Day 36 - 38 - July 6 - 8, North Pole and Fairbanks, Alaska
Last night we took a trip to the Fairbanks airport, and met the Alaska Mission Trip team from our church. It was a surprise, and they did not get into the baggage claim area until almost 1:00 a.m. It is truly ironic that they arrived in Fairbanks on the same day we did!
Saturday, July 6. Riverboat trip aboard the Discovery 2, a paddlewheeler used for tourism. The trip went down the Chena River, to its mouth, at the confluence with the Tenana River. Along the way, we observed a sled dog demonstration with Tekla Monson, daughter of Susan Butcher, who won the Iditarod a record four times. Great demonstration, and great story of Granite, Susan's runt Alaskan Husky who was the lead dog who won the Iditarod with Susan. Everyone made fun of Granite at first, but after he showed his stuff, he is an Alaskan legend.
On the way back upriver, we disembarked at an Indian Village, where there were several demonstrations about the Athabascan way of life, both before and after western civilization was introduced into their culture.
On board the Discovery, they were handing out free samples of Captain Jim's Alaska Smoked Salmon. Naturally, I had to buy six cans to last us the rest of the trip!
The RV Park bus took us to lunch, where we waited an hour for our food, and the orders were all messed up. Really a bad experience, and we did not eat until after 2:00 p.m. It was so bad that we skipped the next stop, the University of Alaska Museum in Fairbanks, and instead went back to the RV.
Sunday, July 7. Free day, so I went next door to Fort Wainwright and played 18 holes of golf on a beautiful course. Afterwards, Dianne and I went to Santa's House in North Pole, (not really into the decorations, but we did get a photo with Santa).
Monday, July 8. Tour of Dredge #8, north of Fairbanks, along a section of the pipeline. Tried our hand at gold panning, and between the two of us obtained about $35 worth of gold. Just a few flakes!
Saturday, July 6. Riverboat trip aboard the Discovery 2, a paddlewheeler used for tourism. The trip went down the Chena River, to its mouth, at the confluence with the Tenana River. Along the way, we observed a sled dog demonstration with Tekla Monson, daughter of Susan Butcher, who won the Iditarod a record four times. Great demonstration, and great story of Granite, Susan's runt Alaskan Husky who was the lead dog who won the Iditarod with Susan. Everyone made fun of Granite at first, but after he showed his stuff, he is an Alaskan legend.
On the way back upriver, we disembarked at an Indian Village, where there were several demonstrations about the Athabascan way of life, both before and after western civilization was introduced into their culture.
On board the Discovery, they were handing out free samples of Captain Jim's Alaska Smoked Salmon. Naturally, I had to buy six cans to last us the rest of the trip!
The RV Park bus took us to lunch, where we waited an hour for our food, and the orders were all messed up. Really a bad experience, and we did not eat until after 2:00 p.m. It was so bad that we skipped the next stop, the University of Alaska Museum in Fairbanks, and instead went back to the RV.
Sunday, July 7. Free day, so I went next door to Fort Wainwright and played 18 holes of golf on a beautiful course. Afterwards, Dianne and I went to Santa's House in North Pole, (not really into the decorations, but we did get a photo with Santa).
Monday, July 8. Tour of Dredge #8, north of Fairbanks, along a section of the pipeline. Tried our hand at gold panning, and between the two of us obtained about $35 worth of gold. Just a few flakes!
Paddlewheeler Discovery 2
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40 degrees below zero |
Sled Dog demonstration |
Granite, the greatest lead dog in the Iditarod |
Caribou at the Athabascan village |
Behind a fence for the audience's enjoyment. Fortunately, they have a large field in which to graze. |
The sun set around 11:30 p.m., and came up a few hours later. There was so much smoke from the forest fires that it created this beautiful sunset. |
North Pole |
This device is called a "pig." It is sent through the pipeline to scrape off the waxy deposits on the insides of the pipe. |
Tom and Diane Larson, friends of Mark and Brenda, finally caught up with us in Fairbanks. |
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