Day 34.Sunday 2nd June. From Anchorage towards Fairbanks

First up. Happy Birthday Bob. Trust that knee is working great and you can run around the block again..:). It’s already the 3rd in NZ.

A couple of days ago I made a tongue-in-cheek reference to the paucity of wildlife. Well, I received a chilling email response from Bill of the Alberta Land Rover Enthusiasts Club.

Bill very kindly sent a photo of a Grizzly bear that was causing a disturbance and some concern in Evanburg, about 100k’s west of Edmonton, a week ago.  It seems the Wildlife people had to go in, tranquillise it and transport it to a safer environment north of Edmonton. Now, I want a GPS fix point of where that bear is, because if it’s anywhere near where we are going, I can tell you, we’ll be making a massive detour…:). Who would want the job of tracking it down in the first place?  Mind you we have a catapult that fires marbles at a significant velocity. Are we comforted by that!  laughing.

Bill has very kindly ordered us a new fuel filter housing for the Landy and we plan to call into Edmonton, pick it up and fit it. Who’s betting that it will solve the starting problem? 

We look forward to meeting with Bill and his wife Susan, when we arrive in couple of weeks time. The Land Rover fraternity are a tight group. Who would want to own anything else! Yes, I can hear it, but you don’t know what you are missing…:)

A little about the politics of Anchorage. After the railway was put through to Anchorage in 1915, the superintendent, a chap called Ohlson became very powerful and autocratic.

For years he refused to allow any other form of transportation to compete with rail. This saw a huge expansion in the rail fortunes and I suspect it is why today, there are no crossing barriers or warning lights, at rail traffic/pedestrian intersections. Also, why trains sound their klaxon horns loudly at every intersection, no matter what time of day or night. ‘We are in control here’! Anchorage never really ‘took off’, until the monopoly was broken.

Of course the most notable event for Anchorage and Alaska, apart from the Prudoe Bay oil revenue, and Exxon Valdez oil spill, was the 1964 earthquake and tsunami that uplifted ships from the harbour, depositing them many miles up the valley.

Up and on the road bright and early at 11am. Fuelled up all the tanks at a pretty good price, $3.09/gal. (3.87l) Then to the supermarket to top up our supplies before heading up the Dempster highway in a couple of days time.

Camping tonight is by the Susitna River. There are a number of campers set up here and we paid them no mind. The two closest, a young couple, sauntered over to us a little later and said, “which one’s the Kiwi”?

Amazing where they turn up, Kiwi’s..:). Josh and Nicky are two bright young graduates taking time out to see the world and doing it in the Kiwi style. They have been working in Canada while skiing and enjoying life. Nicky, a Civil Engineer, is from Auckland and Josh in Forestry, from Christchurch.

Visits: 24