Fairbanks to Danali

Saturday 23rd June  Odometer reading 49,738km  approx 4500km since I picked up the bike. Distance travelled today 180km Venue. Danali RV park and Motel We left our motel around 9.30am and drove around the outskirts of Fairbanks looking for some electrical components for Mikes' bike. He is having a little trouble with his air compressor and gps connections so needed to get some parts. No real join at this stage but be a real problem. We did not bother to see the downtown area but headed out of town on the road to Anchorage and Denali. The road rose into the hills west of Fairbanks permitting a superb view of the tundra for miles around. The trees become larger and more prolific with altitude with white spruce,  silver (paper)  birch, cottonwood and quaking aspen predominating. For anyone with a bent on tree species have a look at http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5320147.pdf We crossed the Tenana River at a small town called Nenana and walked the towns main street photographing some quaint buildings before visiting the Railway Station Museum. In the museum I enquired about several volumes of records titled "Nenana Ice Classic Guesses" . A curious title. The young lady at the desk explained the mystery.

ATM in a small Bar in Nenana

The local large river freezes over every winter and towards spring the local authorities erect a large wooden cairn in the middle of the river and wait for the spring thaw. The locals pay for the privaledge of guessing when, to the minute, the tripod cairn will fall through the ice. The winning guess receives all of the takings. This year the tripod fell through the ice on April 23, not sure of the minute, and the winner took home $350,000. the excitement must have kept the town on edge all winter. Our stop for the night was at an RV campground, with wood cabins for riders like us, not far from Danali National Park. I plan to be up early tomorrow to visit the park and hopefully get a glimpse of the mountain.