Steese Review: Short Guide to the Steese Highway: From Fairbanks to Circle

Getting started in Fairbanks: Fairbanks in wikipedia.

Alaskan Prospectors & Geologists Supply

Heading up the Steese Highway, you can explore the following along the way:

Steese Highway Mileposts

8 Mile: Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline viewing area
9 Mile: Gold Dredge No. 8 exit
11 Mile: Fox General Store and junction with Elliott Highway.
16 Mile: Pedro Monument
28 Mile: Chatanika Lodge
39 Mile: Upper Chatanika River State Recreation Site
42 Mile: McKay Trailhead
45 Mile: Long Creek Trading Post
57 Mile: Junction with U.S. Creek Road with access to Nome Creek Valley
60 Mile: Cripple Creek Campground
66 Mile: Sourdough Creek
85 Mile: Twelvemile Summit, Elevation 3,190 ft.
107 Mile: Eagle Summit Wayside
107 Mile: Eagle Summit, Elevation 3,624 feet.
127 Mile: Central, Population 134 approx., Central in wikipedia.

In Central you will find the Circle Mining District Historical Museum and the Central Corner.

"Central Corner" is on the northeast corner of the Steese Highway's junction with the Circle Hot Springs Road, and from 1982 to 2002, Central Corner was the legendary Crabbs Corner, owned and operated by Jim Crabb. Jim now operates Nugget Gulch, 7+ miles up the Circle Hot Springs Road from Central and next door to the now closed Circle Hot Springs Resort.

Central, with its year-round facilities at Central Corner, and seasonal facilities at Nugget Gulch, is an attractive destination for recuperation and renewal after a trip of any duration through the Steese National Conservation Area and its surrounding wilderness filling the a large sector of Alaska's Yukon River Wilderness Arc.

160 Mile: Circle, Population 100 approx., Circle in wikipedia.

To be continued ...

Note: Mileposts are listed as the distance going up the Steese Highway from its intersection with Airport Way in Fairbanks, and as the last one passed at a given location. For example, Chatanika Lodge is between Milepost 28 and Milepost 29. The best guide to the mileposts of the Alaskan highways can be found in The Milepost®: "Since 1949, the bible of North Country travel."

Quote of the month ...

"“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” ― Apple Inc."
This week's quote comes from goodreads.com

Tips for cheechakos and tourists ...

So you want to meet authentic Alaskans? ... other than Native Alaskans. Don't get us wrong, we are simply not familiar enough with the indigenous cultures to be much help. Also, remember schedules can change suddenly, so always call ahead if an unannounced change would be an inconvenience.

Like music? Every Sunday evening there is a Blue Grass Country/Folk Jam Session at the Golden Eagle Saloon in Ester, just south of Fairbanks on the Parks Highway.

And of course, there is the Blue Loon for big name entertainment that attracts the dynamic demographic. It's across the Parks Highway from Gold Hill Alaska known for as the purveyor of imported beer & fine wines. Both establishments are well known in Interior Alaska for the quality of their products and service, and—being on the Parks Highway—are also well known to cheechakos and tourists, so need little mentioning here ... but we are huge fans of both ... and they rest on the baseline of the Yukon River Wilderness Arc as a straight line continuation of the Steese to Nenana where you will find the RoughWoods Inn & Cafe, another "unique'ly Alaskan" business offering food and lodging on the edge of one of the truly world class wilderness regions.

Recommended reading: Building in the Wild of Alaska (Kindle Editon)By Mark De Loach

Whether you want to live in the wilderness of Alaska or just want to know what it is like to get there, this book's series is both a guide and an adventure to the reader. It has photos, advice, videos and stories of what to do and not to do!

Mark Grew up in Alaska and has a wealth of experience of traveling and living all over the State encountering all sorts of animals from Wolves, Moose, Caribou and Bears that were Black, Grizzly, Brown and Polar. He has built his own wilderness cabin, helped others and has a multitude of friends that live still live that lifestyle and will share their story's with you.

Through the series, you will be able to find the agencies that sell the remote wilderness land and what to expect when you get there. How to travel rivers, coastal waters, and winter travel and how to protect yourself from the elements in doing so safely. While encountering wild life, the quiet, the Aurora and the beauty of the wilderness, it will lift your soul. -Amazon

(Note: Mark De Loach lives in Nenana.)

Like a dinner party that attracts the locals? Every Monday evening there is a prime rib hamburger special at the Turtle Club in Fox. Just get there early before they run out. And it close to the Fox General Store, our featured local business for the month of July.

Got the middle of the week blues on a Wednesday evening and want someone to talk with who is more than an airhead? Wander over to Club Soda on Van Horn in Fairbanks and see if Mana Rae is tending bar. Tell her Gus sent you. That won't help you, but it will help me. And they have free wifi for catching up on the notes of the day for the intrepid traveler.

Like to get up early on a weekday and want to mingle at the local coffee shop as the workers and small business owners get started on their day? Drop into Deb's Cafe on the corner of Van Horn Road and Industrial Avenue, not far from Club Soda, by the way.

And the crème de la crème, it's the Chatanika Lodge where Ron and Shirley Franklin, owners, have held it together—to say the least—since 1974. Just don't go on Tuesday. They are closed.

If you are looking for a place to create and send or receive communications, including hard copy, then we recommend Date-Line Digital Printing. We use them exclusively, again because of quality of product and service. We don't think they are the only ones good at it, but we have no reason to look elsewhere. And they have free wifi.

Now, if you want a relaxed atmosphere to surf the net where the free wifi connection is reasonably fast, try the MacDonald's at 449 Harold Bentley Ave, just off the Johansen Expressway in Fairbanks, AK 99701. It's across the Expressway from Walmart.

A By the way, if you don't know what "cheechako" means, click here.

Email:

Hilding "Gus" Lindquist: hilding.lindquist@gmail.com
or steesereview@gmail.com

Please send us anything you think would be of interest to anyone wanting to know more about the people and activities in Interior Alaska, the Yukon River Wilderness Arc, and—of course—along the Steese Highway. This includes announcements, comments, human interest stories, how-to articles ...

We of course reserve the editorial right to accept or reject anything submitted (comments are moderated, primarily for inappropriate adult material)... but we are striving to be inclusive ... and we will review what you send and respond in a timely manner.

Hilding "Gus" Lindquist
Editor & Publisher
Steese Review