We spent the weekend traveling the Steese Highway, which brings travelers within 50 miles of the Arctic Circle.
Be sure to stop at Chatanika Lodge for a meal (likely a great place to spend the night too). It is a quirky & fascinating Alaskan backwoods “museum” that you can explore while waiting for your delicious food.
We explored Twelvemile Summit Wayside, above treeline.
Then back down into the trees, and bridges over streams. We enjoyed seeing each body of water in different stages of break-up.
We boondocked at Eagle Summit Wayside, nearly the highest point on the Steese Highway. If the large gravel lot had been crowded, the sign suggested that we shouldn’t stay overnight leaving room for those accessing the trailhead. But we were the only ones there and had seen only a handful of vehicles in the last 60 miles of driving.
There is a splendid 360 degree view of an open & expansive landscape. While the summit is below the Arctic Circle, the elevation is high enough to receive 24 hours of sun for several days each June.
The temperature was only going to drop into the 30’s and we knew there would be plenty of light all night, so we didn’t bother to set up the generator. We have a Mr Buddy propane heater which was plenty to stay warm, running it 20 to 30 minutes every 3 to 4 hours. I wanted to get up that often anyway to look for wildlife, especially hoping for caribou.
Saw and heard lots of birds at 2 a.m. and again at 5 a.m., but no mammals until later that day. To be continued…
Me & C 
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