Friday & Saturday in Fairbanks

On Friday it rained.  And rained and rained and rained !!   In fact it was quite useful as at least it did start to wash some of the caked on mud from the Dalton Highway off the car ! But apart from that, it was a pain in the neck. The tent was dry, no problem, so I stayed in there as long as I could, recovering from my long day.  But getting up, trying to get things sorted, get showered, and so on meant that by about 9 or 10 am, everything was pretty wet.  So I ended up watching a movie off my hard drive, and then in the late afternoon I managed to contact Amy and Dave who I had met in Skagway, and went over to their RV Park for dinner and a great evening out of the rain over there, comparing notes on where each of us had been in the last 2 weeks ! A great evening, and after scurrying back to my tent in the rain, went to sleep.  But today, Saturday, despite a bad weather forecast, has been fine all day, so I have been out exploring Fairbanks !


First of all, what about the sunset pics on Thursday night ?  Taken at about 11 pm !!   Oh, and I have been told that the solar things I thought might have been a daytime Aurora Borealis (when I was driving out early to go the Circle on Thursday) are actually called Sun Dogs !!   More info here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_dog

Anyway, I got moving early this morning and went down into the centre of town to do a 3 mile walk along the Chena river through town.  The walk starts off in the heart of town, and from a building near where I parked I learned first about the annual dog sled race from Fairbanks to Whitehorse, which is a rival race to the Iditarod from Anchorage to Nome.  Then I saw the Bridge of Flags, which was put up in 1984 to celebrate the 25th year of Alaska's Statehood.  And lastly in the middle of town, was the Golden Heart Plaza, where there are plaques from all sorts of people and companies recognising feats accomplished in the development of Alaska - The Pipeline, the Dalton, the Gold Rush, and many other feats that go to make Alaska what it is today.  And a lovely statue of Alaskans in winter outfits. Very impressed, and a nice part of town to sit and reflect on Alaska and Life.

Moving off down the riverside walk, one first comes to another Statue, commemorating the WWII Lend Lease programme, and the communal effort put in by Russians and Americans to send supplies and armaments to Europe to help in the war effort.  Once again, a very impressive bronze statue.     Shortly after that, something completely different - An archway of Antlers - Provided by Alaskans from all walks of life, from villages and rural areas all over Alaska, and then formed into the archway by an artist.  Certainly very different and local.

After that, the walk beside the river was very pleasant, all the way up to the US Army base of Fort Wainright.  Fairbanks is not a city of striking buildings or architecture, so there wasn't a lot else to see - Just a pleasant walk beside the river for an hour or two.

I then came back to the campground to make some lunch, and was going to go to a big hunting / rafting / hiking area called Chena Hot Springs, but found it was some 60 miles out of Fairbanks, and the trails etc are like 15 miles or more each, so quite major ones, many of them requiring overnight camps. So I thought that was all a little more than I needed right now, and instead I went first of all to the Fountainhead Auto Museum, and then on to the Creamer's Field where the migratory birds come in and where I had been last week, but this time I found some much better and longer hikes there.

The Auto Museum was very good. http://www.fountainheadmuseum.com/   It focusses on early US cars, and most of its examples are in running condition and have regular outings. Very well done.  But they also have a big emphasis on "Transport in Alaska", especially the early days The old tractor with screw "wheels" so it could be used in the snow, and I have to take my hat off to those guys who did things like take a model T Ford, take the front wheels off and replace them with skis, and then relocate the front wheels to the back so it had 4 rear wheels, and then put a kind of bulldozer type track around the 4 tires, so it became all weather.   Except for the driver, who was of course exposed !!!  Also some amazing photos of early pioneers in their vehicles, driving in snow and ice in cars with skinny wheels and little protection, and on roads far worsethan the Dalton is today !!  Now I have done my little (and very insignificant in comparison) trek, I can really appreciate what they must have gone through - They were true pioneers, and it was wonderful to see how inventive they could be in order to get things done up here in such terrible conditions.  Just amazing, and well worth the visit - It really inspired me to do something more for my next trip - Something a bit harder that really tests man and machine. Have to think about that one !!

I then went just down the road and set off on a hike I had done before, but soon took a different turning and went off around "Wander Lake".  It ended up being a fairly long 3 hour walk, and I was moving quite quickly, but it was really interesting.  I found stories of Alaskan butterflies that can hibernate through the winter by replacing the water in their cells with glycerol, which mens they don't freeze and rupture their cells !!    And of frogs which also hibernate, and their livers produce glucose which acts as a sugary anti freeze !!   Amazing !
Also found lots of evidence of beavers.  I had seen trees chopped down when I went on a river walk in Whitehorse a few weeks ago, and thought it was odd that the trees were chopped down but not removed. I also was surprised that they trees are chopped in a circular fashion, and there are the most enormous wood chips lying around at the base of the tree.  Then I found out later this was done by beavers, so when I saw this evidence today, I immediately knew I was on a beaver trail !  Also found a beaver den, with logs piled up on the northern bank (for sunshine) to provide an entrance way.  Didn't see Bucky though !!  Also lots of evidence of moose presence - At one point I was able to take a photo of moose scat right beside the beaver chopping !!  Would be nice to see a bit more of the wildlife itself though - Everyone else I talk to seems to see it, but for some reason they hear me coming and seem to run away !!!

Anyway, a really good walk out there, and after chatting to people in the car park who were gathered round it when I returned, (one of whom was my age and had worked on the Alaska Pipeline and lived out in Coldfoot !), I eventually got away, and decided to go for a drive through the centre of North Pole on the way home, so I could get some pcs to show you that, while it might be May, Santa Claus is hard at work up here preparing, so panic not - He will be ready by the end of December !!

Then home for a yummy chilli and vegetable supper, heated in my little cooker, and a bottle of good Aussie wine bought at the corner store for $6 !!

And so to the blog !!!   Enjoy the photos !!  https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/FridaySaturdayInFairbanks?authkey=Gv1sRgCOvUrcmOnteOHQ#