Holy Shitballs! I'm in Fairbanks, AK!

[cue "The Final Countdown" by Europe. Click here to listen.]

Sorry Greg, no photos this update.

Greetings from Fairbanks Alaska!  This is an unplanned pit stop for me, when I crossed the border at Poker Creek, AK, the border agent pointed out that I could use a new set of tires after he heard I was headed for Deadhorse (the haul road is notoriously hard on tires when it is wet.)  At the time I really didn't want to consider getting a new set of tires because that would likely mean a relatively major delay but fortunately I was able to find a local motorcycle dealer who had some tires in stock that will work (I'm not picky and options up here are few), so the shop will mount the new tires eon my bike tomorrow.

I can't believe that I've ridden over 2500 miles to get here from Seattle.  And yet it is roughly another 500 miles to Deadhorse.

Fairbanks is the last place resembling a "big city" before crossing over the border of the Arctic Circle.
Keep in mind the population of metro Fairbanks is roughly 1/3 the size of Green Bay according to Wikipedia.

Here are some of my observations after spending 28 hours here:

• When I stayed in Delta Junction, the bartender at the humble establishment that I stayed at confessed a desire to come up to Fairbanks for the many job opportunities, so my expectations were over inflated regarding how much is going on here. Keep in mind that Delta Junction has at most 4 or 5 different gas stations where one can refuel, and many of the gas stations don't offer 'premium' unleaded gasoline - your choices are unleaded or diesel.
• Reindeer sausage tastes just like kielbasa.
• I visited 3 pubs in downtown Fairbanks last night and didn't want to stay in any of them for very long.  I know it was Tuesday night, but there was more going on within a 1 block radius of my old apartment in Belltown on any given Tuesday.  Man was I spoiled being able to walk to the back bar of the Crocodile late at night (on any night) for pizza.
• Similar to Dawson City, things seem to close super early here, where early is around 9 or 10pm.  Another similarity with Dawson is that it only gets really dark this time of year when it is overcast.  I learned that there are three different levels of twilight before night (when it is super dark) and I'm too far north for full darkness this time of year. 
• I'm staying at the Fairmark Hotel which has a robust business hosting senior citizens on Alaskan cruise/bus tours.  They must have several full time bellman delivering bags all day - you can see them stacked on multiple carts. The lobby is a zoo in the morning as they all are waiting to jump on to multiple motor coaches. 
• I'm pretty wiped out from riding so my interest in doing touristy stuff is super low.

So this is a time for me to recharge, and catch up on some sleep before attacking the Dalton Highway, most likely on Friday. Weather forecasts are favorable (no snow warnings in the mountain passes, hooray!) and the Dalton is currently rated as 'fair' according to the state's 511/highway conditions website, which is probably as good as it gets.

Photos and additional trip reports are forthcoming, the Top of the World highway in between Dawson YT and the Alaskan border was amazing.

That's all for now.  Thanks for reading.