Trip to Portland, Oregon

Tomorrow we fly out with Meisha, Dave and Ev for Portland, Oregon, to attend Stephanie's, Dave's sister, wedding. We, that is Nancy and I, plan to spend two nights in Portland, then drive up to Seattle for two nights, before coming back to Portland for the wedding.

Flight Routes

Cruise Route

Raven Chicks

This scupture was outside the visitor's center where we waited for the shuttle back to the hotel.

Vent

This is a sample of the vents for the underground system that allows Fairbanks to have running water despite the permafrost. Many Alaskans this far north do not have running water or a septic system because of the permafrost.

Lunch at Big Daddy's

We sought out Big Daddy's BBQ, which had once been featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Our meals were tasty and a welcomed change from Princess Lodge meals.

Demonstration

Our guide provided us with a shot demonstration, which involved not only cutting into the ice with his power tool but also involved using a heating device to bring out some of the detail.

Ice Sculpter's Tools

Ice Museum

You can imagine how long these not-so-warm-blooded lovelies held this pose.

Photos from our Last Day

Though dreary, it was a bit warming our last day and it did not rain. We spent some more time in Fairbanks. The shuttle dropped us off near this antler archway.

From All over the World

I've been meaning to write about the people we've met in general. Those on the ship employed by Princess were from 41 different countries. Those we talked to at various times were from Australia, Bosnia, England, India, Italy, Mexico, the Philippines, Romania, Serbia, and Thailand. Fellow travelers that we talked to were from Nottingham, England; New Castle (near Sydney), Australia; Iowa; Missouri; California; and Florida. Most of the employees we met on the land tour were actually from the lower 48, just here for the summer season which wraps up before the end of September.

In Denver

The overnight flight from Fairbanks to Denver was uneventful. We even arrived a little early. We just finished a little breakfast and are waiting to fly out to Chicago just before 10:00 mountain time.

Saturday

We have a whole day to "kill" before we fly out of Fairbanks. We took the shuttle into the city to look around and catch a late lunch. We went to the Ice Museum where we learned about the ice sculpture competition held here every March. We had lunch at Big Daddy's, which has been featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. We're now at the Airport just about ready to board. Signing off for now.

Jeff

This is Jeff, our driver and guide for the day. We learned a lot today. This is basically the end of our tour. Since our flight out of Fairbanks is quite late tomorrow night, we are on our own for the day. We plan to take the shuttle to downtown Fairbanks and spend the day exploring.

Athabaskan Culture

We disembarked for a while to visit a replica of a Athabaskan encampment. This garment took six months to make and is worth between $1,500 and $2,000. The Athabaskans are known for their beadwork.

Reaching the Tanana

We went to the mouth of the Chena River where it emptied into the Tanana River. The Tanana empties into the Yukon.

Dog Mushing

Along the river we were given some insight by David Monson—dog musher and husband to Susan Butcher, four time winner of the Iditarod—into what was involved in training the dogs for mushing.

Sea Plane

After lunch we boarded the river boat on the Chena River. Our first demonstration was of this sea plane taking off and landing on the river right beside the boat.

Lance Mackey

We were eating lunch when we were introduced to Lance Mackey, a four time Iditarod winner. He was standing so close to me that I could not get a good shot of him.

A Real Gold Digger

This woman is a real gold digger. She owns a back hoe that she uses to hunt for gold on her property. Note the gold nugget pendant she’s wearing.

Gold Nugget

This nugget that Dan is holding weighs 16 ounces and is worth $75,000.

Panning for Gold

We were each given a poke filled with pay dirt and then taught how to pan for the gold in it. Nancy found $21’s worth in hers. It took two tried for me to eke out a meager $6’s worth. She had hers put in a locket and I had mine in a tie tack. Gary got $35’s worth but someone else on the bus got more than $100’s worth.

The Dredge

This dredge was built in Bethlehem, PA, by Bethlehem Steel. We visited this steel plant—now abandoned—back when Meisha was a student at Lehigh.

