Fairbanks - Riverboat Ride down the Chena River

Mr. Charley and I took a 3 hour tour down the Chena River on the Discovery III Sternwheeler Riverboat.
     
There’s a cool history of this family riding on the river for 5 generations, starting with this man:
   
Here’s a couple of other boats in their fleet:
 


Check out some of the sights  along the river:
   
Sled dogs houses in the backyards
    
Check out the solar panels on this house! 
 
I think this is an old houseboat

We got to see a Bush Pilot demonstration landing/taking off right next to the boat. He talked to us through his radio, so that was pretty cool.
 
 We also stopped at the Chena Indian Village and got a great tour and lessons on how they catch salmon using a fish wheel:
 
And how they smoke it:
    


Saw their reindeer up close:

Some awesome furs and cabins:
  
 
       
We also got to see the home and kennels of the late four time Iditarod champion Susan Butcher. It’s a great story and may be worthwhile to look into some of the books written about her & the challenges she faced.
   
At the end of the Chena where it meets the forks feeding into the Tanana River, see the different colors of water?


 
All in all, it was a great tour! Even though there was a lot of people, it was well organized and we didn’t feel “herded” like other tours. They had radio feeds & TV sets throughout, so you could “see & hear” everything going on even if it was on the other side of the boat. When we got out at the Indian Village, we had plenty of time to roam around & see, touch & feel so it was great!
Have a good one everybody! We’re trying to…..


RV Riding is riding on a boat sometimes, too
 
 

Fairbanks and the North Pole

We got to Fairbanks relatively early and found Glass Park RV Park at Fort Wainwright. 
   

Nice sites with woods for the girls. And yes, SQUIRRELS!  Once we set up we drove around a little to see what’s on base. There’s a golf course here, so Mr. Charley was happy, but they don’t reserve Tee Time for just 1 player, so he’ll check into it later.
Since the North Pole is SOOOOOO close to Fairbanks, we took a ride to find Santa, or at least see where he lives.  What should’ve been about a 20 minute ride, took us over 45 minutes, mainly because they put a highway through the North Pole! We were on the wrong side of Santa Clause Lane, but finally found it.
Well, all I can say is Santa must head south for the summer.
Here’s some pics to prove it & that’s all I’m gonna say about that.
           
I did like the candy cane street lights, though
  
    


We headed back to Fairbanks, hit Walmart so I could replenish my supply of Thermacell refills and got back in time for a nap.


Have a good one everybody! We’re trying to…….


RV Riding is finding out about some things but still happy you found it

Nenana

We took some time to drive up the road to the little town of Nenana, mainly to see if we could get some Wi-Fi and cell service. I figured the kids were worrying about us by now since we haven’t been online for a few days. The library was closed, but they did have secured Wi-Fi and luckily Dana was up there and knew the password. It wasn’t the fastest, but at least I could get on Facebook to post that we were OK.
The town was quaint, but has a nice little history. It's located at the confluence where the Nenana River enters the Tanana River.  It’s best known for the Nenana Ice Classic, an annual event that awards cash prizes to the lucky winners who guess the exact minute of the ice breakup on the Tanana River. The contest has been a spring highlight since 1917. Ice Classic tickets are sold in Alaska from February 1 through April 5. Mr. Charley and I bought one (thanks to “Marge” the sweet lady at the Visitor Center).
The festivities begin the last weekend in February with the Tripod Raising Festival and culminate at breakup time in late April or May. When the surging ice on the Tanana River dislodges the tripod, a line attached to the tripod trips a clock located in a tower atop the Ice Classic office, thus recording the official breakup time.
For more info, go to www.nenanaakiceclassic.com  Trust me, this is BIG stuff!
 



I love these sod roofed cabins.




That’s Mr. Charley calling me in to meet “Marge”. She had her husband (of 57 years) back his pickup truck under the hanging flower pots so she could trim them! Needless to say, God bless this town when she’s gone, since I’m sure no one can sell the history of this place better than her.
Like most of these small towns, there’s an old Railroad Depot,Cultural Center and Gift Shop.
     

      
What really caught our eye was St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. This little log building, built in 1905 is always open to the public. It has hand-hewn pews and a raised altar decorated with Native beaded moose hide hangings.
   
       

Of course, nothing beats these signs on the stall of the ladies room!


We got  back to Anderson with time to spare for our Loosey Goosey group Happy Hour!

Have a good one everybody, we sure are.

RV Riding is getting to see some cool old stuff & meeting folks who can tell you about before it’s too late