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| August 11, 2008. Day 61 - Alaska- Chicken, AK - Taylor highway to Tok to Log Cabin Wilderness Lodge |
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| The morning is overcast, with the sun making only a weak appearance at
around 9:30am. Marcelo made the decision to hit the road in search of the
sun. Not too far out of Chicken, the sky cleared a bit. However, the sky
ahead was heavily overcast with some possible rain on the way. Marcelo
pulls over and the array is set up. The charge is high. The crew plays
cards, naps, sets up new tire, writes updates . . . the blazin sun was
welcoming. After an hour or so, the sky closes over again and we're "on the road again". We finally reach Tok early in the afternoon. The sun is strong and with the added assistance of a nearby puddle, with the array set up, the charge is a high 8.3Ah (~900 watts). That's pretty much the maximum generated by the 15% cells. Marcelo & the crew are soon inundated with friendly curious questions and suggestions to include Fairbanks on our itinerary. In between questions we manage to nap, eat, buy groceries, and sudoku . Marcelo had been prearranged tonight's accommodation sponsorship with the Log Cabin Wilderness Lodge - 28 miles outside of Tok. With the sun lowering in the sky and car charged up to 101V (just over half battery pack), we decide it's time to hit the road. Just as we were leaving another wave of people gathered around the car- of these folk was Randy Pitney from President Team Alaska from Arctic Games. He was very enthusiastic about the project and felt the city of Fairbanks would be too. His wife is the Vice President from the University of Alaska in Fairbanks and by the sounds of it there is a considerable amount of research going on there in regards to solar and alternative power. He gave us some contacts in Fairbanks and wished us well. l The drive out of Tok was straight and flat and the XOF1 zoomed along at 65 km/ hr. "Sun is shining, flat road, battery charged, car is working fine - life is good". says Marcelo. Five moose are spotted enroute. We pull into the Log Cabin Wilderness Lodge just before sunset and are greeted by John & Jill Rusyiak- our down to earth, generous hosts. A- crowd of 40 cyclists and their support crew from Texas. come out and join us. They are riding 4000 miles to raise money to fund cancer research. Texas4000.org For anyone dreaming of an Alaskan vacation, call the Log Cabin Wilderness Lodge and make your reservations! You will not be disappointed. The main Lodge itself is a gorgeous, big yet totally cosy log home in a valley encircled by a ring of jagged mountain peaks which are stunning any time of day. The grounds are immaculately kept with a welcoming campfire ring and grassy spots for tents. We bedded down for the night in two of the sweetest little log cabins along a bubbling brook a scenic stroll away from the lodge. No detail was overlooked in preparing these little gems - from the heat powered fan above the wood stove to circulate the warmth, to the bear spray, lanterns, matches, guest book, hand sanitizer, tissues, axe, boardgame. . .it was hard not to try and think of excuses to stay another night . . . With the help of large solar panels in the back, the Lodge is completely off the grid. John bought the panels from Greg of Remote Power - a Fairbanks based company he thoughtfully contacted about the XOF1 project. John also felt it would be a good idea for us to visit Fairbanks. The evening was spent enjoying the campfire, beautiful surroundings, company of the cyclists and Morgan's music before happily turning into our cosy cabins for the night. Check out the Log Cabin Wilderness Lodge website: www.logcabinwildernesslodge.com |
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