Denali Day 1

We had an easy start this morning and a beautiful drive down scenic Rt. 3, the Parks Highway.  We stopped at some awesome overlooks and at one that was just amusing, not awesome.  No comment about the following pictures.


Our campground is conveniently located, but we are packed in here like sardines.  There is barely a blade of grass anywhere for the dogs, and we are backed up less than 3 feet from a store.  However, we are lucky to have a spot at all with all the caravans presently in the area. There were some interesting sights here in the campground.

Corky met her twin--Shadow.  

Taking the cat for a walk.  

Precious joins us for happy hour.  

We checked out some plans and reservations for things we will do here and shopped at the stores right behind our RV's.  The guys grilled chicken for dinner and we called it a night early because we have to be up at 5 a.m. to catch the green bus into the heart of Denali National Park tomorrow.

Golf and Reindeer

The beautiful weather tempted David and his trusty caddy, Steve, to head for the golf course at Ft. Wainwright.

The Chena River as a water hazard. 

Putting with a C17 in the background. 

A pretty golf course and pretty weather.



I had been intrigued by the Antler Academy near Santa's house ever since I have been here, so this morning I decided to check it out.  This is a new attraction here, and it is one I heartily recommend if you are an animal lover.  The guides are very knowledgeable and the reindeer (Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, etc.) are charming.  Among the things I learned:

1.  Reindeer have no front teeth so they can't bite you. 

2.  Reindeer feet are very large.  They serve as snowshoes during the winter.  

3.  If you touch the antlers while they are in velvet, the reindeer can feel it.  

4.  Reindeer are not the same thing as caribou, although they are related.  Caribou are bigger.

5.  Reindeer are not native to Alaska.

6. Reindeer are domesticated animals, caribou and elk are not.

7.  Antlers are in velvet in the summer, become bone in the fall, and are shed in Feb./March.  

8.  Reindeer eat the velvet as it comes off the antlers.  

9.  Reindeer like to rub antlers on people and chew on their clothes. 

10.  If visiting reindeer, do not shower and put on clean clothes.  You will just have to do it again.  

Antique cars and Santa Claus

The girls and guys went their separate ways this morning.  The guys went into Fairbanks to see the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum, and they were very impressed.  Most of the cars on display are from the late 19th and early 20th century and most are functional.    The museum prides itself in historically authentic vehicle restoration, and several are winners of the Concors d'Elegance competition.

Of special interest was the car pictured here.  It is the first car built in Alaska, a 1905 Sheldon runabout, built by Bobby Sheldon in Skagway.  Sheldon had never seen an automobile but improvised one capable of going 15 mph to impress a lady.  In 1913 Sheldon was the first motorist to drive the 370-mile trail between Fairbanks and Valdez.

Meanwhile, the girls visited Santa and his reindeer in North Pole.  The Santa Claus house has a gift shop with the most Christmas decorations I have ever seen, and Jackie and I tried to give it the attention it deserves.

 We also visited with Santa himself and assured him that we have both been very good girls this year.


We ended the evening by dining at a great restaurant, the Pump House in Fairbanks, which is a National Historic Monument.  It uses many parts of the Chena Pump House  that serviced the Fairbanks Exploration Company as it furnished water to the  gold dredges in the Cripple Creek Valley.  It was reconstructed in 1978 and contains many authentic relics from the gold rush and Victorian era.
The food was excellent and as we enjoyed the lovely weather on the deck we saw the Discovery III returning from its tour.

July 5

We have spent a good part of the past couple of days planning our future stops because we wanted to make sure the guys got to go fishing.  We were able to schedule several fishing trips, so keep checking in to see how much we will be bringing home.

By the way, we all want to recommend to anyone coming up here to purchase  an ALASKA TOUR SAVER book.   We have already saved more than what we paid for ours, and on some of these fishing trips we can save more than $300 because they are "buy one, get one free."  This book is a great value for anyone visiting Alaska.

Buy this if you plan to visit Alaska!

Today was a laundry day for Jackie, and Precious got to go to the groomer.    I visited a wonderful quilt shop on a quest for a friend, and ended up spending a bunch of money on stuff for me.

Probably the farthest north quilt shop in America.   

At yesterday's parade, some people threw or handed out some flower buds that looked very droopy, but I put mine in water when we got home anyway.   This is what I found this morning--a double peony.


David grilled pork chops for tonight's dinner and we were joined by a new friend, Mike, who lives and works here and who has shared many stories and pictures with us.

Happy 4th of July

We chose to experience the fun of a small town Alaska Independence Day celebration rather than go for the bigger festivities in Fairbanks, so we stayed in North Pole.  It was still a rainy day, but the sun came out just in time for the parade.  We enjoyed every minute of it!  I especially liked the goats, the pig, and the jump rope team!  Pictures to follow.

The color guard led the parade down Santa Claus Lane.  

Steve and David especially liked the old cars.  

There were a few floats.  

Patriotic pig! 

The VFW was well represented.

Great looking goats.  

4 H Float

Senior Citizen's Center salutes veterans.  

The jump ropers.  

The rain began again right after the parade, so we went to Santa's house to wait it out.   I felt sorry for all the arts, crafts, and food booths that had been set up in Christmas Creek.  Santa's house was very crowded, so we decided to come back another day, and the rain was still pouring so we went home.  We grilled steaks for our patriotic celebration and called it a day.    Happy Birthday America!  

July 2 & 3

July 2
It was a cold, rainy day today so we didn't do much of interest.  David cooked pancakes for our breakfast and then we went to Ft. Wainwright and shopped at the commissary and exchange.  We were all surprised at how big this Army base was, and what nice facilities it has.

After a short break we went to the Wooden Bowl Factory, found out where the Methodist Church is located, shopped at the Sports Factory, went to the Harley shop (closed) and stopped for a drink at the Moose Lodge.  We went to dinner at a nondescript restaurant, then home for the evening.  There just isn't much to report today.

July 3
Jackie and David spent an enjoyable morning at the first Methodist Church we have found in Alaska. The guys went back to the base for a couple of things, then Steve fried fish for our dinner.  Still cold and rainy outside, so not much else to do.

Dredge 8

Today started with lots of rain, and we were afraid that our afternoon tour was going to be very uncomfortable, but we got lucky and the sun came out as we were on our way there.  The afternoon turned out to be warm and dry until we got into the car to leave when the rain started again.  Fortunately, it didn't last long.

Our visit today was to Gold Dredge 8.  This was somewhat different than seeing Dredge 4 in Dawson City.  We boarded a narrow gauge railroad train that took us past some re-enactments of how drift miners had to work to get the gold from the bedrock here.   They used steam to power their machines to dig down to where the gold was found.



Then the big companies came in, bought up the claims, and built dredges, such as Dredge 8, to mine the gold.  It is truly a fascinating story.

When we arrived at the dredge store we were given a poke filled with pay dirt, and we tried our hand at panning for gold.   It is harder than it looks, but as promised we all found gold.  After it was weighed, Steve and I were told that we had found $40 worth of gold, and David and Jackie had found $31.  Jackie had hers made into some jewelry, but I'm taking mine home and hoping to get the $40 from my jeweler!

I also got to hold a nugget worth $75,000.   They wouldn't let me keep it, but Steve bought me a beautiful pair of dolphin earrings made by Alaskan artists from Alaskan gold.

After returning to the parking area on the train, we learned about the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS).  It is very interesting how the pipeline fits into the ecology of the land and the lives of wildlife across Alaska.  It is also unusual to be able to get so close to it due to security concerns.  

These are called "pigs" and they are used
to clean out the pipeline.