Today was my second full day at Fairbanks, Alaska. I arrived here on Wednesday, July 14th, but after a long day's drive, I really didn't do much to see and enjoy the city. Yesterday, I attended to personal things like getting an oil change for the Explorer and a haircut for me.
I also took the walking tour of downtown Fairbanks, visited the museum on the campus of the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, and the took a three hour trip on the Chena and Tanana Rivers aboard the paddlewheeler, Discovery III.
The smooth ride of Discovery III so impressed me that I decided to take more pictures of it this morning. I 'slept in' and didn't leave my motel until around 8:00AM. For me, that's a late start on any given day. But it was right 'on time' to get positioned at a good photo point along the Chena River. Yesterday, the Pump House at Cripple Creek was pointed out while we cruised by, and it was easy to find this morning.
I had my tripod and video camera set up, and my 35mm camera checked out and ready to go. I could hear the ship's whistle precisely at 8:45AM as it departed from its dock. And, within minutes it was approaching my vantage point. I had the video camera in continuous mode, so I could take a 35mm picture, then advance the tripod as the ship began to pass my photo point. I have reviewed my shoot and I'm really happy with the video that I captured.
I packed up my things and headed for my next destination for the day, which was a local theme park called Alaskaland. Alaska celebrated its centennial back in 1967 and the park is a heritage collection to commemorate that event. The park is open to the public at no charge, unless you wish to take one of the rides or see one of the fee exhibitions.
I toured a presidential train used to carry Warren Harding to Alaska in 1923. I've been aboard the SS Klondike in Whitehorse, Yukon, and yesterday I spent time on the Discovery III, so I skipped visiting the sternwheeler Nenana which is significant to Fairbank's history back in 1930-1950.
I have always enjoyed airplanes, so I paid the small sum to tour the Aviation Museum. Those of you who may have read my 1997 'See the USA' trip diaries, know that I have toured a number of aviation museums around the country. I hate to compare but my favorite is still the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida. Today's museum visit had things unique to Alaska's history, so one has to be reminded of what the museum's objective is.
Yesterday, when I went on a walking tour of downtown Fairbanks, I made the comment that I was not impressed, and somehow expected to see more buildings representative of the turn of the century. Well, I got a partial answer today, because a number buildings are on display at Alaskaland which have been relocated from downtown Fairbanks.
The most enjoyable thing I did while at the theme park was to talk with the engineer who drives the A67 locomotive around the park's perimeter. I tried to talk him into letting me drive the locomotive, if only for one spin around the park, but he wasn't that receptive to the idea. At least he let me pose for a photo with the A67.
After lunch, I spent the afternoon at the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics. It was just coincidence that my visit to Fairbanks coincided with the olympics being held here. This is the 39th year the olympics have been conducted. Quite analogous to the Greek-inspired olympics, these olympics test the physical and mental skills of the Eskimo and Indian population in this part of the world.
It may sound odd or silly, but the games scheduled for today included Toe Kick, Kneel Jump, Two Foot High Kick and the Scissors Broad Jump. The olympics also has other events such as the Eskimo Parka and Indian Dress Competition, and there are many booths with arts and crafts on sale.
I spent hours watching the Kneel Jump and then later the Two Foot High Kick. Let me explain, and then you decide whether you could compete! Imagine kneeling, barefoot and you're sitting on the backs of your calves. Then you can rock back and forth, up and down, for the purpose of which is to propel yourself forward into a standing position, landing on both feet and keeping your feet where they landed so it can be measured. Just think about that!!! Your hands can't touch the floor to help you rise, and you're not on your feet to begin with, so it's basically a 'jump' up, from kneeling to standing. The age groups were from 8-9 year olds to young adults and leaps of 10-30 inches.
Later, I watch both the men's and women's Two Foot High Jump. A ball is hung from a gallows, initially at about four feet off the ground, and then progressively raised. I think the women's group topped out around six feet off the ground whereas the men got as high as 7.5 feet.
