Sunday June 17, 2018
Just east of
Fairbanks is the Chena River State Recreation Area. There are two hiking trails I was
considering. The Granite Tors is the
longer, coming in at fifteen miles. I
seriously considered it. In the end, I
stuck with the shorter Angels Rocks Trail.
While the
recreation area is just outside Fairbanks, the trailhead it forty-eight miles down
this road.
Not a bad drive. I even saw a moose and calf slowly meandering across the road. In the parking lot, there was a familiar pay station. Fill out the envelope, stick in your $5 and place the receipt on your dashboard. Easy enough. On roadtrips, I generally have a pen to take notes as I go along. I didn’t. I could have sworn there was at least one in my pack. There wasn’t. I really didn’t like the idea of driving twenty miles back to the general store to buy a pen, just so I could fill in the envelope. And I really didn't need a ticket from the Alaskan Park Service. Ugh. Lesson learned. Fortunately, there was a pencil stub in the glove compartment.
Not a bad drive. I even saw a moose and calf slowly meandering across the road. In the parking lot, there was a familiar pay station. Fill out the envelope, stick in your $5 and place the receipt on your dashboard. Easy enough. On roadtrips, I generally have a pen to take notes as I go along. I didn’t. I could have sworn there was at least one in my pack. There wasn’t. I really didn’t like the idea of driving twenty miles back to the general store to buy a pen, just so I could fill in the envelope. And I really didn't need a ticket from the Alaskan Park Service. Ugh. Lesson learned. Fortunately, there was a pencil stub in the glove compartment.
The trail up
started easy enough, though all the stagnant water meant mosquitoes. I was smacking them left and right until I
cleared the tree line.
The elevation change was only
nine hundred feet, but it all seemed to be at once.
Millions of years
ago, a large magma pocket formed
underground here, then cooled. As the soil
eroded, the rocks remained creating these rock outcropping.
On the drive back
out, I passed this curious sign in the town of Two Rivers…
It’s an old
school bus converted into a stationary food truck. Odd though, the sign points down a dirt road
with a Road Closed sign. But, apparently, it's legit.
Instead, I stopped into a place called 24 Mile Java. The sandwich and coffee were both delicious. The name comes from an annual 1,000 mile sled dog race between Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon. This is the twenty-four mile mark outside Fairbanks. You can read more about this race here.
Knowing I was
headed to a place with limited opportunities for food, I stopped at a Wal-mart
for a few things. If you think yours is
big. This place was cavernous.
One thing I
noticed when I drove deeper into the Alaskan Interior. I was seeing a whole lot of cars with an
electrical plug sticking out of the grill.
Then I started noticing posts to plug your car in, like these at the
motel.
They’re to keep
your engine block warm so it doesn’t freeze and crack in the winter. Consider this, the average high in Fairbanks
in January is zero. The average low,
-17.
Knowing I had a
big drive day ahead, I spent some time sorting out my stuff. Once that was taken care of, I took a stroll.
A twenty minute walk from the motel is Hoodoo Brewery. I tried one of their California Common Ales. Delicious.
Knowing I would
probably be off cell service for a while,I found a quiet corner and texted a few people. Afterwards, it was simply a walk back to the
motel, a few travelogue notes and then off to bed. Besides, the next day was my one bad drive day.
Coming Up,
Freakin’ Beavers…Part 2
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