A summer day in Fairbanks and on to Denali

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Thank you Steven!! I've been bugging my travel companions to write a guest blog since we started this trip. Finally someone took the plunge. And speaking of plunges, I'll add more on our white water rafting adventure later but I need to get back to the chronological sequencing of our travels. Last I wrote we were just getting to Fairbanks.

Fairbanks was an interesting place...not much to look at as you drive into the city but I think I got to feel some of the charm of the place, at least in the summer. Our hotel was in downtown and near a pretty river walk and an excellent Visitor's Center. We started our day in Fairbanks with that walk and exploring the Visiter's Center. It had a few good exhibits and we saw the film, 40 Below. That's how cold it gets here and winter lasts from October to April. Not exactly my idea of an ideal climate. The city does have lots of cultural programs....from a symphonic orchestra to theater groups and according to the film anyway, a strong sense of community. It's a diverse population with many native Alaskans but mostly people from other places. Whenever we spoke to people the first question was where are you from and what brought you here...answers were often military connections and the availability of jobs. The film talked about the psychological effects of the long dark winters on the population and we also saw some of the social problems in a native Alaskan group who hung out in the park and were drinking and carrying on from early in the morning throughout the day. People we spoke with said that alcoholism was a problem the city was trying to deal with. But we also got to experience the cultural side of the city which worked for us because we were too car-tired to drive the 60 miles out of Fairbanks to the the Hot Springs and Ice Museum as we had planned on our itinerary. Instead we happened upon Shakespeare in the Park...scenes from Romeo and Juliet done by a group from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. (a sprawling campus) and we found an ad for bluegrass music by the Headbolt Heaters at the Botanical Gardens in the evening. Between Shakespeare and the music and lunch at The Cookie Jar, recommended by Guy Fiori of Diners, Drive-In and Dives, we had a very fun but easy day in Fairbanks.

Also spent some time in Fairbanks with the Enterprise staff...two minivans later (the first one you know about, the second one didn't have working A/C)..the car was packed once again and we were on the road to Denali. This was a short trek...130 miles. We had to be at the McKinley Chalet Lodge to meet the rafting group we had signed up with for a 4 hour white water rafting experience. That was unexpectedlly added to our itinerary. While we were having breakfast in Fairbanks I brought out coupons I found in our 'Entertainment' style coupon book Northern Lights for rafting trips. Everyone was pretty quickly on board with the idea...Barry and Beth were a little more hesitant but willing to give it a try.

It was a really fun experience. Unfortunately no pictures to share. I did buy an underwater camera at the last minute but it's the kind that needs to be send away to have the pictures developed so those will have to be shared at a later time. We were given dry suits to cover our clothing which really looked like astronauts outfits, along with life vests and a half hour of safety tips. By that time we were all varying degrees of terrified. The 6 of us were on one large raft with a guide who did the paddling. All we had to do was hold on for dear life. The water was moving pretty quickly and there were Class 3 and 4 rapids. After being completely terrified through the first set of rapids, it was awesome. Our guide was great...very friendly with a great sense of humor and lots of experience. We (meaning me, Beth and Barry) pretty quickly overcame our fear and relaxed and enjoyed the ride and the beautiful surroundings. We got splashed quite a bit but the suits kept us from getting too cold. It was a little like Roaring Rapids at Great Adventure, only real! We were out on the water for about an hour and a half and I was sorry that it was over.

We ended the day with a mediocre dinner at The Salmon Bake on the little strip of tourist stores across the road from Denali and then settled into our motel, a cute, quiet place about 10 miles from the entrance to Denali National Park which is on the itinerary for tomorrow. At dinner we talked about how our trip is winding down (only 2 more sightseeing days left) and our thoughts can't help but turn to what 's on the schedule for us when we get home.

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Photos

Fairbanks Welcome
An arch of moose antlers

Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre
Romeo and Juliet

Botanical Gardens
Bluegrass group