Days 39, 40 and 41 - Fairbanks AK

Day 39
Friday, July 28, 2017
Fairbanks, AK

We spent the morning catching up on chores. Then we joined about 1,000 other tourists, including many from Princess and Holland America tours, on the Sternwheeler Riverboat Discovery. Actually, I think some of our friends have been on this same tour.

Besides the scenery, there were three main attractions. First was to

“see a bush pilot in action.” For this a pilot landed a float plane right next to the boat and then took off again. The plane was very similar to the one we flew in to Wrangell St. Elias.

Next was a stop at the kennels of the late Susan Butcher for at sled dog demonstration. Even though we had seen a similar demonstration at Denali, this was still very interesting. I noticed that just as at Denali, each dog was attached to an individual dog house by a chain. This time there were about 9 dogs harnessed to a 4 wheel ATV-type vehicle. Gee and haw are the voice commands used to tell the dog to turn right or left, respectively. I found it interesting that the dogs all work on voice commands only (reigns are not used to tell the dogs what to do.) The different positions in the line have different responsibilities. In order, they are lead dogs, swing dogs (swing around corners), team dogs and wheel dogs (powerhouse, closest to the sled). All the dogs are trained to work in all the

positions. The team worked together well and seemingly loved what they were doing.

The last attraction was a stop for a guided walking tour of a reconstructed Athabascan Indian village. We got to see some reindeer up close as well as learn a bit about the old ways of the Indian life.

Day 40
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Fairbanks, AK

Late morning we went to the Fairbanks Farmers’ Market. It was a beautiful morning to stroll about the 100 or so vendor booths. A few were in a barn-like structure, but most were outdoors. Some of the

market reminded me of the ones you find in New England. Local produce for sale included bunches of carrots, beets, radishes, onions and PLENTY of rhubarb. There were several vendors selling raw Alaska honey, homemade jellies and baked goods, handmade soaps, ointments, jewelry and knitted hats. One vendor roasted peppers while you waited. Another, called “Golddigger Days” sold locally grown elk, reindeer and buffalo meat. In one corner a trio played string instruments and in another someone played the saxophone. Then there was the row of food vendors: Thai, Vietnamese, Caribbean, Chinese and Crepes. Absent from the choices were good old burgers and fries! Jay and I could not resist and shared a huge crepe filled with nutella, fresh bananas and

homemade whipped cream. Yum!

Mid-afternoon we rented a tandem kayak and did a two hour paddle down the Chena River. This was our first time paddling a tandem and it took a bit of time until we could go straight, but we finally got in a rhythm. There was a nice current, but no rapids. We paddled past some beautiful log homes, all with metal roofs. We also paddled right past our rv park. This river was different from others we have paddled in that there is not a “no wake” zone. Apparently, there is a bit of a war going on between motor boats and canoes/kayaks. Each thinking the other doesn’t belong on the river. So, while some motor boats slowed down when they passed us, others decidedly did not. When the later was the case, we turned the kayak towards the waves to minimize the possibility of tipping over. At any rate, even though there were a few sprinkles, it was a very enjoyable paddle.

Day 41
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Fairbanks, AK

Sunday was a bit of a low-key day. In the morning I went to church at the cathedral in Fairbanks. Then in the afternoon, we took Sandy to the vet. She has been licking her paws and chewing on one in particular. Sure enough, that one paw had some sort of bacterial and fungal infections. It was a good thing that we took her to the vet.

It was a nice afternoon, mid-seventies, so we spent the time sitting outside, enjoying the view of the river. Late afternoon, we dropped the dogs at ABC-K9-Equine Kennels and packed for our 9 am flight to Bettles, AK in the morning.