Delta Junction is where two famous roads meet, and neither of them is in a hurry. The Richardson Highway, coming up from Valdez over the Alaska Range, joins the Alaska Highway here, and the milepost sign marks the official end of the wartime road that was built in 1942 to link the lower states with Alaska. A small visitor centre and a monument celebrate the achievement, and it is worth a stop to take in how recently that road was an engineering miracle.
The town itself is modest, a spread-out farming community on the flat terraces of the Tanana valley, with just a couple of thousand people nearby. Barley and hay fields extend toward the horizon, and the surprise is a herd of bison that was introduced decades ago and now roams on agricultural land, occasionally appearing beside the road. The Delta River runs grey and glacial from the Alaska Range, and on a clear day the high peaks stand out in white along the southern skyline.
Just a few kilometres up the road is Big Delta, where the Trans-Alaska Pipeline crosses the river on a dramatic suspension bridge, and the old roadhouse buildings of Rika's Roadhouse have been preserved as a historic stop. These places were the lifelines for travellers when the highway was a rutted track. Fort Greely, an army base, sits nearby and gives the area a steady community of soldiers and families.
For riders, the approach from the south is a long, open run, with the road stretching across wide basins and braided river channels under big skies. Wind can be strong, and summer rain showers move in quickly. Mosquitoes are, frankly, fierce in June and July, so you will learn to keep moving. Frost heaves again appear in places, so stay alert.
Fuel, food and a bed are available in town, with simple diners and a couple of motels, and it is worth topping up here since distances are long. Fairbanks lies about a hundred and sixty kilometres to the north, the nearest large city. The best time is June to August, when long daylight makes the trip easy, though in September the tundra and birch turn red and gold and the first snow touches the high peaks.