Well, last time I blogged, I left you at me doing laundry and Earl having a nap on Day 13 of our adventure. With all the 'necessary chores' done, yes, Earl thinks napping is a necessary chore, we headed off to see what trouble we could get into in Fairbanks, Alaska.
We really like where our campground is because it is just a 10 minute drive on the Richardson Highway and we are right there in Fairbanks with access to the downtown or the Airport Drive that take you most places we want to go.
We were looking for the information centre and thought it was in the Pioneer Park so we went there first. Well, the information centre wasn't there, just a little kiosk with info mostly about Pioneer Park. Earl tells me this park used to be called AlaskaLand but it has been updated with some new attractions. We had a lovely time roaming the grounds, looking at all the pioneer homes from the early days of Fairbanks. Each little house has a plaque to tell you where it was moved from and it's historical significance and each little house has artifacts, souvenirs or local crafts for sale. My favourite was the Bag Ladies and Earl had a hard time getting me out of their. I thought I showed remarkable restraint considering I wanted to buy about $500 worth of stuff and spent less than $25! We also took a delightful train ride pulled by an old locomotive round the park and explored the air museum where I got a great book for my students for their study of the history of flight we will do in September.
And then, we went to the Alaska Salmon Bake! Oh my goodness. I know, we had brought food to cook at the camp, but who can resist Prime Rib, Wood Fire Cooked Fresh Salmon, Salad Bar, Drinks and Dessert all for one reasonable price. It was absolutely delicious. There were tables set up inside but we chose the ones outside as it was a beautiful evening. What a treat!
After supper, we took our chances that we could get in to the Vaudeville type show they have, but it was sold out so we went back to the truck. We then found where the Discovery Sternwheeler was so that we could find it tomorrow and then finally found the visitors centre (20 minutes before closing) - turns out it is in downtown in a beautiful building with lovely flowers and local art on the grounds. We asked our questions about the Dalton their and got their counsel and now know what we have to do in order to actually get to the Arctic Ocean. We have to apply for security clearance at Homeland Security 48 hours in advance and the site is on line. So we will do that!
Our adventures for the day are over because I couldn't stop yawning (remember I didn't have the nap) so back to our cosy little campground for the night. We are nestled among many very large rigs. It looks quite funny but we get to meet a lot of people that way because people want to know "Does it Pop Up?")
The next day dawned rainy and cool. We were hoping it would clear up because today we go on our Riverboat Tour and behold by noon it was sunny and hot. We did a little shopping at Fred Meyers to find a new SD card reader as ours has stopped working and some supplies for going up the Dalton highway. Then we headed to the Discovery centre and boarded the Sternwheeler with about 300 others (there were 12 tour buses lined up) and off we went up the river. This is a very well organized tour and you don't just float up the river. We had a float plane demonstration, visits with sled dogs and watched them practicing, then we went to the Chena Village which is a model of an Athabaskan Native Indian Village and fish camp.
The guides at this village were all young people of Athabaskan heritage and they were very interesting speakers. I had a lovely chat with a young man after about the preserving of their language as he appeared to be fluent in his native tongue. He told me that they had challenges with this just like other First Nations people (this is an issue for our First Nations Tribe at Fort Nelson). His tribe have just signed on with Rosetta Stone and have developed a course for the young people to learn the Athabaskan language. He told me however, that he was lucky as his family worked hard to make sure they preserved the language in their family so he has learned the language from his Grandfather along with other skills.
While we were at the village, we also go a chance to buy the book about Granite the Dog Sled and his owner Susan Butcher. Together they won three consecutive Iditarod Races. There is a statue in honour of Granite in the village and information panels about Susan Butcher's history in dog racing. Susan Butcher died of cancer in 2006 but before she did her and her husband got the story down for her children. The book is the story she wrote about Granite her lead dog before she passed away. I got the book dedicated to my students and signed by Susan's husband, youngest daughter and sister who were there at the village. It will be fun sharing this with my students.
On the way back, the commentator 'gave our ears a rest' and let us drift along admiring all the beautiful houses along the waterfront, the ducks, seaplanes and other watercraft. They fed us salmon snacks as we floated along 'up a lazy river'. What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. We roamed around the gift shop after but things were quite expensive. I did get a great t-shirt and we bought the video of the trip. We went to one of the riverside restaurants for supper, explored the Alaska Bowl Company and then headed back so we could get ready for tomorrow. Big day!
We are heading up the Dalton Highway. We have gotten our security clearance and a space on the shuttle one we get to Deadhorse to go to the Arctic Shore - you cannot go there on your own! We are well stocked with bug dope, spare tires, extra gas, food - very few services up this way. Earl is very excited and I am a little nervous but off we go.
So friends and family, there will be a pause in the blog for a few days as we will not have access to phone, cell or internet until we return (we think in about 4 days) if all goes well and we do not encounter any difficulties.
Wish us luck!
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