You can run up to the hanging ball, using any approach you want, but the objective is to touch the ball with both of your feet, at the same time(!) and then land on the floor with both feet, at the same time!! The women's group had few 'stars' but the men's group had an excellent group of semi-finalists.
My last activity for the day turned out to be different than I had expected but in the end, it worked out well, in my favor. I made a reservation to fly north from Fairbanks and see the Brooks Range of mountains which is above the Artic Circle. The flight was scheduled to leave Fairbanks at 8:00PM, which may sound odd, but remember, this is the Land of the Midnight Sun.
When I made the reservation, they go through the 'rules', one of which is that the reservation is non-cancelable. You have paid for it regardless of what happens. Well, what happened was that it clouded over in the afternoon and began a solid rain around 7:00PM. There were only three of us signed up for the flight, and while the pilot and tour guide were optimistic that the weather at the Artic Circle 'might' be much better, I was asking if I could get my money back.
The other guy booked for the flight really wanted to go, in any case, because he had his eight year old daughter with him, and he wanted her to see whatever there was to see. Well, I gave in and agreed to go. After a long delay, we were finally airborne and off to see the tundra of the north.
The thirty minute flight to get to Bettles, which is 35 miles above the Artic Circle didn't allow us to see much. The cloud cover continued to be dense until just as we arrived at our destination. Our tour guide, Dave Riley, who teaches school during the winter, kept us informed about many things having to do with Alaska and the terrain. When we landed, it was a different world.
First of all, Dave made the comment that Bettles is not even a town. To quote him, "It's just a place to land an airplane....". There is a lodge there for people who might be coming to the "Gates of the Artic" National Park, or who are involved with airplanes. Up here in Alaska, there are many, many planes, of all sizes, and many people are able to fly. When you look at the entire state, there are relatively few roads and most long distance transportation is done by by air.
We landed at Bettles at 9:40PM. You still might say, 'what an odd time to take an air tour'. But, believe me, the sun was brightly shining!! We took some pictures, talked with a park ranger who showed us some slides and talked a bit about the park. It is truly a wilderness area, with no roads, no trails and no services. He told us that fewer than 2000 people come up here each year to hike and camp.
Then we got back on the plane and off we went to fly over the Brooks Range. For those interested, you'd have to look a map to see how large an area we flew over. From Bettles, our pilot flew north along the John River and into the Brooks Range. And I mean 'into'. Back in 1985, when it was still permitted, I took a flight to see the Grand Canyon, where the plane literally flew below the rim of the canyon. What a spectacular flight that was!
Well, our flight over and in between the mountains of the Brooks Range was great. Because of the delay and the rain from Fairbanks to Bettles, our pilot assured us that he would make it up to us with some extra air time over the Brooks Range. And that he did, by almost an extra hour of sightseeing.
There are some very high peaks in the Brooks Range, but most mountains are probably 5000-7000 feet in elevation. Jeff (I didn't catch his last name) flew in among the peaks and I found it interesting to be taking pictures out my window of mountain peaks higher than the plane.
Because of the long winters and short growing season, there is not much tree coverage of the Brooks Range. Most of this territory is tundra, a wet, spongy layer on top of the permafrost. Mosquitos are generally a problem, but there were few for my visit (thank goodness).
After flying north along the John River, around Anaktuvuk Pass, our plane turned eastward, and then south along the "Gates of the Artic". While flying in this canyon, we could easily see Mount Doonerak and Boreal Mountain, the highest peaks in this area (6000-7000ft).
It was still light at 11:40PM when we headed back to Fairbanks. From Bettles south, the cloud cover resumed so there was little to do except chit-chat. It was around 1:00AM before I got back to my motel. Dave gave me a certificate, documenting my visit to the Artic Circle.
Tomorrow, I'm off to Denali and the Mount McKinley area. Mount McKinley is the highest peak in the United States. On Saturday, I plan to see what I can on my own and then on Sunday, I have booked a seat on a tour bus. I'll keep you posted.