Down through Alaska's Interior

Tuesday morning we left our campsite early to go to the Eldorado Gold Mine. After getting some instruction on the history of mining and the how to on finding gold, we got to pan for gold on our own. We were all intently focused on the task at hand, and struck gold. Each of us had at least a few flakes in our pans, worth a total of $77!

After all that work it was time to relax. We drove northeast to Chena Hot Springs, where we relaxed in the different hot (and regular) pools. This one pictured below had a jet of hot water that gave a terrific massage.
At the end of the day, a number of forestry pickup trucks arrived, and crews climbed out and started putting on gear. Then a helicopter arrived, with a sling and a huge water bag underneath. Turns out a wildfire started just a mile away, and crews were scrambling to get it contained as soon as possible. While we ate dinner, we watched 3 water bombers fly back and forth over the resort site.

We got a beautiful site just down the road, at a state recreation area--the campsites were well spaced from one another. Wednesday morning, we woke to an eerie yellow daylight, caused by the smoke from the nearby fires.

As we drove south from Fairbanks to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the smoke numerous forest fires filled the skies. This is the 'scenic view' from a roadside pullout, along the Tanana River.

A highway sign at Delta Junction, right at the end of the Alaska Highway. A number of Alaskan warning signs place a high value on clarity.

Much of the drive south from Fairbanks was alongside the Alaska Pipeline, from Prudhoe Bay on the Beaufort Sea all the way down to Valdez on the Gulf of Alaska. Here Jason lends his presence to help with perspective.

Thursday morning we went to the visitor center at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, the largest of all in the national parks system -- more than 12 million acres. Then we headed back east toward Anchorage on the Glenn Highway, stopping for the night at the Matanuska Glacier. The glacier is more than a mile in the distance behind the RV.

After dinner we hiked out to see it at closer range. once we got past the hills and valleys of silt and gravel deposits, we could walk on the ice -- a surreal bluish colour due to its density and suspended particles.

This morning (Friday) we went up the Hatcher Pass and spent most of the day at Independence Mine State Historical Park. It was Alaska's number one producing gold mine in the 1930's. Many of the buildings and structures are collapsing, but some have been preserved enough to show how deep, hard rock mining was done. We tried panning for gold here too -- no luck.