Fairbanks AK

6/23 – 6/30/2016 – The ride from Tok to Fairbanks was not too bad, hit a few construction sites with gravel so we got a bit dusty again which you need to expect in Alaska.  We came to the end of the Alaskan Highway in Delta Junction AK at mile 1422, since we cheated and came up the Inside Passage by ferry, we have only traveled about 400 miles on the Alaskan Highway and we still owe you some miles that we should make up on the way back to the states.  We checked into Riverview RV Park for the next seven days which is actually in North Pole AK, just 8 miles outside of Fairbanks, since there is so much to do in this area.  The post office here is where all letters to Santa are delivered and answered by a group of citizens of the North Pole.  

 

Santa was off today

Our first day here was dedicated to restocking supplies since there is a Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart in Fairbanks.  We also visited Pioneer Park bordered on the Chena River which lets you walk back to an era when gold was king and narrow-gauge railroads were the way to get around.  It has museums, a riverboat, a campground, a Salmon bake, a native Alaskan village, a mining operation, a huge playground, and of course stores where you can buy native Alaskan crafts, which are really beautiful, but very expensive, and our budget this year is already stretched to the limits… LOL.  We did squeeze in a visit to HooDoo Brewery which was packed to the gills; never saw so many people at a micro brewery, but after tasting the beer we understood.  

 

 

 

 

The next day we hiked the Riverwalk in Fairbanks which parallels the Chena River from Pioneer Park to historic downtown Fairbanks.  I also took Chippy on a neighborhood tour when initially I took a wrong turn on the Riverwalk for about a mile; she was not pleased even when I explained that tourist normally didn’t see the sight I showed herL.    

 

 

 

Saturday night we enjoyed the show at the Palace Theatre in Pioneer Park which we really enjoyed, it was a musical comedy that left you laughing, and a bit wiser about the last frontier and answers many questions about Alaska, such as why in the hell would anyone want to live here year round when winter temps reach minus 50 – 60 below.   We have noticed that you don’t even have to look at the license plates to determine who is a resident, just look for the electrical plus sticking out of the grill of every car or truck and you know that they live here. 

 

 

Sunday we went panning for gold at Dredge8 where they guarantee you will find gold or your money back.  Described as either a floating workhorse or a mechanical gold pan, Gold Dredge 8 extracted millions of ounces of gold from the frozen Alaskan ground.  Today, Gold Dredge 8 National Historic District serves as a monument to the hard working miners who built Fairbanks. Gold Dredge 8 is also a National Engineering Landmark.  Gold Dredge 8 operated between 1928 and 1959 and played an essential role in mining and the economy of the Tanana Valley. It is said that dredges and mining saved Fairbanks.  The tour includes a ride on the Tanana Valley Railroad with narrations and actual working hands at sites along the way and of course Dredge8, a monstrous machine of awesome proportion.  It also included a history and close-up view of an actual portion of the Trans Alaska Pipeline as well as informational facts of the revenue sharing of the pipeline that is distributed to all Alaskan residents each year.  Of course the highlight of the tour was the actual panning for gold in which we struck it rich with a find of $43 worth of gold combined which will be figured into our estate for our heirs. 

 

 

 

 

 

We finished off the day with a wonderful cruise down the Chena River on the Riverboat Discovery, a three-hour tour describing the history of Fairbanks and a family who has made the rivers of Alaska their way of life for five generations.  The fifth generation family of shipbuilders is still running the riverboat cruise which included a bush pilot demonstration, a dog mushing demonstration; a Chena Indian Village Walking Tour which was both entertaining and educational, and btw it was also tasty with donuts and salmon tastings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did have one rainy day so we decided to visit the University of Alaska Museum of the North which presents the full spectrum of Alaska art – from ancient Eskimo ivory carvings to contemporary paintings and sculpture, both Native and non-Native.  This award winning gallery displays Alaska's people, places, and wildlife whose highlights include Alaska's largest gold display, extensive displays of Alaska Native art and artifacts, and the world's only restored Ice Age steppe bison mummy as well as movies on the aurora and Alaskan Dinosaurs. 

 

 

 

 

I did fit in a round of golf at Chena Bend Golf course in Fort Wainwright, the army base near Fairbanks.  Chena Bend Course is home to the farthest north military golf course. It is nestled between the east end of Fort Wainwright airfield and the Chena Bend River, with several holes running along the river. The course has been ranked the #1 Golf Course in Alaska multiple times by “Golf Digest.”  Had a great time playing with a couple of servicemen, and the course was really in great shape, which is no small deed in this climate.     

We decided to spend our last day in the Fairbanks with a ride out to Chena Hot Springs; the 60 mile drive took us through Chena River State Recreational Area, a 397-square-mile preserve that includes the Chena River valley and nearby alpine areas.  This is a big moose area, and we were not disappointed spotting two moose on our journey.  After soaking in the hot mineral waters for a couple of hours, we enjoyed some lunch, hiked around the resort, and decided to get adventurous.  We took the ATV tour through woods, gravel pits and sections of the river, and decided we really need to get a couple of four-wheelers, we had a blast, and walked away.  LOL….Tomorrow we are off to Denali National Park where we will spend two days camping outside the park and four days inside the park.   We really had some fantastic weather so far in Alaska, with only a couple days of rain since we hit the mainland.