River. We had a great meal at this legendary roadhouse built in the early 1900’s, and then strolled the well manicured grounds before hitting the highway for the next leg of our day’s journey. Notice the suspension bridge in the background of this first photo. It carries The Alaskan Pipeline across the Tanana!
One of our afternoon stops brought us to Santa land at The North Pole of Alaska! This spot offered some fun photo ops and a chance to do some early holiday shopping. Plus, it was just a short distance from our day’s destination, Fairbanks.
For the next couple of days we settle into the Wedgewood Resort. Our stay at Bear Lodge will include several day trips including a chance to pan for gold! We’ll also take an exciting river tour by stern-wheeler on the Chena and Tanana Rivers. Details and photographs to follow!
Rusty's Entire Alaskan Travel Blog
Part 1 - Seattle
Part 2 - Vancouver
Part 3 - “The Inside Passage”
Part 4 - Ketchikan
Part 5 - Juneau
Part 6 - The White Pass and Yukon Narrow Gauge
Part 7 - Canadian Yukon
Part 8 - Fairbanks
Part 9 - Panning for Gold
Part 10 - Denali
Part 11 - Mt. McKinley and Wasilla
Part 12 - Anchorage and Prince William Sound
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