Day 22 and 23 - Fairbanks, AK

Wednesday/ Thursday - July 21/22

Fairbanks is the 2^nd largest city in Alaska with a population around 32,000. Founded in 1902, it is another town started because of Gold discovered in the area. The city was named for Charles Fairbanks, a senior senator from Indiana at the time.

Today the military (present since the 1940’s), the trans-Atlantic pipeline and tourism are vital parts of the local economy.

Day 1 – Riverboat Discovery

We took an “intimate” trip down the Chena River on the Riverboat Discovery, along with ~ 600 other tourists. It was interesting despite the crowd but it rained for most of the trip. There was a sled dog demonstration along the shore, a float plane landing and taking off on the river, a stop at a re-created Alaska Native Athabascan village plus general area history.

The sled-dog training quarters and demonstration along the Chena River's edge.
We are on the river boat to the right of the man on the right.

The young tour guides were Athabascan college students from area tribes attending the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. They were proud to be sharing their traditions and culture. The Athabascans have lived in Alaska for 12,000 years.


These animal skins are important to the Athabascan people. Left to right: wolf, wolverine, lynx, martin (it takes 3 to make a hat), muskrat (50-60 skins are used in the main body of parkas), mink (not valuable to the culture as the skin is too thin and the hair is too short), ermine, when white – called a weasel when brown, red fox, cross fox and arctic fox. A beaver pelt is the one being stretched.


Parkas are made by the village women. They spend 5-hours a day for 6-months to make one coat. The beaded flower design identifies which tribal family you are from. The hood’s ruff is made of wolf fur.
Front

Back

When it started raining, rain ponchos were handed out to all of us tourists at the village.

A grizzly bearskin drying.

Salmon-drying at the village.

Day 2 – Off to Chena Hot Springs for the Day

We drove 50-miles to the Chena Hot Springs outside of Fairbanks.
Along the way there was a mother moose and baby in a pond by the road.
The Mom!
(a 30-minute Kodak moment for Peter and William)

The Baby!

We stopped at Chena River State Park on the drive to the hot springs.

Our walk along the river included another rock throwing session.

Hiking the trail at Chena River State Park

Alaskan "M & M's" everywhere!
(Moss & Moose-scat)

At Chena Hot Springs, Peter and William tested the waters - $10 each. The water directly from the hot springs is too hot and needs to be cooled before people can use it. One sign on a fenced-off hot spring warned that the temperature was 156-degrees F.

The Hot Spring's décor included the skeleton of a 1959 Polaris snowmobile – the first year they were made.

A Hot Springs flower garden.
Most of the flower gardens we've seen so far in Alaska include rhubarb!

Odds and Ends

After three-weeks in close quarters, we are still smiling-most of the time!!

At least Alaska is safe!

Back to including wildflowers:

Bluebell

(Lungwort/Mertensia)