Blogs from Fairbanks, Alaska, United States, North America - page 6

Dear all, So when I last put pen to paper (sort of) we were just getting ready to go on our Tundra Wilderness tour. We jumped on a bus and headed off into Denali national park. It's 6 million acres and its one of the most impressive things we have ever seen. Alaskans have strict rules about how many people go in and out and it's kept in its true wild form. That's what we loved about it. So we drove part way into the park. The thaw is late this year and so there was a lot of snow. It felt a bit like being on safari, looking out for wild animals. Ash and I bought a new camera a week ago as they are pretty cheap here and our i phones just weren't doing ... read more

Hello all from Fairbanks Alaska! I've had a great week that began by meeting up with some folks I had originally met on the Denali excursion who had also continued traveling in Alaska. We all crossed paths again here in Fairbanks for drinks the first evening (Monday evening) and then breakfast/brunch the next morning. They are headed up to see the Polar bears and since they are avid photographers, it will be a great opportunity for them. As for me, I've been to the Visitor Center here in Fairbanks which is really good with some great historical displays. I've been to their Bird Sanctuary, a Pioneer Village (mostly closed but museum was excellent), the Large Animal Station (University of Alaska), drove most of the Steese Highway until I came across snow laden roadway where I decided ... read more

This morning Barbara gave Ruth and I a haircut. It is nice to have a beautician in the group. Then we all went to the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. It has some very interesting exhibits there including Otto, the brown bear who is 8'9" and weighs 1,250 lbs. They also have on display Blue Babe, the world's only mummified Ice Age steppe bison mummy. They also have Alaska's largest public display of gold. We saw two movies - one was on the Aurora. This was really fascinating. I would love to see the Aurora but since it doesn't get dark, it's not possible. They say that Fairbanks is a very ideal place to see it. I hear that in the winter and early spring, it is beautiful. We also ... read more

5th-7th July ’12 Fairbanks So we left Denali and drove along the highway past more forests and over rivers, leaving the big mountains behind. We stopped off for a break at the settlement of Nenana, which was really just one road with a few small houses, an RV park and a couple of tourist shops, at the end of the road was the railway station/museum. It was a very strange place, there was hardly a soul about, I guess it was like a pioneer camp without the pioneers. This seems to be the norm for Alaska though, these tiny little ramshackle settlements. When we arrived in Fairbanks that felt like a larger version of the same thing. Obviously Fairbanks – The Golden Heart City, is a city and so has a substantial population and has all ... read more

knitchick2: Today at camp I got to shear a sheep and did drop spindle which was AWESOME. And it was pretty easy. So I got to bring a ball of yarn that I made. Mom was sooooo jealous. Shearing a sheep was fun too. We used hand shears that weren’t electric. It was my counselor sheep that we sheared . There were 4 of them. Today has to be my favorite day. I almost forgot! Last night mom and I went to a comical play about Fairbanks. That was a hoot. So if you ever come up, I recommend it. It’s in Alaskaland in Pioneer Park.... read more