Anchorage to Fairbanks
On Trip Day 3 we set off from our base on the outskirts of Anchorage to Fairbanks, over 420 miles away! The team was up late making sure that everything was sorted for the journey ahead, and then of course we had to be up early at 6am to set off for the first long range test of the SRZero on the American continent!
The journey would be split into 2 legs with RGE stopping over for lunch and a top up charge at an RV park along the way. These parks are proving to be great locations for electric vehicles as they already have the charging infrastructure in abundance. Of course there are a few teething issues such as plug sockets not necessarily matching and sometimes the fuses are not rated high enough – but these are small issues and are easily overcome.
On to the drive itself, and what a drive it was… For much of the journey the team were staring open mouthed at the sheer scale and beauty of Alaska. Most of the team had expected the landscape to be a forested wilderness with sparse settlements and hints of oil industry dotted around. And to an extent, that is what it is, but that simple does not do it justice.
Around every corner, a new mountain would spring up, changing the complexion of the landscape in the blink of an eye. Their sides were packed with tens of thousands of trees and the whole swathes of forest covered the floodplains.
It is truly a humbling experience when you try to comprehend the scale of the forces that created this place. Normally when driving through such an unspoiled landscape you might expect to feel a pang of guilt as the emissions spill from your car. But in our case the drive was guilt free and our jaw bones were aching as stunning landscape was followed by stunning landscape around every corner.
So after using up the memory cards on the RGE camera we finally made it to our destination 56 miles past Fairbanks. The place we arrived at was Chena Hot Springs which we will tell you all about in the blog tomorrow!
well done, you rock. How many KWH is the pack? How long does it take to charge it?
Dear RGET ,
the sheer magnitude of the topography and geography of Alaska
does not have enough superlatives to describe it and we cannot
thank you enough for prompting us to open our world to these
experiences .
Is an RV park associated with caravans and camping ?
Wow , all these new abbreviations – this trip is certainly going
to teach us a lot more than we bargained for . We had to look up
in useful Google that RV stands for recreational vehicles ,
thanx again for this fully comprehensive excursion .
Wishing you our best regards from Ladysmith ( Kwazulu Natal )
in sunny South Africa where Germany annihilated Argentina
“ Don’t cry for me – Argentina ” 4 : 0 in the Quarter Finals ,
so the English need not feel too bad about their defeat – there
has been many surprises in this World Cup , Charles and friends .
Hi RGE Team,
I am so enjoying the blogs, and delighted to hear how fantastic the trip has been thus far.
All the best,
Carina
Dear RGET ,
The photos are magnificent , thanx for sharing them with us .
Would it please be possible to check the Live Tracking Map
as the latest location has been recorded on the 30th June 2010 ,
we are sure that you are further away than what the PIN reveals .
Wishing you our best regards from Ladysmith ( Kwazulu Natal ) in
a balmy sunny South Africa , where Spain has beaten Paraguay 1 : 0
such that Uruguay meets Germany and Netherlands meets Spain in
the forthcoming semi finals , Charles and friends .
Welcome to Alaska boys! Sorry about all the rain, I can’t even get my grass mowed because of it.
Good luck on your trip down the Alcan, you are in for some serious scenery. Make a stop at Liard Hot Springs along the way, and watch out for the sheep and bison.
By the way, you will see more oil field work in BC and Alberta than up here.