Discovering Fairbanks…or Freezing in Fairbanks!!

Day 49, Wednesday, July 31

We had an action-packed day today, discovering Fairbanks aboard the Discovery, a huge paddlewheel boat which cruised down the Chena River.  It was an old sternwheeler with a guide that provided all kinds of great info about the area.  Fairbanks is a city of extreme temps.  The record low is –50 and the record high is 95.  The river was frozen until early May this year, and sometimes they will be able to cut ice from the river on Halloween.   That’s a pretty short spring/summer! 

At the dock, before we got on the boat, they had an “experience” where you could see what an Alaskan winter is like.   You enter an enclosed room that has been chilled to 40 below zero!!  It was pretty fun and didn’t seem too awful, except that Jim’s glasses fogged up when we came out of the cold chamber.  We were supposed to get a picture emailed to us but it hasn’t arrived yet.

Actually, it was a beautiful day weather-wise in Fairbanks.  It was 77 degrees, sunny and a nice breeze,and even hot in the direct sun.

We stopped at the Chena Indian Village along the river and the guides were native Alaskans who shared information on how their people lived and survived in the wilderness when they came to Alaska.  It was a very interesting way of presenting the info, and a great way to see a different view of Alaskan life.  One girl modeled a parka made of all kinds of furs, with markings that identified the tribe she came from.  (I can’t remember all the details.)  They showed various animal pelts and how they used them.

They  showed how they caught fish with fish wheels, and then smoked and dried them.

You should see the gardens…with 21 hours of sun, they are able to grow some good looking veggies!  Here’s an interesting tidbit…after the summer solstice (the longest day of the year) they start losing 7 minutes of daylight sunshine per day.

 

 

 

Susan Butcher (a 4-time Iditarod champion) and her husband David Monson also lived along the river.  She died about 7 years ago, but her husband has carried on their business.  He told about their dogs, training the little ones, and even demonstrated a mush run, with the dogs pulling a tractor!   It was unbelievable how fast they went…almost 20 mph!   It was pretty cool to hear the stories directly from her husband.  We also met a girl who works at their kennel (Laura) who will be participating in the Iditarod in February.  it will be fun to watch, and cheer for somebody you feel like you know!

While we were cruising down the river, a bush plane landed next to us…pretty cool!

We had lunch at Pike’s Pier, which had a driving range on the deck, and you could try to hit a golf ball over the river to the other side. Several in our group tried it…even Jim, and he almost made it across!

 

And, speaking of pretty “cool”, we went to the Ice Palace, a museum that commemorates the World Ice Carving Championships which are held in Fairbanks each March.  When the rivers freeze (the ice is 3 feet deep), they cut blocks of ice to use for the competition, and move it by forklifts to the outside site.  They call the ice “Arctic Diamonds”.  The carvers spend 2 days outside, carving their ice masterpieces.   The museum has preserved several of the pieces from last year’s competition in cooled rooms.  They also have an ice room with a table and chairs—a little chilly, but pretty amazing! 

Then, we watched a carver create an ice sculpture--this took him less than 10 minutes!

Tomorrow is a “free day”  so we will be able to do more exploring, and even get a little rest!