Saturday July 10th, Walmart, Fairbanks, AK

After 5 days on the road, today has been a catch up day. Gave the van a good clean on the inside, she seemed to have a good cover of dust over everything. Then it was off to the Laundromat, a visit to the supermarket for more supplies then over to the information centre to get a good wifi link. We have found this year that good wifi links have been a bit more difficult, especially if we wanted to use Skype, internet cafes’  are not the best places to be having online conversations!

Our next stop will be Denali Park, the famous Alaskan National Park where the chances of wildlife sitings are supposed to be great. We were able to ring from the info centre and book a campsite in the park for Monday and Tuesday nights….had been told to avoid the park during weekends!

As I mentioned I have been knitting squares on the road for a memory blanket and saw that there was a good wool shop out by the university, so that was our next stop.

Wow, what a store, I have never seen such a variety of quality yarns in one place. Spoke to Sam the owner, a very friendly person. Knitting is big in Fairbanks, over the winter with the long nights people sit around a lot more, and there are many informal knitting groups where people get together in places like coffee bars and pubs , more for the social contact as much as the knitting! I have been going well with my blocks, have a number joined up…not ready for the photo yet!

Back to Walmart for the night and met up with a another NZ couple parked nearby. They saw the signs on the van! Jo and Nick are from Auckland, they have been sailing a yacht in the Mediterranean for several years, and are now on the next stage of their adventure. They bought their RV in Seattle in May and like us will be storing it after this trip, ready for another adventure. They have traveled through areas that we have yet to visit, so great to be able to get some good info.

After such a hot night last night, we are a little cooler tonight, down to about 25!