Warmshowers, hiking & drinking beer in Fairbanks

We had breakfast the first day of our stay. We stay with Robin and Jessica who really live in a super nice house in the mountains near Fairbanks. Unfortunately Jessica is not there this weekend, she has a wedding on the west coast.
That should not spoil the fun because Robin is also a super sweet and friendly girl! She wants to drive us everywhere if we need something or want to do something.
In the morning we wake up reasonably early because there are some workers who are building a garden fence for Jess and Robin in the garden. Robin tells us that they suffer a lot from moose and that if she plants something in her garden with vegetables it is eaten every time.
Arjan and I are going to have breakfast and Robin has the coffee ready. Delicious! Kim is of course super happy with the coffee!
Robin has already eaten and goes into the city to buy plants at the hospital. The proceeds go to a good cause, hence it is at the hospital.
In the meantime, we are busy working on our report of the past two weeks for the website. We also do the laundry, which is also necessary. From two weeks only washing things in water streams, it is obviously not as nice to clean as with a washing machine.
In the afternoon when Robin is back we decide to eat together and do some shopping at the local supermarket. We end up eating deliciously at a Mexican restaurant after which we are super satisfied. Apparently the waiter can serve us because we get another dessert on the house. Typical American cake with chocolate syrup and whipped cream. It tastes good so we still eat it even though we are already super full. For now we do not have to eat anything anymore … We have Kodiak (the dog) with us and he is still waiting for us in the car so we decide to take a long walk along the river. It has become super nice weather and so we can nicely excite the food.
In the evening at home we drink a beer on the couch and we show Robin our pictures of the past two weeks.

On Sunday there is a second hand bike exchange sale for second hand bikes and bicycle parts. Very nice to see. Kim buys a slightly larger mirror for her bicycle.
In Fairbanks, regular sales of this kind of second-hand sales seem to be marks for anything and everything. Robin explains that this is because in Alaska it is more difficult to get certain things and therefore more of this kind of sales are organized. We really like it and most used stuff is often almost as new.
After that, Robin and two friends agreed to go hiking in the woods in the mountains around Fairbanks. Erin and Robin are colleagues and Wes is her husband. They moved from Kentucky to Alaska and just like Jessica and Robin they now are living here for nearly a year. After the hike we go to a viewpoint on one of the mountains above Fairbanks. Wow, super!

It is dinner time again and we all decide to have a beer and big pizzas at a typical American pub. The pub has a lot of choice in terms of beer, but of course we are in Alaska so we decide to go for one of local ones. The pizzas are not just regular pizzas but big American style pizzas (16inch / 40.6cm). We still have Nachos in advance, but they are mainly because it is good. With the five of us we couldn’t manage the two big pizzas that are on the table now??
Everything tastes delicious and what we have left of course goes home in a doggy bag.
After this we go home. We would like to spray and prepare the bikes and bags for the next stage and Robin would like to plant vegetables in the garden now that the fence that must protect the vegetables is finished.
We put a new chain on Kim’s bicycle. The old one had already had 5000km and was quite stretched. New rear brake pads must also be replaced. Arjan his bike just needs little maintenance.
On the Dalton Highway we found out that our bikes where packed to heavy so now we organize our panniers again and send the rest back to Holland.
After we drink another beer in the living room with the three of us, we go to sleep.

Today (Monday, May 28) Memorial Day in America. Hereby all war veterans are commemorated. This means that Robin also has a day off. Arjan and I decided that we are going to cycle the Denali Highway. We doubted because we did not know if we wanted to cycle so many mountains on gravel road again straight after we finished the previous one, the 414 mile / 666km of gravel on the Dalton Highway. From what we have heard it must be very beautiful down there so we decide to cycle along it instead of doing the much easier Alaska Highway to the south. Robin has already said that she wants to drop us a bit south of Fairbanks so we can skip the boring part and start in Healy. She has a friend there, Peggy with whom she arranges that we can camp in her garden.

In the afternoon when we arrive in Healy, Robin goes for a walk with Kodiak and we put up the tent and do some shopping and relaxing in the sun. In the supermarket we meet Robin again and we eat and drink something in the 49club brewery. The weather is nice so we can sit outside on the terrace. Here is also a replica of bus 142 of the film Into The Wild, which is well-known to most people. It’s time to say goodbye to Robin. It almost feels kind of strange to say goodbye when you’ve had such a great time with someone if you think you might not see each other ever again. Well who knows maybe Robin and Jessica will decide to come biking with us somewhere further down the road..? Well girls you will be more than welcome!

The stories about us cycling the rough Denali Highway are already written but will be posted later on… stay tuned!!!