Monday, August 26, 2013

About That Fairbanks and Destruction Bay (August 18 - 24)

Dear Family and Friends,

Our drive to Fairbanks took us along winding roads with beautiful mountains and rivers. Along the way, we could see the first sign of Fall with leaves turning a golden color. It is very hard to imagine Fall in August, but this is Alaska!


 Rainy and overcast for our drive.

 Fall colors are beginning to appear.

 The inevitable roadwork

In Fairbanks we took a paddleboat tour on the Chena River. On this trip we saw a replication of an Athabascan Fishing Village (think Williamsburg).

 Floatplane takes off as we cruise

 Susan Butcher's sled dog site. She won the Iditarod several times. Though she died a few years ago, her husband is still very involved with the dogs.

 Alaskan puppies (possible Iditarod contenders)

 The adult dogs are ready to take the driver on a four wheeler.

 After the run, the dogs take a dip in the Chena River.

 Caribou along the way

Log cabin with a sculpture of Granite (Susan Butcher's lead dog).

 The Athabascans used birch bark to make their canoes in the old days.

 Beautiful pelts made this $25,000 coat that was worn by Athabascan women.

 Continuing down the Chena River on the paddleboat.

We took a trip to the Ice Museum. Fairbanks holds the premier ice sculpting contest in March. The picture below shows a table and chairs. They are kept in a -40 degree room.

Although this blog shows some of the things we did in Fairbanks, it does not show all of them. After three nights in the city we started heading south. On the way to Destruction Bay, sixteen miles outside of Fairbanks, we passed Eilson Air Force Base.


 Beautiful mountain ranges on an overcast drive.




 Our trip to Destruction Bay (Kluane Lake) took us back across the Canadian border into the Yukon Territory.

 Very difficult driving with lots of construction and frost heaves.

 Destruction Bay and Kluane Lake.

We had a one night stay in Destruction Bay (so named because at one point in history, strong winds blew away the few structures that were there to support the building of the Alaska/Canada highway. The next morning we were up and on our way to Skagway, Alaska.
 Emerald Lake

Crossing the border into the USA

Our next blog will tell you about our time in Skagway. Thank you for checking in with us. At this point we have driven 4,539 miles and will begin our drive back to the lower 48.

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