~Tuesday, September 6, 2022~
Day 814
Day 78 of Alaska Trip
After 3 days of near silence at our campground, it was nice to hear the jets flying overhead again from Eielson Air Force Base. It sounds like they fly in pairs, right over us, with Sadie looking perplexed as to what that noise really is. And the rain just keeps on comin’.
We had a plan of originally leaving today to head to the Tok area. Our new tires for Hank were supposed to arrive today, but when I phoned Richard at Purcell Tires to check in, he said he hadn’t received his delivery yet and that maybe the holiday weekend messed things up. He was waiting to hear from them and would get back to me. He apologized knowing that continuing on with our trip was hinged on getting those tires. We also wanted to score on the amazing price, which would save us about $500 had we gotten them elsewhere. He called me back to let me know the tires wouldn’t be arriving until tomorrow. What’s one more day? If we could have the tires put on early enough in the day, we’d still make it to Tok before dark.
Another task we were trying to take care of before heading south was an oil change. The only Ford dealer in Fairbanks was booked up for the day, so Jeff decided to do it himself. Doing it himself saves us about $50, but then when you factor in the time, the mess and trying to find a place to recycle it, we’ve decided the last 3 or 4 times to have it done at the dealership. So while I made a soup and put the finishing touches on our Talkeetna airplane adventure video, Jeff went to pick up an oil and filter, propane, water and our forgotten laundry.
It’s hard to believe, after being here 7 nights, all of them were too cloudy for us to witness the Northern Lights. We’ve seen quite a few Instagram posts of people viewing them in Canada, so maybe that will be in the cards for us instead. Remaining hopeful!