The Arctic Circle, day 19
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Today we heading north to the Arctic Circle. It is about 200 miles of paved and gravel road. Most of the gravel portion is smoother than California’s 580 and 680 freeways. One of the gravel portions has the “Roller Coaster” - a hill with a long steep down grade followed by a long steep upgrade. We hit the bottom at 65mph with Debbie screaming all the way. | |
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There were several 8 and 9% grades but the first 18 miles is the roughest. After that, a piece of cake. We crossed the Yukon River on the way and basically followed the pipeline. It was a Sunday so there was very little truck traffic. Plan your trip to include a Sunday either going in or coming out. | |
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We reached the Arctic Circle around 1 or 2pm. It was actually crowded with folks taking pictures. We took a couple and planned to come back in the morning for more. We camped at the BLM Arctic Circle Campground. | |
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It is a undeveloped campground with an out-house (normal plumbing in the Alaska bush - we will never take our bathroom at home for granted again!). We were the only ones there except for a few million gnats that left around 8pm. We had a nice fire and roasted a few marshmellows. Wow, here we are! A goal for many years. | |
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The light grew dim around 11pm. A long sunset lasted well after midnight. A full moon also was up and we had thin cloud cover so there was no chance of seeing the Northern Lights or stars. Both the sun and the moon moved around the horizon never directly overhead. | |
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Note: There is no diesel fuel between Fairbanks and Coldfoot. We expected it at the Yukon River or the Hot Spot Cafe so plan accordingly. | |
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Video: What is the Arctic Circle | |
Tags: Alaska, Arctic Circle, BC, YT
