Day 85 - Thursday 9/10/2026 - North Pole

Happy Happy Happy Birthday to sweet Olivia Sue!!  We love you and miss you!!  💖🎂 

Today we left Chena Hot Springs in the rain and drove to the North Pole, then onward south on the Richardson Highway toward Valdez again, for a total of about 180 miles.

The drive on Chena Hot Springs Road was beautiful with all the fall colors even brighter. 

Our first stop after filling up with diesel and DEF was the North Pole!  It was such a cute little town, with candy-striped streetlights

and everything Santa Claus. 

We went to Santa Claus House

and talked to Santa about what a good girl Olivia Sue has been, and assured him that Theo has been a good boy all year as well.  He was very pleased about that!  We took pictures of the big Santa statue outside and had fun looking at all the ornaments and other decorations.  We got some fudge that Mrs. Claus had made - yummy!

After visiting with Santa we headed on south, hoping to outrun the rain at some point.  Even in the rain it was a beautiful drive, with lots of autumn colors and water everywhere!  Lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, mud flats - it looked like prime moose habitat! 

We crossed this cool bridge beside the pipeline (which we followed for a long time on Richardson Highway).

We didn't see much wildlife, just a couple of common mergansers, a ring-necked duck, a gadwall,

a really wet bald eagle, and some other ducks.  

We stopped in Delta Junction at a little place called Buffalo Center Drive-in (which for some reason had a Ronald McDonald sitting on a bench - so what the heck, Becky got a picture with him)

that served burgers for dinner.  Mike had just said he wished he could have a good burger and right about then we saw a crowd around this little place and decided to pull in and check it out.  It was really good!

As it got later and we got further south, the rain stopped and the light was fading and there were literally dozens and dozens of snowshoe hares on the side of the road (why, we don't know).  They were so funny hopping away with their huge white feet! We began to see snow-covered mountains behind the clouds, surrounded by red and yellow colors of fall. 

The distant sun reflecting off the snow on the mountains looked strange.

We also spotted three moose on the side of the road, two adult females and a young one. 

The adults were huge!  We pulled off Richardson Highway south of Donnelly at a creek bed to make camp for the night.  Another free to use boon-docking site (No checkout time at 11am in the morning - yay!).

There are snow-covered mountains across from us - it's really a beautiful spot!  And the sound of the rushing stream beside us is very soothing.

The kitties are settling in for the night.  They come out from their hiding places to look out ER150's windows and check things out as soon as we stop now.

We should arrive in Valdez on Friday (tomorrow), and the weather forecast calls for sunny and 60s for a few days - we are excited about that, and to return to Valdez for another visit!   

Cool vehicle of the day:

Craziest thing to pass us: 

Favorite street names:  Rolling Stone Court; Rebecca Lane

Today's journey:

Days 82-84 - Monday - Wednesday 9/7-9/2026 - Chena Hot Springs

If you saw the teaser Mike posted on Monday morning, you know that we were finally able to see the Northern Lights Sunday night after we had posted the day's blog!  We added more photos so go check them out.  

After seeing the aurora Sunday night, we left our campsite at Granite Tors Campground and headed to Chena Hot Springs Resort on Monday.

The drive was so pretty, with the fall colors really putting on a show for us.

We looked for moose but didn't see any, but we saw a beautiful swan family. 

Becky had an appointment for a massage, but on the way there the massage therapist sent a text canceling the massage because she was sick.  This is the massage room. 

We found a secluded campsite right next to a fast-flowing river

and paid for three nights, hoping we would have a chance to see the aurora again.  Chena Hot Springs Resort is one of the best places around Fairbanks to see the aurora, due to the remote location with no city lights anywhere around.  The weather forecast predicted clouds starting Monday night, and rain for the next few days.

We got settled and packed a bag and headed to check out the resort

and hit the hot springs for a soak. 

It was incredibly beautiful all around the area, with aspen trees showing brilliant yellow leaves and wildflowers blooming around the warmth of the water.  There were very few people in the hot springs rock lake, and the water was heavenly.  There were hot spots and cooler spots and sprinklers and a water cannon that gave a great shoulder massage.  We had a great time relaxing and enjoying the soothing water.  We reluctantly got out and showered and changed and went to the restaurant for dinner.  It was crowded but the food was really good.  Becky had a caprese salad made with tomatoes and basil grown on-site in the greenhouses warmed by the water from the hot springs, then fresh tomato soup and grilled chicken and shrimp with a tarragon cream sauce.  Mike had a very fresh Caesar salad and clam chowder, then blackened halibut and rice.  The food was excellent and we were stuffed!

We walked back to the camper and got a nice viewing platform set up on top of ER-150 with pillows and blankets, and waited for a break in the clouds that never came. 

After an hour it started raining, so we had to abandon our effort.  It rained all night and most of the day on Tuesday as well.

Tuesday afternoon we went back to the hot springs for a soak (or two), because a little rain didn't matter.  We relaxed in the water and took a break to eat lunch, then went back in again.  We stayed a little too long this time - Mike was apparently overheated and passed out while taking a hot shower.  The staff got to him quickly and gave him water and electrolytes, then gave him some bandages for skinned knees and a cut on his nose.  I was getting worried that he was taking so long, and was walking toward the front desk to go check on him when he came out looking pale with a band-aid on his nose.  We rested for a while then walked back to ER-150 to get him out of his wet clothes and make sure he was okay.  Cleo was pretty worried and had to check him out for herself. 

He is fine, and the staff said this happens every day because people don't drink enough water and don't realize they are becoming dehydrated.  Lesson learned.

We had a quiet warm dinner of soup and sandwiches, then called it a day.  It rained most of the night and into Wednesday morning.  The temperatures stayed in the 40s all day, so we got cozy in ER-150 and spent a relaxing day listening to it rain.  We had Joyce's BBQ Beef for dinner.  On Thursday we will leave Chena and head toward the North Pole to see Santa, then on towards Valdez.

Monday's journey: