Robertson River is a beautiful glacial river, which is fed by the Robertson Glacier and runs to the Tanana River. Glacial rivers are called "braided," as they follow various paths (never flowing from bank to bank), depending on the amount of glacial melt, and leave braid-like trails - some dry and some full of water.
The bridge over the Johnson River has five arches.
The Alaska Highway ended in Delta Junction, and we continued north on the Richardson Highway. About 10 miles later, we saw the Alaska Pipeline - looking like a suspension bridge - crossing the Tanana River.
We've seen this cyclist before.
Universal Welding, North Pole, Alaska:
We stayed in Riverview RV Park, between North Pole and Fairbanks, for a week. As good luck would have it, Colin and Betty Linton were in the same park, so Barkley enjoyed some good Colin time.
We were in Fairbanks for the Midnight Sun Festival, a weekend-long celebration of the summer solstice. Persistent rain did not keep folks from going downtown and enjoying the food and music, but it did keep us from being able to take pictures. Fairbanks also celebrates the summer solstice with a night-time baseball game - played without lights - starting at 10:30 p.m. on June 21st and going past midnight into the 22nd. We looked forward to the game, but the stadium was already packed when we arrived at 10:00. So, we went back to the RV park and made a few last-minute changes to accommodate our new traveling companion . . . Maw!
"Maw" is Bill's affectionate name for his mom, Sue, who was planning to join us in California, and then Oregon, and then Washington. Each time, her health kept her from traveling. But, when we arrived in Fairbanks, Bill called her and persuaded her to hop a plane just three days later! Everything went off without a hitch, and we were reunited with Sue in the Fairbanks Airport at 1:45 a.m., June 22nd. An hour or so later, Barkley joined the celebration, laughing with glee and helping Sue unpack.
We are so proud of Sue, the author of Rainy Day People. It's a fantastic novel which combines a wonderful road trip with spirituality, a love of nature, and the growth of a relationship between two people who, like most of us, have been hurt in the past. Check it out here!
June 23d: After a day of relaxation in the RV park, we headed to the University of Alaska Fairbanks and enjoyed the Georgeson Botanical Garden.
Several varieties of columbine:
Students and volunteers:
Tiny groundcover flowers:
These lilacs smelled grassy, with no hint of the classic sweet fragrance we love. One hosted a tiger swallowtail who could fly fairly well, despite wings that have suffered a bit.
Altai honeysuckle:
Various members of the onion family:
Happy pollinators:
Hives of Carniolan honeybees:
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