M: Fairbanks

FAIRBANKS:  Did mostly touristy stuff in Fairbanks, but enjoyed them.  We got a glimpse of how life was in the early years - from the 9th century First Nations emigration - to the 19th century gold rush - to the 20th century growth of infrastructure in the 'last frontier'.

Fairbanks is the closest large city to the Arctic Circle (160 miles south of Latitude 66-deg 33 min).  Major growth came with the gold rush and other mining followed by Defense with large Army and Air Force bases.  The Pipeline comes straight down from Prudhoe Bay, thru Fairbanks, and then on to Valdez.  Fairbanks does have navigable rivers that connect to the Pacific, but not year around.  The population of about 32000 is a hardy bunch that keeps the town open year round: despite winters that stay below minus forty degrees (F) for weeks at a time.  We are reminded that it's a very dry -40°; here's Susie and me, standing in a locker in that dry climate:

M1-40Below:  Sue and I improperly clad for a Dry minus forty-Fahrenheit

We took a paddle-wheel boat up the Chena river that hit on 9th and 20th century activities.  The paddleboat Discovery II was captained by the fully qualified and licensed granddaughter of the couple who founded this venture.

M2a-D3680: Paddle-Wheel boat up the Chena River

Recall that small aircraft have a lot to do with keeping the far reaches of this state in contact with civilization (think Wiley Post).  Right off the bat, a Pontoon plane took-off, circled, and landed right next to our boat.

M2b-D3630: Pontoon plane takes off and lands in 100-yards of Chena River

Up on the river bank, we got to see a team of 16 huskies get hooked to and run out and back on about a half-mile run, pulling a 4-wheeled ATV at up to 30 mph.  More on this later when we talk about Muktuk.

M2c-i2574 Susie's shot of the husky team.

The riverboat stopped at a simulated Athabascan village where we learned about the lore and tolls of the First Nation peoples who lived along the river.  Hunting and fishing provided much of their livelihood and life support.  Salmon, both those who live here during the first two to three years of their life, and those large fish who run up the Chena to spawn were caught with nets, filleted and put on drying racks before they were taken to a smoke-house for final preservation.

M2d-D3647 An Athabascan student filets fish to hang in Drying Rack/Smoke House

Reindeer are (near-) domesticated relatives of the caribou.  They share the same foot shape as the caribou, whose name is the native word for 'shovels for feet'.  The antlers, hides, meat and bones of these deer each served a purpose in the life of these early settlers.

M2e-i2591 Reindeer, related to the caribou, share the same "Shovel Feet" 

Athabascans developed log houses and outbuildings.  They trapped beaver, ermine, fox and larger animals to provide clothing to protect them from the elements (cold).  Hides from four different animals were used to fashion this full-length coat.  The function is ancient, the style of adding beadery is an 18th century adaptation.

M2f-D3660 Athabasca Winter Coat

Fairbanks hosts an annual ice-carving competition each March.  Statues are carved from either single blocks 6'x4'x3' or from multiple of these blocks for larger structures.  Tools are unlimited and include chain saws, chisels, blow torches, drills and other inventions.  Selected of each year's entries are kept in the downtown Ice Museum, open to the public

M3a-D3604 Small Ice Sculpture entry

The curator carved this 'inverted image' of a flower for us in about 15 minutes using a hand drill, a Dremel and a blowtorch.

M3b-D3705 Ice Carving while you wait- also 3703

The Fountainhead Automobile Museum has a collection of some 193 restored from the era before WWII.  Below, without comment are some of my favorites from the turn of the century to the start of the Great Depression.  Evolution: cylinders from 2 to 12; horsepower from 10 to 100, styles from buckboard to saloon cars/sportsters/convertibles/limousines; and power from steam and electric to gasoline.  Purchase prices ranged from under $100 at the turn of the century to $3,000 to $15,000 (then-year dollars) just before the great depression.

M4a-D3717 1907 Ford

M4b-D3709 1912 Premier

M4c-D3712 1932 Cadillac

M4d-D3724 1933 Hupmobile

M4e-D3728 1933 Auburn

M4f-D3720 1933 Cord

Dang, I love Nature … human nature, that is.

Gold is big in Fairbanks too.  Shown is one of the several dredge, strip, and placer mining sites around the town.  

M5a-D3728 Dredge Mining at Fairbanks

In Fairbanks, we also visited the Tanna Valley gold mine where we saw even more ways that miners extracted paydirt from the ground and processed gold from these stockpiles of earth.  Bottom line, gold is in the mud on the rocks, you've got to use it's 20x weight differential to separate it out.  The old fashioned gold pan is slow, but effective.  Here's Susie's take from a bag of pay-dirt about as big as a bag of jelly beans.

M5b-i2614 Susie's Gold Pan (This trove can now be worn in a locket)

Muktuk:  Just outside Fairbanks, we met another, unique entrepreneur at the MucTuc Kennels (muktuk.com).  Muktuk Adventures and Kennels was begun by Mr Frank Turner and his wife Anne Tayler in 1995.  Frank was/is one of the top ''Mushers" in Alaska, competing in the Yukon Quest 24 times and winning one of those.  Muctuk kennel remains very active in the two top competitive dog-sled racing events in Alaska, the Iditerod and the Yukon Quest each year.  They breed and keep a stock of about 100 competitive dogs plus a double handful of retirees who live out their waning years with them.  During our visit, Ms Manuela Albicker gave us a terrific rundown of the husky-dog lineage and competitive dog-sled racing.  MukTuk offers training/instructive outings of up to 4-weeks to prospective mushers.  This helps defray the $30K cost of competing in each major racing event.

M6a-i2618 MukTuk signpost near the lodge.

Huskies are not a "Purebred" dog strain.  To be a Husky, the only requirement is that the dog have direct lineage to the dogs domesticated by the First Nation peoples who traveled to Alaska with them some 1200 years ago.  Each kennel crossbreeds their stock with other breeds to emphasize specific traits (coon-dogs for stamina, greyhounds for speed, yorkies for ??).  The most noticeable trait of these dogs is - they love to run!  For those of us who visualize Simon Lagree using a whip to urge his dogs on … re-think.  Basically, the musher's job is to slow them down enough to steer them, and/or hold on for dear life - they will leave you if you don't keep up!

M6b-i0474: Dogs of MukTuk - I apologize for stealing from their website - We've lost nearly all of our photos from this visit (iPhoto to Photos issue?)

Manuela Albicker is a musher whose stories of training and racing dogs were vivid.  Want to change your dog's bad behavior ??? bite on it's ear.   She showed us how to get your dog water and food at -40 degrees (F or C).   Shared a few hows and whats to do when racing a thousand miles against a hundred other teams in subzero weather with only a few, pre-determined, 60-pound bags of supplies.  To wit: Keep a cool head; Get into the competition's heads; don't stop at the head.

M6C-i2617 Manuela Albicker: Musher, Entrepreneur.

Manuela got into mushing by accident.  She migrated to Fairbanks from the Black Forest in Germany as a journeyman carpenter.  When she got here, the company was gone.  Perusing the listings at the local Visitors Center, Frank offered her temporary work and a place to stay while she found a job.  Her bio on the "Staff" tab of the web page states, perhaps presciently…"After being with Muktuk for eight year she is ready to take the lead of the four and two-legged pack."  - She now owns the place.

Trip Miles: 3568-3692
M7-i0469 Denali to Fairbanks