We left the Arctic Circle campground about 10 AM and headed the 190 miles back to Fairbanks. We arrive in Fairbanks around 3 and headed straight to the car wash. We planned to get cleaned up but we’d never stay clean with Howie in this condition.
The road salt/mud was caked on the body, frame, and all around the camper. $75 and 60 minutes later it was much better. I still will get underneath in the near future and work the frame a bit but for now this will do.
It was coming along 5 pm and we headed to a local campground for the night. We got a deal at this place, even though it was $40 with power, it included free showers. The dogs barely got to pee before Kathy was headed to the showers with her gear.
The next two days were expensive on the budget. We spent an additional $350 for groceries and supplies,;$25 on laundry (cheap really); $90 on campgrounds; $100 on diesel, propane, and truck supplies. Going to town costs money.
Sean had his final cardiology tele-appointment so we stayed in Fairbanks. We also had to fill prescriptions for Kathy and Walgreens in AK is not fast. Sean’s appointment results were fantastic with reports that the AFib was not permanent, his heart echocardiogram showed no issues, and the imaging/stress test showed no arterial plaque or other issues. The doc wants to keep me on the Rx so we will have to head back into Fairbanks to get those tomorrow.
We decided to head south a bit to get away from the pay campsites and to visit the North Pole. We enjoyed the Christmas store and all of the Yule spirit, got a few postcards, and then found a free camp next to the Salcha River. Here’s a picture from the Howie’s door.
here are some additional photos from the past few days.
https://www.overlandadventureexcursions.com/photos-albums/nggallery/album/20250816-18-day-7-end-of-the-dalton-fairbanks