Next we explored the one remaining direction outward from Fairbanks that we hadn’t seen before, heading towards the southeast on the Richardson Highway. This day-trip took us about a hundred miles down to Delta Junction, where we turned around and came back.
I’ll describe points of interest along the route sequentially starting from Fairbanks. In truth we stopped at some places on the way down and some on the way back. Realistically they can be done in any order, and of course skip any that don’t make sense. We proceeded at a leisurely pace and it took us a good chunk of the day.
North Pole
North Pole is a suburb of Fairbanks although it’s also a distinct town. It didn’t exist until the 1950’s and the developers decided to call it North Pole “in hopes of attracting a toy manufacturer to the area“, which seems like an odd premise. Well, it didn’t happen but the name stuck even though the true North Pole sits another 1,700 miles (2,700 kilometres) away. Why let the facts get in the way of good marketing?
Anyway, there are many replicas of north poles in North Pole and seemingly everyone wants in on the game. Candy cane striping appears all over town, even on the light poles. And where North Pole exists, so does Santa Claus and nonstop Christmas. So much Christmas!
However, one North Pole exceeds all the other claimants, and it rises at 5th Avenue Park (map) thanks to the North Pole Jaycees. It never actually marked the true north pole but an attached plaque explains that “its twin was pushed out of the tail hatch of an Alaska Airlines DC-4 over the geographic north pole” in 1951. They found this one abandoned in a junkyard. More impressive poles adorn North Pole but this is the only one with a pedigree of sorts, even if somewhat dubious.
Santa Claus House
Even so, another North Pole attraction outshines the rest, a place exhibiting endless Christmas cheer. I’m talking about the Santa Claus House on St. Nicholas Drive, beckoning drivers who can see it clearly from Richardson Highway (map).
It’s pretty much what one would expect, a shopping extravaganza with every Christmas decoration ever imaginable for a price. Plus there are live reindeer outside and an actual Santa for anyone who wants to sit on Chris Kringle’s lap and tell him that you’ve been good this year. Santa Claus House attracted a sizeable crowd even at opening hour during the middle of the week, nearly three months before from Christmas.
The Knotty Shop
Then we approached another highly recommended shopping experience, further down the highway near Salcha (map). This was the Knotty Shop. No, this has nothing to do with adult entertainment. It’s a gift shop that features handmade Alaskan crafts in addition to the usual tourist tchotchkes and trinkets. I had to buy some birch syrup, hearkening back to my article on that subject from many years ago, to finally make good on my promise.
And if that’s not enough reason to stop, it also has a dramatic taxidermy display. Nothing says “roadside attraction” like an artificial hillside teeming with furry remnants of native fauna.
Birch Lake
The highway includes an abundance of scenic spots. We paused at Birch Lake to stretch our legs and enjoy the backdrop (map). Unfortunately the restroom was closed for the season; we missed it by three days. I should have remembered that from earlier in the trip but apparently I was doomed to repeat my error throughout the week.
Then I spotted a Semi-trailer in the distance and I got back on the highway. There weren’t a lot of great places to pass and I sure didn’t want to get stuck behind a truck. The Richardson Highway has only a single lane going each direction with a lot of hills and curves, so big rigs can slow things down dramatically.
Tanana River Overlook
The highway follows the Tanana River all the way to Delta Junction. Naturally, it also provides lots of scenic opportunities, especially along the hilltops. Frequent pull-offs provide safe, easy places to enjoy the view and of course we took advantage of them (map).
We left the Fairbanks North Star Borough and crossed into the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area of the unorganized borough somewhere along this stretch. So my “county counting” list increased by one more, the final addition of the trip.
Interior Alaska has some rather majestic mountain ranges but the valleys between them can be surprisingly flat. I certainly noticed that when we crossed the Yukon River earlier in the week and the same was true here. The Tanana River goes where it wants to go, creating a tangled web of channels, sandbars, islands, and braids.
Big Delta
The Tenana River grows as other rivers join it. Here the Richardson Highway crosses the Delta River where it joins the Tanana (map). There is another bridge immediately to the east and just outside of the frame of the photo. It carries the Alaska Pipeline across the river (image). I put this on my list of attractions before the trip and of course we stopped here, but we were so spoiled by hundreds of miles of pipeline from our Dalton Highway drive that it barely registered. Otherwise it’s impressive and worth a stop if you’re interested in bridges, as I usually am.
Big Delta State Historical Park
Nearby, maybe only another mile away, visitors can explore Big Delta State Historical Park. The main attraction is Rika’s Roadhouse (map), a popular respite during the first half of the 20th Century. It’s a museum now, or at least it is during the warmer months. Even so, the park remains open all year and visitors can wander the grounds examining artifacts from the homestead period.
Delta Junction
Finally we hit Delta Junction (map), the turnaround point of our day-trip. It’s not a huge place, but it’s the biggest town around with something like a thousand residents.
There are a couple of junctions in Delta Junction. First is the aforementioned junction of the Tenena and Delta Rivers. Second is a road junction, where drivers can select Alaska Highway 2 to Tok and onward into Canada, or Alaska Highway 4 to Valdez and the Prince William Sound. We did neither. Maybe someday?
Brewery #6: Big Delta Brewery
Delta Junction was a great destination because it had a brewery, the appropriately named Big Delta Brewery, which of course I added to my list. This was the final Interior Alaska brewery that we visited. We had a relaxing lunch there before driving back to Fairbanks. I probably wouldn’t travel two hours just for a brewery but it certainly enhanced the journey and made a fitting capstone.
Bonus!
We took one more day-trip but it wasn’t enough to merit an entire article so I’ll insert it here. This one led an hour east from Fairbanks to the Chena Hot Springs Resort (map). A lot of people suggested this so we almost felt obliged to drive out there. It seems like the middle of nowhere even if a paved road leads directly from Fairbanks to the front door. Literally. It’s called Chena Hot Springs Road and it terminates at the hotel entrance.
Chena Hot Springs
Truth to its word, Chena Hot Springs does have hot springs. Gold miners discovered them during the early 20th Century and it only took a few years before someone build a resort. So people have been making the same trek we took for more than a century. Naturally heated geothermal water bubbles to the surface to create steam clouds and natural hot tubs. Temperatures might drop well below zero but people can still soak comfortably in the springs. Guests were relaxing in soothing waters even as it snowed during our visit, and it won’t stop them even when it’s much, much colder during the darkest depths of winter.
Aurora Ice Museum
The Aurora Ice Museum is another popular activity at Chena Hot Springs. Ice sculptures usually have short shelf lives by definition. Artists create them for specific events and then they melt. That’s it. These elaborate ephemeral carvings go to waste by design. But of course that doesn’t have to be their fate; they can last indefinitely as long as they remain below freezing. And that’s the premise of this facility. It’s a giant freezer filled with artistic creations that would otherwise disappear within hours.
The museum even has entire bedrooms made of ice that accommodate overnight guests, with thick insulating firs placed over frozen beds. Each room comes with a companion room back in the main lodge for guests who change their minds in the middle of the night.
However, the signature feature is the glacial hotel bar, with every element carved from ice by hand. Many guests order an apple martini (an “appletini”) served in a goblet carved from ice. Alcohol has a lower freezing point than water so the concoction stays liquid. Afterwards, it’s a Chena tradition to smash the ice goblet while exiting the museum.
Articles in the Interior Alaska Series
- Golden Heart
- Downtown Fairbanks
- Greater Fairbanks
- Parks Highway
- Coldfoot
- Dalton Highway
- Richardson Highway & More
- Memorable Signs
See Also: The Complete Photo Album on Flickr.
Leave a Reply