Destination: Fairbanks, Alaska

Fairbanks, Alaska
June 23, Day 21
Elevation 430'
3:55 pm, 71°

This is the 2^nd largest city in Alaska.  It was once a gold rush boomtown and is now known for having some of the warmest days in the summer and the coldest in the winter, if you consider -62° cold. 

 
After setting up for the 4 nights we would be in the city, we got information from the campground office on tours and walked to the onsite restaurant for a light salmon entree that was very tasty.

Setup time. Slides are in.


  

Top grade restaurant at campground

With outside seating for weary travelers

One of the desserts we had at this restaurant

After eating we walked around the campground and the riverbank area.  We were amazed at what long days of light can do for plants and free roaming children who are used to going to bed when it gets dark.

Dinner-plate Dahlia

Riverside at the campground

Tuesday, June 24
Day 22

One of the first things we did was to take a guided tour of the Fairbanks area as an orientation.  A van picked us up from the campground and took us around the downtown, Pioneer Park, the pipeline, the city museum, and the University of Alaska. Our driver was especially knowledgeable and entertaining.

Alaska Centennial Visitor Center was one stop.

Wall tent lodgings

Wood and liquid gas stoves

Piper Cubs

Wolves

Bears

There is a fascination with outhouses here...

...and any thing horny

From this raw material....

 ....To this: Baby Raven

The pipeline runs thru Fairbanks too.

The pipeline was built between 1974 and 1977.  Special construction techniques were developed in order to deal with all the issues concerning permafrost. They invented mechanical devices called pigs that were sent through the pipe to perform various inspection and maintenance procedures. There is even a scraper pig that removes wax that comes out of the oil and collects on the walls of the pipeline.

Crude oil anyone?

The 40" diameter 40 or 60 ft length pipes are fitted to form an 800 mile pipeline. This pipeline flows from the oil fields in Prudhoe Bay in the north and into the  transfer facility at the Valdez ice free harbor in southeastern Alaska.

Pig

Notice vertical radiators to remove heat from the pipe

The pipeline is constructed in two basic ways: above-ground resting on steel supports and below ground buried in a few feet of rock, gravel, sand where the soil's foundation will not change when it is thawed by the heat of the 100° oil that is flowing through the pipe.

One of my main reasons for going to Alaska was to play golf at one of the most northern golf courses in the world at midnight. We called and got a 9:00 pm tee time and drove out to the Fairbanks Golf and Country Club.

Daisy had played here years ago.

Now it was my turn. Daisy was my caddy and photographer.

Notice the powerful coil just before unleashing into the downstroke! Daisy says to next time hit the white ball first.

After a lightning-fast nine holes, encouraged by swarms of mosquitoes, we had a late dinner at the course restaurant, which is noted for its well-prepared cuisine.

Bacon wrapped scallops

Seafood chowder puffed pastry

Asian halibut salad

Wednesday June 25
Day 23

Chip's special preparation of chipped beef started the day.

The second day we took a a shuttle from the campground to a Chena river tour on the Discovery sternwheeler river boat, which has an open sundeck with glass enclosed decks. The tour lasted 4 hours and included a river journey, a walking tour of a replica fish camp and Athabasca native village, and docking at a genuine dog musher’s compound. The Discovery river boat and tour is a Brinkley family business that is currently in its 5^th generation. The family started out with a freighting business operation with barges on the Chena and Tanana rivers and then added tourist tours.

Discovery II Sternwheeler

On our way back to Fairbanks, the Captain edged to one side of the river and stopped.  In the next moment, a float plane pilot demonstrated a short field take off and landing next to the boat. He taxied up near the boat and via wireless microphone educated us about the role and hazards of being a bush pilot in Alaska.

a water takeoff

A little more lift and

Another enjoyable part of the trip was that they provided a snack featuring the family’s brand of canned smoked salmon.  Here is their recipe.

2 cans of Captain Jim's Gourmet Alaskan smoked salmon  

8 ounces of softened cream cheese

Chopped nuts and parsley (optional)

Discovery III was our floating tour bus.

