Wednesday, September 5, 2012

North Pole to Delta Junction & Tok 8-11-2012

After our trek to the Artic Circle we had to make a stop @ the North Pole to see Santa.It’s just 14 miles south of Fairbanks on the Alaska Hwy.  For us it was just a stop on our way out of Fairbanks starting our trip back south to the lower 48. 

Sadly I didn’t get many pix of the North Pole. But we did stop in @ the Santa House & was so taken with all the Christmas decorations that I neglected getting pix of the town. But as you can see the Mc Donald's sign & all the poles in town are striped in red & white. And the streets are named Santa Clause Lane, Kris Kringle Drive, Snowman Lane etc. This Santa statue is the worlds largest Santa, Standing 42’ feet tall & he checks his list…twice!  Santa was in the store to hear your requests & take a pix. Steve got his pix between the believers both Young & Old Smile 

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Then we were off towards Delta Junction.

Delta Junction is the northern terminus of the Alaska Hwy. The only road link through Canada connecting Alaska to the Lower 48. The Alaska Hwy. was constructed during World War II as a military route to carry supplies to military installations in Interior Alaska. At the peek of construction the men of 7 army regiments, worked with 77 contractors working on the road employed over 15,000 men & utilized more than 11,000 pieces of equipment. Total construction cost for the 1,422 miles was $115 million. Through the efforts of both the US & Canadian governments. There are stories told about the construction that say in some places, the swamp was so bad that crawler tractors would sink so deep they could not be retrieved, and the road was eventually built right over them.

Delta Junction besides being known for the road it’s also an Agriculture area. It has over 130,000 acres of private farms from 20 acres to 3,000 acres. Primary crops include forage, barley, & oats. Also wheat, canola, & various grasses grown for seed. You can also find sheep, beef cattle, elk, dairy cattle, & goats,

The pix to the right is of the pipeline going over a river by Delta Junction on it’s way to Valdez.        

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These next 3 pix are a display of what they call the Pig. It is run in the pipeline to clean it & ck for leaks.  This is a display @ the Visitor center.

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Delta Junction is known for the Bison that were transplanted into the area in the 1920’s. There are over 400 of them & they roam pretty much where they want. A small truck towing the red car passed us & then had to suddenly stop as this herd crossed right in front of us. 

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We didn’t stay in Delta Junction, we continued on to Tok, AK. No mater what route you take through Canada  &/or the Yukon Territory you have to travel through Tok. It’s the first town coming in & the last leaving.

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That’s it…now on to Skagway, AK.

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