Alaska Part 1: Fairbanks

We hit the ground running when we arrived in Fairbanks and for the next 9 days never slowed down.  We checked into the dorms at the University of Alaska Fairbanks around 1:00 am on 8/1 in a feigned darkness that is all too common during the summer months in Fairbanks.  We fought off the impending daylight and tried to grab a few winks of sleep before we started our first fun packed day in a few hours.  With a few short hours of sun soaked sleep behind us, we embarked on the first day of our journey with our fearless leader Scott Jordan at the helm.  First stop was Fred Meyers for some breakfast and supplies; Fred's is kinda like a Super Walmart with better prepared food, more like a "Super Wegmans" I guess, either way after some serious confusion amongst the group we did manage to find something to eat and get underway.

First stop was the University of Alaska Fairbanks Large Animal Research Station.  Here UAF students and faculty take care of and study herds of muskox and caribou.  We took a short but informative tour of the facility and got to see the muskox and caribou up close.  

This female muskox knew that tour time was feeding time and came running when our tour guide showed up

here she is begging for more

This caribou knew the gig too

while these two stayed out back bellied up to the bar

Next stop was the Alaska Fur store where we spent some time browsing all the incredible firs they had for sale and picked up some fabric to make curtains for our camper

Jess checking out the selection of mink firs

Look at the paws on that fox

And a beautiful top shelf wolf fir

And of course a bear on the wall.. there seems to be lots of these in AK

After the fir store we grabbed a quick lunch at Fred's and headed for the Riverboat Discovery.  The riverboat is a 3 hour tour down the Chena river on a reproduction of the stern wheelers that were used for years to move freight around the shallow braided rivers of Alaska.  We got there early to be the first in line and made a mad dash for the front row top deck seats to get the best viewing opportunities on the tour.  Along the tour we saw a demonstration of the float planes commonly used for travel around the Alaskan interior, enjoyed a dog sled demonstration at Trailbreaker Kennels (Susan Butchers kennel), and learned some about the native Athabaskan people at the Chena Indian Village.  We also got a chance to enjoy some blueberry donuts and smoked salmon dip while traveling up and down the river.  

Discovery III the stern wheeler that took us on our tour

Float plane taking off next to the boat

Puppies being trained at Trailbreaker

A dog team hooked up to an atv and getting ready to run

And they're off...  (click to watch video)

The Chena Village fishing camp

Looking down the Chena River toward it's confluence with the Tananaw

Jess looking for some snow

One of the dogs from Trailbreaker Kennels

After the riverboat tour we took some time to get our fishing equipment ready for the trip to Valdez the next day then headed off to the Alaskan Salmon Bake for an all you can eat seafood feast.  Lucky for us we hit it on snow crab night and enjoyed a meal of roast beef, grilled silver salmon, fried cod, and snow crab legs.  The food was fantastic and we all ate more than our fill.  Jess winning the night with a grand total of 3 full return trip plates to the buffet (this record is still up for debate but at the dinner table she was crowned the winner).

Doesn't it look tasty?

So with one fun filled day behind us we headed back to the dorms ready for some much needed shut eye so we could be up early and ready to enjoy the beautiful drive to Valdez the next morning.