BackBlip - Pipeline

It's a long drive to Fairbanks. 

On the way we spotted a mountain in the distance, which turned out to be the elusive Denali. It is rumoured that only 1 in 3 visitors to Alaska actually see "the great one" so we ticked that box. 

There are no signs of life on that stretch of the Richardson Highway. For long stretches we didn't see another vehicle. No phone signal, not even reception on the radio - we really wished we had brought our own music. I tried not to worry about breaking down. Excessive coffee consumption at breakfast caught up with me and we had to stop for me to practise the ancient art of peeing behind a bush, but even that was curtailed when I spotted a big pile of animal scat by my chosen spot. It's fair to say I made it back to the car in record time!

The trans-Alaska pipeline accompanied us for the entire trip - here it is just about to tunnel under the carriageway on its journey across the State. 

We reached Delta Junction - glory be it had a roadside cafe - to us this felt like Oxford Street, so we feasted on cheesy chips while questioning our sanity.

Fairbanks. We arrived. It's far north. It rained. A lot. But there was a Starbucks in the hotel.