Water Hose

Because a tremendous amount of water was needed to dredge up gold, a 90 mile trench was built to divert water from the mountains. By the time it was directed through this nozzle, the pressure was strong enough that on one occasion it killed a man when he accidentally let go of it.

Moose Scat

Right along the railroad tracks that took us through Gold Dredge 8 was some moose scat.

The Dumb Pig

This gave a view of a dumb pig, which is what is used to clean out the pipeline periodically. A smart pig is a computerized mechanism that monitors and abnormalities within the pipeline that might be in need of repair.

The Alaska Pipeline

Our first tour today (Saturday) was a stop at the Gold Dredge 8 in Fox, which also included a section of the Alaska Pipeline. We learned about how it was designed, built and maintained.

Vicky and Gary

Besides hanging out with Shilah and Greg on occasion, we got to know Vicky and Gary Breese of the Los Angeles area and both retired teachers. Donna and Dan had met them first on the ship when Dan was waiting to see the doctor about his back and Vicky was waiting with her traveling companion who eventually decided to return home when she learned that she had a broken back. Gary had been a high school English teacher, so the two of us spent considerable time comparing notes. Vicky and I also had something else in common, as she joined a Sweet Adeline group once she had retired.

Our Latitude

I've been checking our latitude here in Fairbanks. We're at 64.8436 degrees north latitude. When we were in Australia last October, the farthest south we went was Victor Harbor, just south of Adelaide. Victor Harbor is at 35.55 degrees south latitude.

Our Route through Alaska

This map shows our route from Whittier, where we disembarked from the ship, to Fairbanks, where we are right now.

A Rose between Two Thorns

Don’t let them tell you otherwise. This spot is right outside our hotel window.

Still More Mushrooms

These mushrooms were growing out of a horseshoe pit.

The Alaska Pipeline

From what we’re told, we will be seeing a section of the Alaska Pipeline tomorrow.

Fireweed

The fireweed in this area are pretty much in there full fall colors.

At the Hotel

We walked around the grounds of the hotel shortly after we arrived.

Rudbeckia

There are planters full of beautiful flowers in the area where we were waiting for the bus to pick us up.

In Fairbanks

There is a small river running through Fairbanks.

Arriving in Fairbanks

There were no photo opportunities on our bus trip from Denali to Fairbanks. The driver provided us with a lot of information about the area we were passing through and going to, but we didn’t stop along the way. He took us into Fairbanks for lunch.

Flowers

All about the properties of each Princess lodge were beautiful annuals.

A Hilltop Lodge

Above us was another lodge.

Along the Nenana River

Since we didn’t have to catch the bus to Fairbanks until 10:30, Dan and I took a walk along the river trail that we didn’t see yesterday.

More Beauty

Okay, here just one more. We didn’t get back from our tour until well after 7:00. We decided to try one of the restaurants across the highway and we’re glad we did. The place had character—and good food, not that we really needed more food.

Janice

We stopped to hear Janice, a native Athabaskan of 23, tell us a few things about the culture of her people. This area used to be their hunting grounds. She also sang a beautiful Athabaskan lullaby for us.

Amazing Vistas

What can I say?

Savage River

Our first stop was along the Savage River.

From the Bus

In an effort to reduce the impact on the environment we had to ride in school busses. Throughout most of the park motorized vehicles are prohibited. I am going to have a hard time being selective about the photos I upload.

Denali National Park

By the time we were to catch our scheduled tour it had cleared up—sunnier, but not much warmer.

The Lodge

Since our tour was not until 2:30, I sat in the lodge and worked on the blog.

Wednesday Morning

Wednesday morning was wet and cold. We walked along the river walk within the hotel property not realizing there was another section farther to the south.

Denali Princess

Here’s the Nenana River from behind our room. There were more eating options here, so we had pizza and played cards with Donna and Dan afterwards.