Fairbanks, Alaska

Fairbanks is in the interior of Alaska and its second largest city.  The term "large" is relative since Alaska is twice as large as Texas but has fewer people than Minneapolis.  We stayed in Fairbanks about two weeks.  There were several things we wanted to do and see here and we wanted to be here at the Summer Solstice on June 21.  

One of the places we wanted to see was the museum at the University of Alaska.  It was all we had heard and more.  We have been to what seems like hundreds of museums throughout the Southwest but this one impressed even us.  I could not take pictures inside but if you ever get to Fairbanks it is well worth a stop.

 

 

We toured a place called Pioneer Village.  It was mostly gift shops.  (I think Alaska averages one gift shop per resident.)  But there was a small museum showing some interesting things about the history of the area.  This is the stagecoach that ran from Fairbanks to Valdez around the turn of the last century.  It was only used a few years until it was replaced by the Alaskan Railroad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also took a riverboat tour on the Tanana River.  This is the boat we rode.  It is a family-owned business.  It was started in 1899 and is entirely run by the family.  The crews and pilots are all family members.  Even some of the first boats were built by family members.  On the way downriver, we even slowed up to wave at the pilot's grandmother who lives on the river. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some reindeer we saw along the riverbank.  I learned that reindeer are the same species as caribou but they have been domesticated.  I suspected as much when I noticed these animals came out of the woods as soon as the boat appeared and went back as soon as it left. They seem to be well trained.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another stop the boat made was the home of a woman who raises and trains sled dogs.  There is a 1500 mile dog sled race here each year.  This woman has won that race three times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We watched them hitch the dogs to a four wheeler.  I have seen dogs being hitched up before and they always fight like crazy.  I thought it was because they didn't want to pull the sled.  It appears that most often the opposite is true.  The dogs love to pull.  We were too far away, however, to hear if she actually said "mush" to get them started.  She did refer to herself as a "musher" so maybe they actually do say it.

 

 

 

 

This is an Athabascan Indian fish camp.  A family comes to a camp like this to harvest the salmon when they are running.  The fish are smoked and provide food for the family and their dogs for the winter.  The wooden device in the water is a fish trap  The two scoops are rotated around the central axis to scoop the salmon from the river..

 

 

 

 

 

 

The boat's last stop was at a simulated Athabascan village.  Among the other attractions was a fashion show.  This parka is made from at least five kinds of fur.  I didn't ask what this woman's outfit cost but we had seen others not near as elaborate in shops selling for $3000.

 

 

 

 

On June 21 there is a street carnival in downtown Fairbanks.  It turned out to be a three block stretch of gift shops and food stands.  There was one unusual food stand.  It sold deep fried Twinkies and Snicker's bars.  Being an old Minnesota State Fair goer, I am familiar with any number of things-on-sticks but this was a new one for me.

The other thing we did while in Fairbanks was to take a bus trip to the Arctic circle.  I will tell you about that trip on another page.