Breakfast is in the beautiful dining room of the Alaska Heritage House. The table is set with silverware and cloth napkins. It’s a huge table and several others are already seated – quite a mix – an Anchorage local that travels up regularly for work, a lady travelling on her own from Stoke in England (my mum’s home territory) and a couple from the lower 48. We strike up conversations as we savor the ramekin of rhubarb stew already waiting. It’s the Fourth of July, so breakfast is bacon, eggs and cornbread, cooked in the original kitchen over the most interesting range I’ve ever seen. Our server reminds me greatly of Marilyn (from the TV show Northern Exposure, her measured, thoughtful responses to questions, fun clothing – an American flag t’shirt in honour of the day – and general manner – she also lives in North Pole, a place I want to visit). Eventually, the visitors drift away except for the couple…Gordon has gotten into a spirited discussion and is clearly enjoying himself…I make excuses and grab my camera, time to document this lovely house.

To explore Fairbanks we realise we will need transport, so a quick cab ride to the airport for GG and he is back with a rental car. First stop, North Pole…no, it’s not THE North Pole but the magnetic pole was once located here, now, it’s just a small township on the outskirts of Fairbanks, along the highway to Canada. The light poles, signposts and even the Maccas post under the M are all candy striped. You get off the motorway onto Santa Claus Lane and turn into St Nicolas Drive to get to the Santa Claus House, it’s open all year and yes, stuffed with all things Christmassy. It’s cheesy but fun, we wander around, buy a decoration, some tshirts and some very good peanut butter fudge. Outside, the Independence Day parade has started. We grab coffees and join the locals sitting in the gutter to watch it pass. It’s a small town affair with all the local rural agencies represented; townsfolk walk with their dogs, who of course are dressed in red, white and blue. There are parade princesses and the local politician handing out copies of the Declaration of Independence. It’s great fun and then, the fire brigade troop past, gleaming trucks and equipment and then, to put the cherry on top, Smokey the Bear! Yay, I grew up watching him on tv. We cheer with the rest of the crowd.

Back on the motorway we head off to the north towards to little town of Fox. Along the way there is a roadside pullout to view the Alaska Pipeline. For most of its 800 miles, the pipeline is buried but up here, on the permafrost, it runs above ground on concrete stands. It’s just a quick stop and then we turn and head back out the other side of town to the Museum of the North on the University of Alaska campus. It was highly commended to us and worth the stop. There are loads of animal displays and a lot of history about the formation of Alaska and artifacts from the native peoples. Just a little away from the museum, still on university grounds, are some reindeer pens. They are being nursed through pregnancy and you can often see some of the females from the road. On our travels around Fairbanks we do pass through the town centre, some interesting history here and a marker on the Alaskan Highway. We also pass Pioneer Park, a favourite haunt of the locals for any big celebrations. There is a recreation of an Alaskan gold town, food stalls and canoeing on the river. We skip it because it’s July 4th and it seems everyone in town is there. Last stop before the airport is threefold – Taco Bell for a quick lunch (yes, they still have cinnamon twists and no, I don’t want to know what’s in them), a bank for a cash top up and a gas station for a fuel top up.

Being the Fourth of July our flights, both to Anchorage and on to Juneau, are nearly empty and both land early. In Juneau we wait patiently for the hotel shuttle only calling after 30 minutes have passed. Another couple, just arrived after a long flight from Germany, are also waiting. The hotel tells us he’ll be there soon…20 more minutes pass and finally the van pulls up. Nope, doesn’t have us on the list even though I had confirmed just two days prior. Arriving at the hotel, we are read, in a very terse voice, a list of conditions to agree too…interesting, after so few bumps on this trip, we finally have two unpleasant interchanges in a row…oh well, this hotel is just a base, we won’t be here much. An appetizer only dinner at The Hangar, a fun restaurant right on the water in downtown Juneau, and a couple of brews restore our good humour and end the day.