Fairbanks, The Golden Heart City

Here we are, as north as it gets, at least for us. And some of the first rain that we have had. But that is okay, it will wash some of the smoke from the fires out of the air.





One of the first things we did was find a Farmer's Market to find some fresh veggies. Pretty expensive, but really good strawberries, and some rhubarb! Jim's happy.





We had heard that one of the coupons for Fairbanks was really worthwhile. The Binkley Family runs a stern wheeler cruise. There were 601 people on this boat, and the whole thing was run like clockwork. There is a large gift shop (of course) where everyone gathers to wait to board. Coffee is available, and when you got on the boat, coffee and donuts were complimentary.


Soon after we left the dock, the captain announced that there would be a pontoon plane demonstration along side the boat. The pilot landed and took off twice. Pretty impressive.

Just a bit farther down the Chena River, we stopped by an island where Susan Butcher's family has their Iditarod dogs. They did a demonstration of their dog teams, this time with an ATV that had the motor parts removed. Again, it is amazing how those dogs are ready to go the minute they are harnessed in, and take off like a shot when the brake is released. As a matter of fact the brake by itself was not enough to keep the dogs from dragging the ATV so they also had it staked down.

The next stop was at the Athabascan Village that has been made especially for this boat cruise. Now, remember that there are 601 people getting off the boat. We were easily moved into three groups and taken to a spot in the village where two young ladies described life in a native village before the influence of settlers.

After visiting each area, we had about a half hour to wander around, see things closer and ask questions. Oh, and they had reindeer there too. Very cute. The big question is what makes a caribou different from a reindeer. The reindeer fly, of course!






In the afternoon, we went to the El Dorado Gold Mine. We rode on a train through a demonstration of the different kinds of gold mining while being entertained by the singing engineer. And the little girl scouts that sat behind us did a fine job of singing along. And, actually, they wanted to sing the Alaskan state song, and they really did do a good job.




When we got to the end of the ride, we were taught how to pan for gold by Yukon Yolanda and her husband. Quite the characters! Everyone was given a "poke" of pay dirt, and panned for the gold that was guaranteed. And, you know, that wasn't as easy as it looks!

When you were finished, you took your gold inside to get weighed, and were treated to coffee, hot chocolate and cookies.

Together, we had about $33 worth of nuggets. Seems like we are going to have to continue to depend on our Social Security to get by!

It really was fun, and again we were pretty impressed by the organization of the whole thing. And, it seems the Binkley Family runs this show too!



In Fairbanks, there is the University of Alaska campus. It has a wonderful museum, and a Botanical Garden with tours each day. It is an experimental garden, so they are trying to find things that will grow well in Alaska, with very cold winters, short summers with lots of daylight, and not very good soil. Some things are huge, like the cabbage and rhubarb, and some things don't do well at all. And, moose love apples, and apple trees, and will eat the tree down to the roots! So they are fenced in. One thing we noticed is that things that are spaced out over the whole summer at home are blooming together in the gardens here. Makes it very colorful.



So, here we are in Fairbanks, as far north as we had planned to go. But, hey, there is the Arctic Circle. Not that far away. We did a little investigating, and it would be an easy trip up the "Haul Road". All you need is extra tires on rims, and a few extra gallons of gas. Hmmm. Maybe not so easy. With a little more searching, Don found a tour group that goes in a small van to the Arctic Circle. Arctic Turtle Tours. No, we don't know why that is the name. Our guide, "Captain Jeff" says it is a secret.



And what a character he was! He is a good example of why we think they should change the motto of Alaska from "The Last Frontier" to "Home of the Free Spirit". He had more stories than anyone we have had yet. But he did do a good job. He knew the best places to take pictures, and was an excellent driver.

We left the RV Park at 6:00 AM, picked up one other couple, and arrived at the Arctic Circle around noon. The company provides lunch from Subway, and Jeff built a fire in the fire pit at the rest stop. It was a nice warm day, so it was more to keep the mosquitoes away than to stay warm.

The Dalton Highway follows the Alyska Pipeline.

There have been fires along much of the road, and the first thing to grow is the fireweed. Jeff stopped where the fields were full so we could take pictures.

In Alaska, people watch the fireweek carefully. When it starts to bloom, summer starts, and when all the blooms have reached the top, they know that there is about 6 more weeks before snow. Maybe we should be watching it closely too!




And here we are! It's all south from here.

Which is exactly where we are headed. Don and Marilyn will stay in Fairbanks a few more days to have some work done on his car. We are headed to Skagway, by way of Chicken, "The Top of the World Highway", Dawson City, and Whitehorse.

Jim and Sue