Friday we had a hearty breakfast at the Country Kitchen. It was a breakfast all-you-can-eat buffet. Very good and very filling! Soon after, we headed down the Seward Highway to see Seward. The drive had to be one of the best drives we’ve been on yet. The scenery was amazing despite the cloudy day. We passed by many hiking trails, noting which ones we were going to try out next time we come here. We ended up stopping at Portage at the Alaskian Wildlife Conservation Center. There one could walk up to a fenced-in moose and pet his nose. And, being a HUGE moose fan, I was delighted! We also saw elk, caribou, deer, bison, black bear (they are soooo cute!), brown bears (they were posing for us), and musk ox. They had a very nice gift shop with exceptionally reasonable prices (of course we took advantage of that!). We very much enjoyed this stop on our way down to Seward.

Once in Seward, we stopped at the visitor center (after battling a large section of construction) which had much information about the town. As we drove down the waterfront, it was very apparent that the town is a tourist trap. We later read that the town was a thriving port with many goods exported from there. When the 1964 earthquake struck Alaska, the town never regained itself again. So they took advantage of the fact that it was a major stop for the Alaskan ferry and cruise ships and became a tourist hub. Despite it being touristy (kind of like Cannon Beach, except the beach is not the main attraction), it has been my favorite little town thus far. We stopped by the museum and discovered a bit about this quaint town. I was amazed at the vast history this little community enjoyed. For instance, the town (and highway coming into the town) is named after President Lincoln’s Secretary of State (who was later also President Johnson’s Secretary of State), William H. Seward. He negotiated the deal between Russia and the US for the purchase of Alaska for $7.2 million in 1864 (?). These people seem very proud of this man. Also, Nellie Campbell resided here in the Seward area. I’m looking forward to reading more about her some time soon.

After the museum, we went to the famed Alaska Sealife Center. There they take injured sea life and rehabilitate them and release them back into the wild. There were quite a few sea lions and seals there! Also, it serves to teach people about marine life in Alaska. It was fun, but it would have been much more fun with children.

We then headed back up the Seward Highway back to Anchorage to get gas and find camping near Palmer. In Palmer we stopped and I got some first-aid stuff for my sore blister and some Delsym medicine for my cough. We ended up staying at another state park called Finger Lake. There were a bunch of kids riding bikes everywhere and running through other people’s campsites. They were still up to that when we went to bed at 11pm. I took the cough medicine and we went to bed (after a game of Scrabble of which Ernest won). It was the first good night sleep Amy had since her cold began four days previous.

In the morning, we had a big breakfast of eggs, bacon, and a fruit cup. We headed up highway 3 until Willow, at which time we remembered we were going to stop at the Independence mine. So we took a dirt road up over Hatcher Pass, which boasted some of the most beautiful views we’ve ever seen (more so than on the Seward Highway). Amy drove this stretch and claimed it as her first off-road drive. The road was smooth until right before Summit Lake (which contained a sign stating not suitable for RVs or campers) when potholes the size of the state tried to swallow our car. But despite potholes and large ledges, we made it to Independence mine without incident. Both dads and Casey: you would have a BLAST at the mine site! We have many pictures to show in the photo album so take a look. Several buildings are being maintained by the state parks department. They have interpretive signs everywhere and trails that lead to beautiful areas. So much of the mining site is still there. It was very much worth the extra 4 hours it took to get there and see it and get back to Willow. Ernest was our driver back down the mountains. We were almost down when Ernest heard a “hisssssssss” sound. You guessed it: a flat tire! We stopped in the road and checked out the damage. There was a 7 inch spike hanging out of the side of the rear passenger-side tire. We could not begin to image how it lodged itself in the side of the tire. Ernest pulled it out and started changing the tire. Luckily we had a full spare under the car. Ernest swapped the tire and we were on our way within 20 minutes. We called Nathan, Amy’s brother, to ask it he could find online the nearest Les Schwab. The answer: Juneau. We had no plans to head to Juneau so we decided to look for a tire place in Fairbanks on Sunday.

After driving a couple hours on highway 3, we decided to look at the map and find a campground to stay in Saturday night. After passing the viewpoints of Mt McKinley, there was one campground (or so we thought) before Fairbanks. So we stopped there and found a nice site overlooking Nanada River. As we attempted to sleep in broad daylight (10pm), the mosquitoes kept trying to get into the small crack of the open windows. Amy quickly rolled hers all the way up, swearing they were looking specifically for her. Perhaps a bit of insanity settling in?

In the morning we headed up highway 3 to Fairbanks. The scenery was good, but not as good as the southern portion of the state. We tried to spot Mt McKinley, but the clouds refused to part. Once in Fairbanks, we attempted to drive up to the visitor’s center. We soon found out the parking lot (the only parking for the visitor’s center) was across the river, about a 5 minute walk. Quite strange they don’t have parking closer. We found some brochures on the town and went off to find a hotel. After many wrong turns, we finally found the Comfort Inn. There we rented a room for $170. Anyone else hate hot tourist seasons?

We then went to look touristy things to do. We succeeded and made reservations for Monday to see the El Dorado Gold Mine attraction. We also stopped at Gold Dredge #8 Historic District. There we saw a gold dredge (see photo album for pictures) and were given a tour of it. It was pretty cool!

Back in Fairbanks, we found a Walmart and got a new tire for the truck. We then went down to North Pole, about 15 minutes south of Fairbanks. We were expecting to see a tourist town with shops and restaurants, but it is nothing like that. There is not a lot to do in North Pole, but we took pictures of Santa and the north pole. At the visitor’s center, they told us someone actually took that pole to the north pole and left if there for some time before bringing it back to North Pole, Alaska. So there is sits currently (see photo album). We found a nice diner and ate dinner. We then went back to Fairbanks and hung out at the pool until it was time to blog. So here we sit, Ernest reading over Amy’s shoulder as she types. We shall be heading southeast to Tok (again) and camp there. Tuesday we’ll be arriving in Dawson City (gold rush history capital!) and then head down the Klondike Highway to Whitehorse (again) to finally arrive in Skagway on Thursday. If all goes according to plan, we’ll be blogging again Thursday night. Our ferry leaves on Saturday morning from Skagway. Keep following us through our journeys! Oh, and we miss our cats! :o)