Page 187 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Alaska

EASTERN INTERIOR ALASK A  185

away, in the Copper Rail Depot The Arctic Man
Pub, a 1:24 scale replica of
the CR&NW rail way winds The Arctic Man Classic held annually
around the beer gar den, and at Paxson is unsurpassed for sheer
a collection of historic railway craziness. The contest attracts as
photos deco rates the walls. The many as 15,000 spectators to this
town also boasts the region’s tiny hamlet. Each team consists of a
first church, the 1942 log Chapel snowmachine driver and a skier. After
schussing down 1,700 ft (518 m) in
on the Hill; occasionally, the less than 2 miles (3 km), the skier
church screens historic videos. grabs a tow rope attached to the
Outside town, the beautiful snowmachine. Pulled uphill at
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park 80 miles (128 km) an hour, the
Visitors’ Center (see pp192–3) skier lets go of the rope, slides over
features a shop, information another mountain, and descends Team participating in the Arctic
office, interpre tive displays, 1,200 ft (360 m) to the finish line. Man Classic, Paxson
and a nature trail.
E George I Ashby Memorial a launching point for four-day projects were set up here,
Museum rafting and kayaking trips on including an Alaska Pipeline
Copper Center Loop Road. the Gulkana River, with Class II pump station and reindeer,
Open Jun–mid-Sep: 11am–5pm to Class III rapids (see p266). yak, and elk farms. There were
daily. & donations accepted. North of Paxson, the area also bison farms, following the
around Summit Lake provides relocation of a herd from the
long views across open tun dra Lower 48 states in the 1920s.
and beyond to glaciers on the Delta Junction remains a
southern slopes of the mighty small, rural outpost. The 1905
Alaska Range. Sullivan Roadhouse Museum
reveals pioneer life in Interior
6 Delta Junction Alaska. Once located in the
wilderness 14 miles (22 km)
98 miles (158 km) SE of Fairbanks. west of the modern town, it
Transport map E3. * 1,000.
@ from Fairbanks to Valdez. was moved here in 1996. Just
n Richardson Hwy, 895-5068. outside town, the Big Delta
_ Deltana Fair (last weekend in Jul). State Historical Park includes
∑ deltachamber.org the historic Rika’s Roadhouse,
with sweeping views along
In 1910, Delta Junction was the Tanana River.
little more than a roadhouse on
Rivers winding by the Denali Highway the wagon road from Valdez to E Sullivan Roadhouse Museum
near Paxson Fairbanks, but in the early 1920s, 266 Richardson Hwy. Tel 895-5068.
it grew as a construction camp Open May–Sep: 10am–5pm daily.
5 Paxson for the Richardson Highway. & donations accepted.
After the Alaska Highway P Big Delta State Historical Park
176 miles (283 km) SE of Fairbanks.
Transport map E3. * 40. @ from connected with the Richardson Mile 275, Richardson Hwy. Tel 451-
Fairbanks to Valdez. _ Arctic Man Highway here in the early 1940s, 2695.Open mid-May–early Sep:
Classic (early–mid-Apr). the town developed into a 8am–8pm daily. 7 0 =
∑ arcticman.com major service center. Several ∑ dnr.alaska.gov/parks/units/
private and governmental deltajct/bigdelta.htm
The eastern anchor of the Denali
Highway, the tiny village of
Paxson consists of little more
than a road junction – the
nearest gas station is at Tangle
Lakes. However, for five days in
early April, attendance at the
Arctic Man Classic contest (see
box, above) makes it the fourth
largest city in the state.
The area is dotted with
vacation cabins along the shores
of Paxson and Summit Lakes,
and Paxson Lake has one of the
best-maintained campgrounds
in Alaska. The lake itself serves as Log facade of Rika’s Roadhouse in Big Delta State Historical Park

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