June 1 - to Fairbanks

Good morning.  You can tell it is morning because the mosquitoes go to away.  They seem to like to feed in the evening hours.  Ha Ha.  The mosquitoes didn't go away at all.  I just hadn't been outside yet when I wrote that comment.  We hope to go shopping today.  I hope I can find a new tube of Rhuli (anti-itch gel)...it is the best stuff I've ever found to take out the itch of insect bites.  We went shopping and wouldn't you know it, I forgot to look for the anti-itch gel.  We'll have to stretch what we have.

We had an 11am check out time and we made it by a minute or two.  The park owner greeted us as we were leaving and also took pictures.  Unknown what that is about.  He did like our motorcycle lift, but he was taking pictures of the front too.

Our first stop today was to see the Alaskan Pipeline.

Good thing we have a mh that can be driven off road and turn in tight spots.

 Then we finally made it to North Pole, Alaska.  Santa was out to greet us.  They also had a Santa inside to take pictures with, but neither of us would go sit on his lap.

 We did see a moose near the pipeline.  We saw one yesterday close to the road, but it took off as we approached.  These reindeer (and there were 4) were penned, so not quite the same thing.

 Then we finally made it to Fairbanks.  Our first stop in town was at Fort Wainwright (army base).  We bought a sewing kit to sew on some buttons, and stocked up on some supplies at the commissary.  We picked up 70 gallons of diesel and we were ready to camp.  Some people were using the dump site at the station and told us about the FamCamp on base.  It was on the river and only $20 a night, but a water line had ruptured, so no water at the sites.  We decided to go to the RV park in town instead for the RV wash area and full hook-ups.

Surprise, surprise.  Their water lines were still frozen, so we had to fill our tank from the one fill site AND the RV wash was out of service too. While we were filling the water, I got a bucket and started trying to get the dirt off the motorcycle.  It had dried well, so initially I was just making mud.  Once the water tank was full, we parked the mh at the RV wash area and continued with the bucket and rag.  It would have been so much easier with a hose.  We settled in our spot around 6:30pm and have a wonderful view of the Chena River.  Lots of people out floating, on jet skis and boats.

After dinner, we went for a bike ride and really lost track of time.  It was after 11pm when we came back.  I was still wearing my sunglasses.  No bike lights needed.

This struck me odd.  It is electrical outlets for each parking place.  For the engine warmers I imagine.

This is the Fairbanks Diocese office and chancery.  It is on the grounds of the Church where we plan to go to Mass tomorrow.  We were scoping out the location, so we would know where we were going in the morning.

On the same grounds they had this covered crypt.  I thought it belonged to some past bishop, but boy was I surprised.

marker in covered area

Like we ran into so many times this trip, the bike path is flooded.

 These next few pictures are for Addisyn and Piper...a really nice playground in Pioneer Park. 

 

Then an airplane for Chris.

 The river runs right though downtown.

 And they seem to take advantage of the river to display public art.

They did a nice job on this bridge too.

I liked these bike racks

This was after 11pm with no flash.

There was a boat going up and down at midnight.