Stillwater, OK to Fairbanks, AK

Day 0--Thursday, July 18, 2002; Northward Ho! Out of the frying pan . . .

What should I title this our first travel day? Stillwater to Fairbanks? Nah. Too bland. Stillwater, OK to "Land of he midnight sun"? Nah. Too trite. Out of the frying pan into the freezer? Too extreme. It's a balmy 65F at midnight for Pete's sake. Okay. I've got it. "Out of the frying pan and into the refrigerator with the door open and the light on"? Perfect description of leaving the heat and entering the cool world of 24-hour light. (Hope y'all realize I'm just kidding.)

Here's the unvarnished version. A very long day—nearly 24 hours to get from Stillwater to Fairbanks, a mere click from the Arctic Circle. I experienced 3 (count 'em) cancelled flights, and long waits in both Minneapolis and Seattle.

I'm writing this on the Alaska Air leg from Seattle to Fairbanks (now via Anchorage), hoping that when I arrive in the wee hours tomorrow morn, I'll find my bike and BOB trailer and gear. Also Jess in fine fettle.

It is now 10:15 and still bright sunlight. Snowy  mountains, glaciers and ice flows, forests and lakes below. We cross the Turnagain Arm at low tide and I get a bird's eye view of the route Jess and I will be riding in few days. A moose stands in the water at the edge of a lake as we approach the Anchorage airport. Banks of fireweed frame the runway. The captain announces that the temperature is 65 degrees F.

Arrive in Fairbanks at 12:30 a.m. It is still daylight though the sun has set and the horizon is tinged red. I gather the bike, which seems to have survived the flights okay, and get a shuttle to the all amenities, luxurious Airport Way Super 8. Jess is dead asleep and opens the door groggily and then falls back into bed. I'm hyped up on airplane coffee, but decide that all bike and BOB assembly can wait until tomorrow. I brush the teeth and then I'm down for the count.