August 11, 2015-Breakfast at Truckers Cafe/Coldfoot, Antigun Pass, Wiseman, rafting the Koyukuk River, lunch Truckers Cafe, flight Coldfoot to Fairbanks, Westmark Fairbanks, dinner at The Red Lantern

FAIRBANKS

We are awake very early again.  Today we finish our Arctic Circle adventure and, fingers crossed, fly back to Fairbanks.  Richard takes a shower and says that the water is nice and hot.  Great.  Soon we are heading over to the Truckers Cafe where we are supposed to meet our driver/guide for today.  Mark is there and he says he'll return in an hour after we've had breakfast.  I'm happy that I will be able to get some coffee.  There is a breakfast buffet, but again, that's way too much food for me-especially this early.  All I want is coffee and toast.  Richard opts for the buffet which is $14.95  It includes all you can eat-several kinds of breads/cereals/fruits, danish ring, plain scrambled and omelet style scrambled eggs, home fries, biscuits & gravy, pancakes, french toast, bacon, sausage, ham.  Richard shares his bacon with me.  It's cooked just like I like-crispy.  The food at this cafe/restaurant has been surprisingly good.  We hand in our room key and Mark is back.  He loads up our stuff and off we go.  We will be going into the Brooks Mountain Range-to Antigun Pass.  Then we will return to the town of Wiseman.  Spend some time here before doing a float/rafting trip down the Koyukuk River back to Coldfoot.  A short hike.  Something to eat at the cafe and then fly back to Fairbanks. 

Breads

Cereals

Pastries

Eggs

Home fries and biscuit gravy

Plain & blueberry pancakes and French toast

Fruits

Bacon, sausage, and ham

Last chance for fuel until Deadhorse

We start driving and the further north we go we start to see some distinct changes in the weather.  It's another gloomy/foggy/cloudy day but we are now seeing patches of snow on the mountains.  We make a restroom break stop.  Boy, it's cold.  Thankful for this Columbia jacket I bought for our trip!  Also the thermal under garments, the hat, neck warmer, gloves.  Soon we are at the last tree.  Stop-signs where the tundra begins and the forest ends.  Now we have arrived at Antigun Pass, highest elevation on the Dalton at 4739'  Mile 244.  It's snowing like crazy!  We make snowballs and throw them at each other.  I throw one at a passing truck but my snowball misses that truck by a mile!  All of my snowballs are a miss but the one Richard throws hits me on the arm.  Mark goes over to talk to the driver of a car that has also pulled in.  It's a sports car with its convertible top down!!  He wants to check on the driver.  He returns and says the driver is planning to drive with the top down all the way to Deadhorse!!  Better him than us I think.  As we turn around to go back we pass some motorcycles. Then a guy riding a bike!  Then 2 guys just walking along the side of the road with huge back packs.  I ask Mark what are they doing, where will they sleep........  He says they'll be fine and that they probably have warm sleeping gear with them.  Mark tells us he sleeps in a tent at night!!!  Oh, to be young again.  On second thought, I'll take a comfy bed in a warm room any day.

Still following the pipeline

Our vehicle

Antigun Pass

Hard to see anything due to this snow storm

A hardy guy driving with the top down

Snow and ice

Driving back

Pipeline

Guy on a bicycle

Patchy fog/cloudy

Some fall colors

Soon we are at Wiseman.  Mark shows us around.  There is an herb and vegetable garden that the town has.  There is a smaller one that the guides have.  He gives us a taste.  Crispy carrots.  One of the cabins has been converted to a museum.  Mark tells us about the animal skulls and hides.  Then we get in the raft.  He says it's a 10 mile trip back to Coldfoot on the Koyukuk River.  He will be the only one using the oars.  He has no jacket on and I'm so cold.  He says the exercise keeps him warm.  Just when I think I can't feel my toes any more we arrive.  Pull up the raft and head back to the van.  It's about a 2 mile walk though the forest to get to the van.  I'm starting to warm up!  We return to Coldfoot Camp.  Mark says we will be flying back to Fairbanks.  Yay!  We have time to get something to eat.  It is 4:00 pm now.  He'll return at 5:00 pm to take us to the airfield.  Late lunch.  Richard has a bowl of that great turkey rice soup and I get a grilled cheese sandwich with a side salad instead of fries.  I give the salad to Richard.  We both have coffee to warm us up.  Bill $11.85

This cabin has been turned into a museum

Vegetable garden of Wiseman

Our raft

Some rougher water 

Mark

Pretty and peaceful

Mark is telling us in which direction to hike/walk back to the car

The car is in sight!!

Almost back

Menu Truckers Cafe

Turkey rice soup as good today as it was yesterday

Grilled cheese with side salad and a pickle

Mark drives us a short distance to the airfield.  I take a picture of him by his car and give him a generous tip (he sleeps in a tent at night!)  He has been a great guide and I think about all that work he did taking us 10 miles rafting on the river.  We are flying with Arctic Air.  How appropriate.  Our plane is a twin engine Piper Navajo that seats 8.  There is another couple plus an employee ride-along on the flight.  Eric is our pilot.  We all have headsets so we can hear what it is we will be seeing.  There is a map of our flight route.  The scenery is ok-nothing spectacular.  Eric asks if I want to give him my camera.  He will take a picture of the plane's instrument panel as we cross the Arctic Circle.  Very cool gesture.  A very smooth short flight.  Back in Fairbanks we're picked up and driven back to the Northern Alaska Tour office where we receive our Arctic Circle crossing certificates and then driven back to our hotel-the WESTMARK FAIRBANKS. 

Air field in Coldfoot

Mark was such a great guy

Our plane

Richard is happy to be flying back and not driving

I'm good to go

Scenery

Instrument panel showing Arctic Circle coordinates

Fairbanks

Our pilot Eric

Certificate

We check in and have a different room-on the 7th floor- but furnished about the same, collect our luggage, and pick up another packet from Holland America.  In it are several luggage tags.  One tag will go on our large red bag that will not be seen again until we board our cruise ship on 8/16.  This cumbersome bag has all our cruising clothes in it.  Since we are tired from the past 2 days we decide to not venture away from the hotel for dinner.  I was planning to go to Gambarella's Pasta Bella but instead we will have dinner at the hotel.  Unfortunately the restaurant only offers a buffet.  What is it with all these buffets??  There's no way I can do that so we head over to the hotel's bar THE RED LANTERN.  Here I finally order a duck fart which is a drink of Kahlua/Bailey's Irish Cream/Crown Royal.  It is the state drink for Alaska.  It comes layered in a small glass and is yummy.  Richard has his favorite-Alaskan amber ale.  He orders calamari.  I'm not hungry so I get the cup of minestrone soup with 1/2 sandwich (on a pretzel roll) of ham with gruyere cheese.  It is all good and I'm feeling great and looking forward to tomorrow.  Bill with tip $47 

Westmark Fairbanks

2 big beds

TV

Desk

Chair

View

Coffee maker

Bathroom

Tub/shower combo

Menu-Red Lantern

I get the half sandwich and soup

Amber ale and duck fart

Richard's calamari

My minestrone soup and 1/2 ham/cheese sandwich

While getting the red bag ready to go Richard notices that several of his brand new long sleeve tops are missing.  He thinks he left them in the closet-either Anchorage or Seward.  I'll have to call to see if they can be located.  Tomorrow we go by HAL coach to Denali but first we have the Riverboat Discovery tour in the morning before leaving Fairbanks.  Another packed day!