August 26, 2013 Monday Day 50 Woke at 5:00am, excited to start our day and get on the 7:15am bus tour through Denali National Park. It was cold, Michael had to scrape ice off our windshield before we could drive. There was a light dusting of new snow on the mountains. They call this "termination dust" because once it first arrives, it signifies the end of summer. Our bus ride through the park was like a treasure hunt. Everyone was on the lookout for wildlife ...

August 25, 2013 Sunday Day 49 We set our alarm to get up at 2am this morning in hopes of seeing the northern lights and we were so excited because they really put on a show. The iPhone pictures don't do it justice, the colors were vibrant - greens, reds, pinks, purples, whites. The lights would suddenly appear very faint then grow and pulsate until they were on fire with color, dancing and swirling in the sky all around and above us. A few fellow campers were o...

August 24, 2013 Saturday Day 48 Farmers Market First stop - Honey Bakery tent for a slice of Bavarian blueberry pie and a slice of chocolate pie, plus some garlic rolls that smell divine - all for later. Next we strolled through all the booths getting a nice supply of healthy fresh Alaskan grown vegetables - to counteract the sweets we purchased at the Bakery tent. There was a guy roasting all types of peppers - banana, serrano, poblano and more, in a big rol...

August 23, 2013 Friday Day 47 Rainy, cold day, wore my fleece vest and rain jacket all day. Our campground, Rivers Edge RV Park has a nice, big, clean laundry room, so I did laundry and Michael took the car for service- oil change, tires rotated, car checked out, etc. After our chores, we headed to downtown Fairbanks. In a cute little antique shop, Michael found some old Japanese fishing floats, just like some I had seen in Sitka, only these were about a third...

August 22, 2013 Thursday Day 46 Got away by 8am this morning, continuing on the Alaska Highway, bumping right along, heading north to Alaska (Fairbanks). This road is fine if you keep your speed down and look out carefully for dips. The trees - scrubby, skimpy spruce, are so thin here, they are called bottlebrush, which is what they look like, because they are just barely making it in this harsh climate and boggy soil. The morning light is beautiful. Fall is d...