6/14/25

Delta Junction, Alaska

Good morning, my friends. We hit the end of the road today...not the end of the trip. We reached the end of the Alcan Highway. Like I said, there was a place for an obligatory selfie. Happily, the marker is located at the Visitor Center in Delta Junction. A very nice man greeted us there and offered to take our picture.

But let's just back up to the beginning of our day. Of course, we enjoyed more stunning views of the mountains. The scenery never gets old.


The first thing on our list of notable things was this:


There was nothing visible from the road other than the sign, but this is what our Milepost told us was just down the road apiece.


Next up, we crossed the Robertson River.


Something to notice about the rivers in today's drive is the color. They are mostly dry, and that white color is from volcanic ash.


Next up was the tiny town of Dot Lake. There was a lake here as well, but I missed the shot.


There are only a few structures in Dot Lake.



Here's what our Milepost tells us about this

Traveling on...we came to this area of the landscape. There's nothing particularly notable about it except that it is in a depressed region of the terrain. The road was about ten feet above the surface you see in the image.



Here's what our Milepost said about this.


Okay, and then the biggest bridge we crossed yesterday was this one.


There was a parking area off the road and below the bridge where we could get a good look at it. Ya gotta think a bridge this large spans a larger river than what's running here now. Also, notice the white color again.


Here's what we learned about the bridge.


As I walked out to take that shot, I spotted this little pretty. I believe I'm seeing this growing along the roadsides. We're also seeing plenty of dandelions.


My phone tells me this is Shrubby Cinquefoil.

After taking that earlier shot, we drove across the bridge.


From there, we were just a little way from our final destination of Delta Junction.


It's the end of the road.


We stopped off at the visitor center where we had our picture taken, and then we strolled around a little reading informational signs about the Alaska pipeline. We will see that as we make our way to Fairbanks today. Sorry for the damage to this sign. 


Here's what that looks like. It's about five feet tall.


Beside it was this exhibit showing the differing diameters of the pipe.


And here's Mike with some of his besties. I'm telling you, the mosquitos and Mike...they're tight. Mosquitos love him. (Can't say I blame them.) Also, you should know that this photo is to scale.


So there was a quilt shop in town. Hard to believe, but there you go. Of course, I visited. I'll tell you about it in a separate post.


Also, I was trying to use some sandwich rolls on this week's menu, but discovered they'd gone to the dark side as we were leaving yesterday. So I headed to the grocery store while I was out. As I was leaving the parking lot of the grocery store, I caught this incredible mountain view. Honestly...I can't get over the mountains, and I know we're just getting started. 


Driving back to the RV, I could see more mountains off in the distance.


So we'll leave Delta Junction this morning. We're on our way to Fairbanks. We'll spend three days there, and we have some activities planned for ourselves. There is a quilt shop in Fairbanks, but I've decided not to go to this one. The quilt shop will be closed Sunday and Monday, so I would have to go today. Looking at the news, we've learned there will be No Kings protests going on in Fairbanks today. As a newcomer to the city, I'd rather not get in the middle of that. Besides, having visited a quilt shop yesterday, it seems less appealing than it might have otherwise.


So I can't let No Kings Day get away from me without saying something about it. The recent news out of Los Angeles has been very disheartening. I was born in California, and lived a good part of my childhood there. Also, my dad was a 32-year veteran of the Marine Corps. Those two factors make what's happening there feel especially personal. If we were home in Oregon, we'd be attending a protest today. Since we aren't, and since we'll be driving a good part of the day, we'll miss this important event. And all of this to say that if you are protesting, please be safe. I found this image online, and there is some good advice here:


So that's all I have for you for now. Be safe my friends. If I can't be with you marching and carrying a sign, know that I'll be with you in spirit.

10 comments:

Sara said...

More beautiful scenery. My dad lived in both Anchorage and Fairbanks in about 1951-52. He loved it there but mom wouldn't move that far away, so eventually he returned to Minnesota. Good thing or I wouldn't be here. LOL I'm avoiding the protests myself today and going to a quilt class instead - better for my mental health anyway. But I hope my friends who are protesting do it safely.

Dawn said...

I heard on the national weather that Fairbanks has it first ever heat advisory. I hope you packed your shorts!

Linda Schiffer said...

My father in law (now gone) was a (white) officer in an African American army unit during WWII so I thought of him immediately when you mentioned the Black bridge. :) I am SO enjoying your photos of those gorgeous mountains! Vicariously traveling with you and Mike is so satisfying. :);

I went to the NO KINGS demonstrations here in my town (Columbia, Maryland) this morning. I was gratified to see a really strong turnout. Good crowd!

:) Linda

Jenny said...

Of course you need selfies at these very special points on your trip! I notice the quilt shop is located on Grizzly Lane, oops, is that dangerous for customers?

Auntiepatch said...

There was only ONE car on fire in the LA demonstration. The media made it look like it was a citywide inferno. Then tRump sent in the National Guard. Peaceful protests are taking place all over California and our country.

piecefulwendy said...

So I guess Mike is a bit of a movable feast? Haha - sorry, Mike. I couldn't resist. Those Alaska skeeters are big!

Marianne said...

It's so cool that you've already driven over 1422 miles and still counting! I love the scenery you've passed. And about those mosquitos, someone sent me a post card years ago with a giant mosquito and it read "Minnesota's State Bird". Do they have black flies, too? Vermont has those in great numbers at this time of year. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Kate said...

I've heard about "pigging" the pipelines, and have run samples collected during pigging, but had never actually seen a pig. Not what I expected (I've seen drawings, but not a photo of an actual pig believe it or not). My Guy is also a favorite with the mosquitos, so I sympathize with Mike. Though it's nice for me, they tend to leave me alone if he's around.

Spicecat said...

I wish you could go to Northern Threads in Fairbanks as they have AK exclusive fabrics but am sure others in your travels will as well. I there visiting relatives recently. I would love to do the road trip as your doing though, so thank you for all your travel posts!

Magpie's Mumblings said...

My Resident Chef could vie with Mike on offering up a great smorgasboard for the mosquitoes.
That bridge seems like overkill over that little trickle of water but I suspect it would be a different story during spring runoff.