Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska Saturday, July 19, 2003
Made reservations for a flight up to Barrow – the northernmost land area (between Barrow and the North Pole is ice and water) and there are no roads to Barrow. 
Fairbanks is celebrating 100 years since its founding upon discovery of gold. They had a monster parade – lasted about 2 hours – they had lots of historical floats showing the gold mining origins, with the usual bands and political floats. 
My favorites, though, were the Star Trekker’s club float and the ladies reading group donning platinum bomb-shell wigs and outrageous rhinestone reading glasses.
Stopped at an ice museum showcasing the ice sculpting exhibitions and competitions that are held here in March, drawing ice sculptors from all over the world. 
The museum has rooms that are kept at 20 degrees so the resident ice sculptor can work. Right now he is creating decorations like chandeliers, furniture like tables and chairs, etc. for an ice hotel that will open next year. They had some representative ice sculptures on display – they were absolutely fantastic – such detail and all just melt away eventually.
Fairbanks, Alaska Sunday, July 20, 2003
We called for reservations for the northernmost PGA golf course. The woman, in all seriousness, asked if we wanted 10 am or 10pm! We played with a couple originally from California who moved here 39 years ago to get teaching jobs and stayed. Hot day – mid-80s and clear blue sky. 
They advertised wildlife on the course as one of the attractions, but the only thing we saw were people – everywhere. I’d look around and it would look like ants scurrying in every direction.
Stopped at Pioneer Park where they have moved lots of original log cabins from town out to a park to preserve them and have put in little shops of crafts and souvenirs. We returned to the RV and did some housekeeping chores - laundry, paying bills and cleaning out the large back storage compartments that had filled with dust and dirt.
Fairbanks, Alaska Monday, July 21, 2003
Rode a sternwheeler boat down the Tatana and Chena Rivers that flow through Fairbanks. The tour stops at a reconstructed Athabascan Indian Village that highlights the early Indian way of life. A woman who has a hand-sewn fur and leather coat with fancy beadwork in the Smithsonian Institution was a featured speaker talking about how they made fish wheels that could catch lots of salmon and how they preserved it for both people and the dogs that pulled their sleds. Susan Butcher demonstrated how well her sled dogs are trained, enabling her to win the Iditarod race four times! The dogs pulled her around on an engineless ATV at 35 miles per hour! The dogs are not AKC registered thoroughbreds nor do you see the beautiful white dogs that we often think of as Alaskan sled dogs, but they aren’t mutts, either. They are bred for endurance, intelligence, and specific sled-dog requirements like very hard, small foot pads that won’t crack when traveling hard ice.
We are enjoying beautiful weather – around 80 and a little breeze. Who said Alaska is the frozen north?
