August 15th - Day 18 - Beaver Creek, Yukon to Fairbanks, Alaska

We heard late yesterday afternoon that our son Edward had arrived in Fairbanks to join us on the drive to Prudhoe Bay. As a result, we decided to leave the hotel early, ahead of Bob & Thelma, to make sure we arrived in Fairbanks soon after lunch.

It was overcast when we left for the 20 mile journey to the US border. It looks like we have left the good weather behind us. Just before we reached the border we saw one of the Holland America groups from our hotel, posing in front of a large Welcome to Alaska sign. We pulled up and they all waved. It made a good photo.

The border crossing was very quick and easy. The customs officer even asked us if we would like to have a special Alcan Alaska stamp in our passports. How many other UK drivers have one of these I wonder?

On this tour we have passed over dozens of rivers and many have bridges like these. I particularly like the second photo where Wendy took the photo of the bridge looking back through the car's wing mirror.

The Alcan Highway, which we have been driving alone for the past three hundred miles, was built in 1942 by the US military as a direct result of Pearl harbour. The Americans realised that Alaska was vulnerable to an invasion by the Japanese, and with the Japanese Pacific fleet effectively blockading Alaska, they needed a land route from the continental US. The 1422 mile road was completed in 8 months. It is one of the great civil engineering achievements of the 20th century.

We reached the end of the highway at Delta Junction, Mile 1422. We went into the visitor centre and bought a certificate stating we had reached Mile 1422.

Outside the centre were some of the original construction vehicles, rusting away in the harsh Alaskan climate.

After Delta Junction we saw our first sight of the Alaskan Oil Pipeline as it crossed the Tanana River.



Standing under the pipeline.

The pipeline runs for over 800 miles from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez on the Pacific coast. We will be travelling alongside it for the next two days, all the way to Prudhoe Bay.

A few miles further on Wendy shouted at me to stop the car as she had seen our first moose in the woods on the side of the road. I reversed up and there, in amongst the trees, was a female moose staring at us. Apologies the photo is not particularly clear but I was on maximum zoom to take the photo from so far away. Another highlight of the trip!

The remainder of our 310 mile journey was uneventful and spoilt by the increasingly heavy rain. We drove into Fairbanks at about 2pm and checked in to our hotel. We met Edward and went out in the car to find something to eat, as the hotel dining room was closed.

Wendy was keen to see the Museum of the North located on the campus of the University of Alaska, and we hoped that there would be a cafe there. Unfortunately for us all the cafe was closed, but the museum is a very special place. Beautifully designed, it is becoming an architectural icon.


We left the museum after about an hour and went through the centre of the town and had a drink at Pikes Landing a restaurant overlooking the Chena River. We will be eating there tonight.