[Travel Note Sharing] Self-driving from Los Angeles to Alaska (4)

10.2

fairbanks

After comparison, I chose the cheapest one, a 2004 F350 pickup truck from Alaska Auto. The reservation was all through email. The appointment I made via email was for 10 a.m., because it was already 4 a.m. when I returned to the hotel after watching the aurora the night before. I couldn’t get up in the morning, and it was already 12 o’clock when I opened my eyes. I struck up a conversation with an older man from Shanghai in the hotel lobby and took me to pick up the car. It was closed... Fortunately, there was a man driving an excavator at the door who had the boss's phone number and explained the situation. The boss said he would only work a half-day shift on Saturday and was already out of town. He could come back at 8pm to give me a car...

I had no choice but to get in my brother's car and go to the University of Alaska (the museum inside is quite interesting), and then drove out of the city to aimlessly look for the top of a mountain to watch the aurora at night (I accidentally wandered into private property and was kicked out) . I said goodbye to my eldest brother and went to Wal-Mart for the last time to get some supplies, including water, Gatorade, Red Bull, chocolate, and an FM generator (don’t expect any comfort and entertainment features in a 2004 pickup truck), and I struck up a conversation with a guy from Shanghai in the supermarket. The small team took me back to the hotel.

Out of worries about not having a car, I rushed to the company again at 7:30 in the evening. With no lights or fire and a cold wind blowing close to 0 degrees, I finally waited for the boss after playing on my mobile phone for half an hour. Because I didn’t read the previous email carefully, I didn’t know that the car rental did not include insurance, and I was charged $300 for insurance (after that, I had to buy it in advance at something like State Farm. The company no longer sells it on a consignment basis, so I was lucky. , otherwise it would be late at night, and the next day would be a Sunday, and you would not be able to find a place to buy insurance). The boss took me to check the car. Except for a few small holes in the front fender and some scratches and peeling paint on the body, the car was in pretty good condition.

After getting a car, I felt a lot more at ease. At least my trip would not be delayed. However, there was not much time left to get familiar with the car, so I immediately decided to give up a certain amount of rest time and go out to the city to practice driving and watch the Aurora at night.

That night’s destination was Murphy Dome, a one-way trip of about 30 miles, and we only saw the faint auroras on the horizon. Let’s talk about cars. The steering wheel position and turning radius of a pickup truck are really large. When you first reverse the car into the garage, you can put yourself in the situation of where I am and what I am doing. Think about it if you are not in the wild or sparsely populated. In Alaska, parking a car can block the road.

When returning to the city from Murphy Dome, Google maps selected an old, seemingly abandoned road with dark woods on both sides. After turning down a hill, I actually saw a deer jumping out of the roadside... I hit the brakes hard and missed the path slightly. After a little direction, I was about to hit the deer and stop. Fortunately, it hadn't snowed yet and the deer was relatively calm and didn't move. Otherwise, it would have died or I would have been injured.

10.3

Fairbanks—Coldfoot Campground (Coldfoot)

This was the most lively day. First, when I checked out, I got to know 6 brothers and sisters and made an appointment to go together. Along the way, I helped one of the brothers find the mobile phone he had lost while watching the aurora in the mountains the night before (what a blessing) They put the phone on the front hood of the car and threw it out at the first turn on the way back. We saw the phone case, and after walking for 3 meters we saw the phone...), and we got to know each other again at the photo spot when we entered the Arctic Circle. Another team of Chinese people who formed their own team in Mafengwo were Qiyouyou.

Along the way, I switched cars with an older brother from Beijing, got in the car to chat, and got out to take photos. At night at the Lengzu Camp, the older brother who found his mobile phone also treated me to three bottles of local beer. After having a good meal and a good meal, we went out to look for the aurora. , the aurora that night looked extremely bright because there was basically no light source around. Words are not good enough to describe the visual shock. Let’s take a look at the picture.

(To be continued...)