WE MADE IT TO NORTH POLE

After our few inspirational days at Denali, we hooked up and headed north to Fairbanks. We only had 120 miles to cover, so we left mid morning and made a stop along the way at the Tatlanika Trading Company. It has a lot of history and served as a major trading depot on the Nenana River during the gold rush days.

We saw an old fish wheel in the lawn in front of the cute rustic building. This wheel, when in use, rotates clockwise as water flows from right to left. Openings close to the axle are where fish would pour out, propelled by the slanted bottom of the basket when it is nearing the top of the wheel.

This fifteen minute pit stop was perfect and then we hit the road again. We passed through Fairbanks and drove eight miles to our campground located in North Pole, Alaska. Coincidentally, just down the road from us stands a giant Santa right beside the Santa Claus House.

If any of you have been to Bronner’s in Michigan, this store was not quite on that grand scale, but provided for some good holiday shopping nonetheless. Since our Christmas tree is packed away in a storage unit, we bought matching red tshirts to wear at future celebrations in warm tropical locations. Hint hint!

For thirteen dollars you can feed reindeer next door, but we already did that down near Palmer. This was quite the popular stop for tour buses I must say. My dad tried out the big chair and told us he could get a good beard going by the end of the year. Momma said she wasn’t staying for the snow, so I guess that idea didn’t stick!

After driving around a while, we found the town’s little visitor center across the highway. We had passed dozens of candy cane light poles and saw lights and wreaths on many houses. Just think, you could leave your decorations up year round here.

As we were making our way to the visitor center, a strong thunderstorm rolled in and we had to wait it out in the truck. It rained for about ten minutes and we saw little bits of sleet mixed in. It’s August!  When it finally stopped, we went inside and talked with the friendly lady behind the counter. We like these kind of stops because the people working inside will tell you secret little things to see that the average tourist will not seek out. She pointed out a short road nearby that was filled with log homes like the one she works in.

We heard from a tour guide that Fairbanks was one of the largest log home communities back in the early 1900’s. I read that the sod keeps the house warmer in the winter and cooler during summer. It also adds weight that will put pressure on the logs to squeeze closer together and eliminate drafts.

It looked like a couple of the cabins had current residents but I think most of them were used as hunting or fishing camps for the owners. You are never far from water or forest in Alaska, and it is definitely an outdoorsman’s paradise.

Many businesses played off the holiday theme with their names. What a great place to set up shop. Your paint color choices would be red, white, or green.

North Pole is such a cute little town. You can also get a postmark stamp at the post office, but you have to go inside and ask for it. They are technically serviced by Fairbanks, so if you use a drop box your mail won’t get officially stamped. All you need is 30 minutes or so to look around this town and it’s definitely worth a stop!