Relaxing in Fairbanks, Alaska

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DAY 18: SUNDAY, JULY 15: Today was an exceptionally quiet day for The Evans Family, seems kind of odd because here we are in the big city of Fairbanks, population 30,367(there is also a North Star Borough pop. 97,970). You would think big city, big lights, big things to do, but we did the opposite and just chilled out. The day started out beautiful and sunny as we slowly got moving at Wal-Mart. I typed the blog and spent a good portion of time on the phone getting all our Denali National Park reservations made because that will be where we are headed after our three days in Fairbanks. So far so good with getting great camping spots on the fly...that luck carried over when we arrived at the River's Edge RV Park here in town. When we pulled in around 11:00 am I thought we were totally going to be out of luck here because there were at least 4 campers waiting and the place looked full. Aaron came out said he got a site and we drove to a perfect site on the end of a loop right on the Chena River, full hook-up and everything. None of us could believe how awesome it was. The kids were down in the water before the truck was even in park. We got all set up, again, laundry going, bought some more souvenirs at the gift shop and just hung out until around 5:00. Next we headed out for a drive thru town. They have everything you need here, but to tell you the truth, I wasn't that impressed, it seems kind of run down, not a sparkly city. We ended up at a place called Pioneer Park, can you believe that? How funny! It is a family fun place set on 44 acres and behind the walls it holds a colage of crazy stuff. What sucked us in was Hanna's relentless pestering to go in because they had a sign for all-can-eat halibut and the girl wanted some fish. Well inside there is a park, a square dancing hall, town with historic buildings, mini golf, train rides and a SALMON BAKE. We were not sure what it was all about until we got in there, but we knew it must be good because tour buses of people were getting dropped off to eat. It was awesome. All-you-can-eat halibut, prime rib and fresh wood-fired salmon with a buffet of sides and a dessert cabin. HEAVEN!! I seriously lost track of how many times we each went up for more halibut. It was the best! Afterwards the kids got their pictures taken on a giant halibut. Man did we have a blast. We watched some square dancers, walked around a little while Brett totally entertained us with his opera singing. We figure the salmon bake must be to Alaska like a good old BBQ is to Texas. Well, it is a must do! Back at the camper we sat and watched more boats going by while the kids kicked the soccer ball around. All day we had kayakers and fishing boats strolling by, what a peaceful setting. Our big mistake was hooking up cable TV because there was America's Got Talent...next thing you knew we were all inside watching. After 18 days and no TV I guess it was to be expected!

Total Mileage: not many today

Plate Quest: NH, NY, AZ, OR, NV, SD, WA, OK, OH, IL, VA, KS, UT, MI, LA

Wildlife Report: some new kind of crazy mountain goat creature pictured below

Funny: some new kind of crazy mountain goat creature pictured below

Shocking: Hanna and Brett both ate 4 (maybe more)pieces of cake at dinner.

Alaskan Trivia: What is an ulu?

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