Alaska at Last

We arrived in Delta Junction, Sat, May 16. This is the mile marker in Delta at the end of the Alaskan Highway where it joined the Richardson Highway from Fairbanks.

The large building is the new dining hall that the volunteers, led by Dale, build last summer. To the left are cabins. The open area in front is a playing field. The camp buildings are surrounded by a thick forest of spruce and birch. When we arrived the forest floor was dead looking. When I walked on the thin grass in front, it was spongy like walking on a water bed. The permafrost is still thawing. Area of forest are boggy.
Sunday morning we attended church at First Baptist, Delta. Then returned for a Vacation Bible School training Clinic. With Lynne's able assistance, I will be teaching crafts. during VBS.

One of our many jobs has been to rake fresh gravel on the entrance road. We've also been cleaning the kitchen and floors in preparation for Dale to paint.

Notice the supervisors. Dale and Dave, the pastor are watching us rake gravel

Learning about a Family Frontier Day on Sat., Lynne and I began to make birch bark baskets to offer for sale with my books. Here Lynne is sewing the bottom onto a basket with sinew.



We offered our baskets and my books at the Fair. I sold several books and we made $50 on baskets for a scholar ship fund to help kids come to camp.

The fair was lots of fun with a hay ride wagon pulled by horses, lumber jack contests. Buffalo burgers and a pig kissing contest.

One of our many jobs was to wash the horribly dirty RVs. Glacier dust and road construction gravel had coated them like cement. My little class C is snuggled up to the Martins Class A.On Tuesday we made a trip to WalMart and Sams. This little excursion took us 100 miles and 2 hours. We drove to Fairbanks, a modern, although small city. Since I was here in 2002, there have been several new shopping centers and "big city" stores added.

Saturday night about 10:30 while it was still daylight, a mama moose strolled past my rig and onto the front playground. I was surprized. Sassie was shocked. Since then we've seen many moose as we've traveld the roads.

Sunday after church we had lunch at Rika's Roadhouse. The building, build in the early 1900's served as a "motel" and restraunt for miners, hunters, explorers and later workers on the Alaskan highway. The Alaskan pipe line crosses the Tanana River near the roadhouse. The area is now a state park with historic buildings housing turn of the century museums and artifacts.




The cabin to the right sports a sod roof that is growing grass and even a small tree near the chimney.

No I haven't gone completely native. This outhouse is no longer functional. However while at the fair we talked to a young mother who is raising 6 kids in a cabin with no indoor plumbing or running water. She heats with propane and hauls water in jugs.

I talked to another mother whose kids attend school every day unless the temp is 50 degrees BELOW zero. Then the busses don't run. She said it's colder at 20 above than 20 below (that is above or below zero, not freezing at 32 degrees). It's because of the wind. At 20 below zero there is no wind. Burrr.

The first morning here the temp was 27. Now it is averaging 35-40 in the morning and the highs have been in the mid 70s.

Sunset today is 11:27 and sun rise is 3:49 (May 27th). The remaining 4 hours is twilight.