New construction

Yesteryear's housing

We docked at the home and kennels of the late 4-time Iditarod champion Susan Butcher, who passed away from leukemia in 2006. Her husband and daughters still raise dogs and compete in the Iditarod. The boat stopped just offshore their landing and the head handler and dog trainer explained the training techniques for sled dogs and teams. Our particular presenter was one of Susan Butcher's protégés, and we also purchased a book that was written by Susan Butcher about her lead dog, Granite. 

Susan Butcher's dog musher training compound

New puppies in training

Granite was the smallest of a litter. Susan was advised to give him away because he was sickly and did not have any confidence. Susan believed in the little pup and gave him the name of Granite. As he got healthier, he loved to practice and to race.  His first Iditarod was in 1984, but in 1987 on a practice run he collapsed from a heat stroke and kidney infection. The vet said he would have permanent heart, liver, kidney, and brain damage if he lived. But above all his racing days were over.

Dog trainer

Summer sled training

Susan believed in the dog and would not put him down. As he was recuperating, he was not happy staying behind as the other dogs went on training runs. Susan took him out walking and playing with the puppies. She began having him pull the sled for short practice runs. The story goes that on a short race nearing the finish, Granite and their team of young dogs was leading and got passed. Granite, according to Susan, did not like being in second place and was towing his younger teammates down the trail. Susan was worried that Granite was working too hard and stopped her team.

Book signing by Butcher's daughter

When the team ahead was out of sight she put Granite, who was lead dog, back on the trail.  She relates that Granite charged down the trail and the puppies with him had no choice but to keep up. They passed the team ahead and won. Because of this performance, she knew Granite was ready to race again in the Iditarod. They did and he led her team to win a total of 4 times.

 

Granite: greatest lead dog in Iditarod history

Susan's daughter gave a presentation to us and autographed the children's book about Granite that we are sending to Josiah and
Levi.

 We steamed a little further down the river.

Fish camp with weir (fish wheel)

The fish camp is the summer home for Athabasca Indians who practice a subsistence lifestyle in the interior region of Alaska. Fish camp is also where family elders work side by side with younger generations, passing down their history and culture.

Results of fillet demonstration

smoking rack

It is at the fish camp that they catch fish to feed themselves and their dogs throughout the winter. The fish here were caught in a fish wheel, which scoops the fish from the river as it is turned by the current. At the fish camp, we watched a native interpreter demonstrate how fish are caught, cut, and prepared for human and dog consumption.

Cache

Packed tightly. a fir tent sheds rain

Bullwinkle?

Caribou (real)

Rear

Woman's winter parka with a sunshine ruff-front.

At the Athabascan village we docked and grabbed an umbrella for a land tour including presentations by native interpreters on customs, clothing, and lifestyles.

Daisy also looks good surrounded by hides.

Back on the river we passed several parcels of land with various stages of development and living styles.

Well known watering hole on the river

One of the founders, Mary Brinkley, is still living, and her grandchildren run the business.

Mary, wife of the original Discovery I Captain

Discovery I is still operational

New construction

and not so new

Thursday June 26
Day 24, 5:45 am departure

We decided that since we were so close, we should go to the Arctic Circle.  It would be a 400 mile round trip drive over a non-paved road called the Haul Road (Dalton Highway).  This is the main supply route to the Prudhoe Bay oilfields.  

The Dalton Highway starts 70 miles north of Fairbanks and it crosses the Arctic Circle at mile marker 115.  The Arctic Circle is that point at which the sun just fails to rise above the horizon on the shortest day of the year (winter solstice) and just fails to set on the year’s longest day (summer solstice). We wanted to go to the Arctic Circle and were advised that this road is not for new vehicles or those “faint of heart.”   

The road is gravel and our windshield and headlights would become targets of the flying rocks from the large tractor trailers on the road. Well our truck was not new, but there would be plenty of potholes to contend with as we would be carrying a 4,000 lb. load. We were told to take extra fuel, tires, a CB radio, and food, just in case.  In case? 


We decided to take a professional bus tour instead.  I am glad we did.

The tour company van picked us up at 5:45 am to go to their office to check in and order lunch. At 6:30 am, after signing release papers, we boarded a 25 passenger motorcoach and met our driver/guide Suzanne. She was a middle school science teacher and provided a great commentary during the long trip. We stopped at the pipeline,Yukon Trading post, and the Yukon River Camp to pick up our sack lunches of sandwiches, chips, fruit, and sodas. There was a toilet on board but we were asked to only use it in emergencies and that we would stop every couple of hours to use the facilities at each stop.

