Day
19 – 5-30-15 Saturday We drove into Fairbanks this morning stopping
at Fred Meyers to pick up a few grocery items. This is a chain store
similar to Wal-Mart – actually Wal-Mart was just across the street.
Then we drove to the Alaska Office of Natural Resources to get some
information on state campgrounds but they were closed for the
weekend. So we called and got reservations for the Riverboat
Discovery. We stopped for lunch at the most Northern Denny's
Restaurant in the World.
The
Riverboat Discovery trip is a 3 hour narrated paddle boat trip down
the Chena River. The narrator explained several things about the
river and the houses along the banks. He pointed out the house that
President and Mrs Reagan stayed in for 3 nights in 1984 when Air
Force One stopped in Fairbanks for refueling. Shortly after we
departed the dock a bush pilot did a demonstration of a bush airplane
taking off and landing on water right in front of and beside the
boat. We were up on the third open air deck and on the side where he
took off and landed so we got a great view. Most of the bush pilots
like the Piper Cub airplanes. The one that the pilot was using today
was built in the 1950's. The plane only weights 1100 pounds so it
makes it ideal for the work the bush pilots do. They can take off and
land on a very short runway.
The
next point of interest was Susan Butcher's Trail Breaker Kennels and
home that sits on the banks of the river. The boat stopped right
beside the kennels. Her husband David Monson was in the yard and gave
a talk about dog mushing and raising the dogs. Susan was a four time
winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. She won it three times
with a lead dog named Granite. No other lead dog has won it three
years in a row. Susan died in 2006 from cancer. After explaining
about the dogs and mushing he and the dog team gave a demonstration
using a ATV instead of a sled since there is no snow now. Those dogs
were really eager to run. They have to tie down the ATV until they
get all the dogs hooked up because the dog want to run when they are
hooked up.
After
the dog sled demo the boat moved on down the river to the area where
the Chena joins another river and there he turned the boat around.
The Captain of the boat is the fifth generation to pilot boats on the
river. He had his 5 year old son in the pilot house with him. He said
he started training when he was 5 years old.
After
turning the boat around the boat stopped at a replica Athabascan
Eskimo Village. Several of the guides and crew on the boat were
Athabascan Eskimos. They explained how they use fish weirs to catch
salmon in the rivers, how they dress and dry them for food for them
and their dogs. After docking the boat everyone got off the boat and
they took us to several places in the village to explain about how
they use animal furs for clothing and food and other things. Nothing
is wasted. They use every part of the animal for something.
David
Monson was on site to autograph a book that he and Susan Butcher had
written about Granite. We purchased one and he autographed it for our
two grandsons. We boarded the boat and make our way back to the dock.
We got free blueberry donuts and samples of salmon spread on the way
back.
This
was a great trip. If you are coming to Fairbanks we highly recommend
it. We used one of our two for one coupons we had in a Tour Save
Coupon book that we purchased before taking this trip. This one trip
paid for almost half the cost of the coupon book.
Next
we stopped at The Great Alaskan Bowl Company. I am a wood turner so I
was interested in their work. I was not so impressed. The bowls were
nice – nothing wrong with them but they are basically mass produced
– mostly automated. Not hand made one at a time like mine.
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