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| Along the banks of the Talkeetna River with Mt. McKinley in the background |
Before heading up to Alaska Beth was doing a little research on best deals. If you know Beth, that certainly won't come as a surprise. She's the CEO of this Traveling Idiot operation when it comes to planning and getting the best deals. No matter where we go, as I look around, I know that very few, if any of the other folks I see got as good of a deal. Alaska has certainly been no exception, which is a good thing because it can be a little pricey up here. If you are planning to visit this wonderful state and have some flexibility, I would suggest you try to get here before Memorial Day or after Labor Day. These are right around Alaska's "spring" and "fall", which as you can imagine being this far north, come late and early. You can avoid the biggest crowds and get better prices.
One thing Beth found that we have enjoyed is a discount booklet called "The Alaska Tour Saver". It sells for around $100 and offers discounts in the form of "buy one, get one free" on top attractions throughout the state. We've enjoyed using it at several places already and may use a couple of more coupons before we leave. One other thing about the booklet. If you are going to be visiting in the fall, wait until after mid-summer to purchase your tour saver book...……….they go on sale for fifty dollars! Now who do you think figured that deal out?
Alaska Tour Saver
After the fried food fiesta of Saturday at the Alaska State Fair we headed further inland and up. Our next destination was Fairbanks. Fairbanks has a population of right around 35,000 people. It and Juneau are about the same size and compete for the distinction of being the second largest city in the state (Anchorage is the largest). Fairbanks has the distinction of being the "coldest large city in the United States". Temperatures in the winter here frequently hover in the slightly subtropical -20 to -40 range. This seems to serve as a source of great pride for those who live, or maybe more appropriately, those who survive here year round.
We took our time on the drive and enjoyed taking in the views. As we made our way north the color in the leaves and groundcover began to change, signaling that fall was approaching. We even added about 25 miles to the trip by taking a diversion off of Highway 3 to visit the village of Talkeetna. This little village has only a few streets and less than 1,000 full time residents. It's a very eclectic makeup of artists, hunters and fishermen, as well as people just wanting to live the good life, while being pretty darn close to being "off the grid". We made it to Talkeetna around 10:00, which was before the first tour bus arrived. We enjoyed breakfast at the Talkeetna Roadhouse and roamed around a few of the shops. Most of the stores cater to the tourists and will be closing soon. A few such as Nagley's Store and the Talkeetna Roadhouse are open year round for residents and winter visitors.
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| Talkeetna Welcoming Committee |
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| Biscuits and Reindeer Sausage Gravy...…..it'll put a smile on your face |
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| Fall is beginning! |
Talkeetna
The village sits at the confluence of the Talkeetna and Susitna Rivers. We walked down to the shore line of these fast flowing waters. Fortunately it was a clear morning and we had a great view of 20,310 foot Mt. McKinley (also known as Denali). I'm not sure how far we were from the mountain, probably 50 miles or more, but on a clear, sunny morning it made for spectacular viewing.
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| Mt. McKinley is on the far right |
We got to Fairbanks around 5:00 PM. We checked into our hotel and thanks to the Alaska Tour Saver booklet began our "24 Hours as Tourists"! First up was the Golden Heart Revue at the Palace Theater. This one hour musical covered much of the history of Fairbanks, going all the way back to the gold rush days of the early 1900's. There were four very talented actors and a piano player, that together lightheartedly sang and danced the history of this area.
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| The Palace Theater-Home of the Golden Heart Revue |
The Palace Theater
Yesterday morning we continued our "touristy adventure" of Fairbanks, once again thanks to the Alaska Gold Saver booklet. First up was a visit to the Gold Dredge 8. This tour started with a brief overview of the Trans Alaska Pipeline. It was followed by a train ride through an area that had been mined for gold back in the early 1900's. We learned about the evolution of the gold prospectors who made their way to Alaska to stand along the creek beds slowly panning for gold, up to the more modern dredge that automated gold mining. We even panned for gold the old fashioned way. As you can see from the pictures we struck it rich...………..well at least we found a little bit of gold (everyone does) that was valued at a whopping $13! Touristy, yes! Fun and educational, absolutely!
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| Cross section of the Trans Alaska Pipeline. My hand is on a "dumb pig" which travels through the 800+ mile pipeline keeping the oil flowing. "Alyeska" is the name of the company that maintains the pipeline. |
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| Gold Dredge 8-It automated gold mining in the Fairbanks area |
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| Prospecting for gold! |
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| Another gold prospector! |
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| Those are genuine gold nuggets in that vial! OK, actually their gold flakes valued at $13 dollars! |
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| The engine of the Gold Dredge 8 mine train |
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| Doing my best to hold up the Trans Alaska Pipeline |
Gold Dredge 8
After a quick lunch we were off to the next touristy adventure, a ride on the Riverboat Discovery III up the Chena River. This relaxing journey on an authentic paddlewheel boat rambled past million dollar homes and log cabins standing side by side along the bank. We paused briefly for a float plane demonstration by a local pilot. He told of the key role small planes play in Alaska by transporting people and goods between the many remote villages. There was also a brief stop at the Trail Breaker Kennels for a little lesson on the sport of Dog Mushing. The talk and demonstration was given by David Monson, who along with his late wife Susan Butcher owned the kennel, raising and training dogs. In 1986 Susan became the second woman to win the Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race. She went on to win it in 87,88 & 90, making her only the second four time winner. Sadly, she passed away in 2006 at the age of 51 (Leukemia). Her husband continues to run the kennel and trains these amazing athletes.
The last stop was a walking tour of a Chena Indian Village. The tour which was conducted by several young ladies of Athabascan Indian descent shared information on how this tribe survived for over 10,000 years in the harsh conditions of this area, as well as how they continue to embrace their culture today. Touristy, yes! Fun and educational, absolutely!
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| Riverboat Discovery III |
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| Trail Breaker Kennels- A team of dogs are getting ready to demonstrate their pulling with the modified ATV (engine has been removed). They can pull at up to 25 mph. |
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| Interesting confluence of the Chena and Tanana Rivers. The Chena is spring fed and clear, the Tanana is glacier runoff and very silty. |
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| A fish wheel used by the Athabaskan Indians to catch salmon |
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| Chena River Village |
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| A monument to Granite. Susan Butchers lead dog on her four Iditarod wins |
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| She was a trainer/musher at the Trail Breaker Kennels. She shared with us that during the summer the dogs eat around 800 calories per day. When racing in the winter that caloric intake goes up to 15,000 (not a misprint) per day. Their favorite temperature to pull the sled...……….around -40! |
Riverboat Discovery