Our goal

Before it got messy

The pavement soon turned to muddy gravel.

It was wet and rainy as we got to the Dalton.

The zigzag pipeline above the ground is insulated with fiberglass, to keep the heat from the oil away from the ground. The above-ground pipeline sits in an H-shaped cradle or shoe that allows the pipe to slide as it experiences temperature changes or contraction of the ground due to earthquake. They have quakes here often.

Yukon Trading Post had mosquitoes and pit toilets.

Rest stop along the way

Resting place for tours that did not make it maybe?

The pipeline runs along the road, with some points closer than others.

In 1988, with 2,000,000 barrels per day being produced, it took 4.5 days for the oil to go from the well to the port.  Currently with less than 450,000 barrels being produced, it takes 15 days to do the same.

The Yukon River Bridge is a girder bridge spanning the Yukon River.  It carries both the haul road and the Alaskan pipeline.

Yukon River

Yep, a tug boat at our inland lunch stop

Lunch and dinner stop

We picked up our sack lunches at the Yukon River Camp on the way out and stopped on the way back for a sit-down dinner if we had ordered one when we stopped there earlier. This was the only facility that had flush toilets.

Next Stop: the Arctic Circle

We got there. The rug with the line was to help you feel you could cross something!

We got to the Arctic Circle about 3 pm and had one of our fellow travelers take a photo of us with the sign. This was our turn around point.  We had been on the muddy gravel road since 6:30 am.
At the circle turnout there were picnic tables, barbecue pits, outhouses, and camping spots. The farther north you travel above this line, the more summer days without a sunset. Also here, -80°F is the normal winter low temperature.

On the way back, the bus driver stopped at a view point for a little hike and photos at an interpretive area about the arctic tundra we were viewing. Back on the bus, Suzanne served us "Tundra Mud with Snow" (flour-less chocolate cake with whipped cream) to commemorate our crossing.

Of course we found patches of protected snow.

The scenery back was just as non-spectacular as that going out, if you can see it for the rain. One particular exception is a granite protrusion called Finger Rock.

Finger Rock is a landmark on the Dalton Highway. It stands 40 feet above the surrounding landscape.  Early bush pilots used it to navigate this alpine tundra landscape.

Finger Rock points to Fairbanks

It also pointed the way for us back to our starting point. 

We saw a Willow Ptarmigan on the way back. Our bus driver told us that this is the Alaska state bird, and was chosen by the elementary school kids of Alaska.  These birds are brown in color during summer and in winter will turn white. The also have feathers on their feet that act as snowshoes allow them to traverse the snowy landscape.

Of course there was more pipeline, muddy road and big rigs to see from a different perspective.

We traveled through a mosaic of wet spruce forests, meadows, lakes, ponds, and bogs. In one pond near the road we surprised the local inhabitants.

Momma Moose and Baby

We stopped at the same two places going back as we did coming out and got back to Fairbanks at 11:30 pm. The day seemed shorter in that it was still light out and we had seen interesting videos along the way on the pipeline, gold rush, and first nations peoples and cultures.

At our first rest stop

Arctic Crossing Certificate

Back where we started

Our driver, an educator

At the office we were presented our official document of having crossed the arctic circle. After hugs and tipping our driver, we were driven back to our campground and a welcomed glass of wine and a shower. It had been a 17-hour trip, but we had no regrets.

Epilogue:

The land here is as unique as the people who call this place home. I really believe living close to the elements here reforms those who have adapted and learned to survive. Your view of life and each other changes.  In particular the native people, here called the "First Nation," are some of the most enlightened ones. 

I read a poem written by an Athabascan woman that I will summarize for you. She was asked "What do you say in your native language when you leave the other? What is the word for goodbye?" Her response was "Nothing. We just say 'See you,' because we never leave the other." They believe that they will eventually see you again in someplace at sometime because "the mouth cannot say goodbye to the heart." For this reason, there is no word in Athabascan for goodbye.



So "See You".....

 Next stop: Denali