We stayed at Denali RV Park in Healy. Nice, simple park close to Denali National Park.
We had cloudy weather, so we could not see Mt. Mickinley (Denali) very well. There were others that took a plane ride around the mountain, and they got some great views.
The group had dinner at the Grand Denali Lodge high on a ridge. The views were fantastic from the bar area. Drinks were good. The buffet was so so.
We hiked the Savage River Loop, which was a nice 2 mile hike up one side of the river and back on the other side.
Pam and I also hiked the Horseshow Lake Trail. Nice hike with 350 feet of elevation gain. Cool beaver dams and walks along the Nenana River.
We stayed at the Fairbanks / Chena River KOA; this was one of the nicest KOA campgrounds we have ever stayed at. It was in North Pole Alaska. This was our first big city on the caravan, and there was a lot to do.
Pam and I attended the Arctic Lightning Air Show at Eielson Air Force Base. They flew F-35A Stealth fighters, and we got to tour many aircraft. It was very impressive. I posted 5 videos to a playlist on YouTube. We went inside a refueling tanker and could go down into the controller bay where you lay down and guide the fueling boom. Really cool. We walked through a massive C-5M cargo plane and watched a re-arming demonstration attaching missiles to a F-35.
Paddle Boat Cruise up the Chena River on the Discovery III. Started with a family style lunch for over 600 people – there were 15 charter busses in the parking lot. It took 2 paddle boats to carry everyone. There was a sea plane takeoff and landing demonstration as well as a sled dog demonstration.
The next day, we went to see Gold Dredge #8, where we learned all about the Alaskan pipeline, and then took a train to the old dredge. There, we panned for gold where Pam and I both stuck it rich! We ended up with $31 dollars’ worth of gold. We were able to tour inside the dredge.
The next day, Pam and I drove to the Aurora Ice Museum where we took the tour including Appletini’s in glasses made of ice. It was 27 degrees in the museum and it lasted 45 minutes. You can stay over night in the museum for $600, which includes a regular hotel room if you get too cold.
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