This church, Immaculate Conception, in Fairbanks has the unique distinction of many, many years ago to have been located in the "red light" district; the pastor got tired of the location. So one winter, after the China River had frozen, he put the church on logs, and rolled it accross the river to the present location. :-)
A "moose on the loose" as we were headed to the North Pole VFW to camp
"Camp VFW"
Chris fishing on Clearwater Creek...which is really a river....go figure
A roadhouse in Delta Junction where folks stayed during their long treks during the gold-rush era.
swild roses; we knew these are rose-hips; high in vitamin C; makes wonderful teaHello again from the land of the Midnight Sun. Believe me, that is exactly what it means. Sunset yesterday morning was at 12:47 am and sunrise was 2:57 am; and that’s about 2 hours apart. It’s not dark during those 2 hours either. Always learned about this 24 hour daylight in school, it is uncanny when I’m actually here experiencing it. People just don’t seem to go to bed! They stay active much longer….because it’s because it is broad daylight for so long. Tonight there are parties, etc. going on, called, oddly enough, “Solstice” parties, a ball game with Fairbanks semi-pro team that starts at 10:45 pm and will not use any artificial light on the field, a 10K walk/run beginning at Alaska University, etc. There are also plenty of spring flowers planted around…and are quite far along. That’s because they grow very well here with their very long hours of sunlight.
We arrived in Fairbanks @ 3 pm on June 20, Thursday; it was 84 degrees. We found a campground on the Chena river, almost in town. Chilled for the evening, I did wash, and Rudy Laderack’s daughter, Shauna, who lives outside of Fairbanks, stopped by after work, visited a bit and gave us some pointers on the Dalton Hwy, also known as the “haul road” to Prudeau Bay, since she has traveled it. (The Dalton Hwy is the road from Fairbanks to Prudeau Bay, that runs along the Aleyeska pipeline….that’s where some of the oil in the US comes from. The road is primarily for semi trucks, the only supply for the oil fields on the north slope.)
June 20th, Friday
We went on a tour of historic Fairbanks. We figured that this would allow us to see the most important places. We were not disappointed. Our tour guide was a retired wild-life biologist who has lived here for 30+ years. We stopped at many places that were important to the birth & growth of Fairbanks during the gold rush, a cultural museum at the University of Alaska, the pipeline, etc. Well worth our time.
Then we had to do a re-stock shopping trip to Wal-Mart.
It’s odd going into a Wal-Mart store that is not a “super” Wal-Mart and has only a “grocery shelf” and not the fresh meat and produce section. So then we have to go elsewhere to find our apples, lettuce, etc. Then we had to go looking for some hip boots for Chris; the ones that brought along were all of 30 years old…and oddly enough, sprung a leak; can’t imagine why. We accomplished our mission. While Chris was in the store, I met a chaperone for a group of 45 8th graders from Marshall, MI. I noticed the sign on one of their vans…and of course, me, being “me”, had to speak to them. They have been doing this trek to Alaska for about 20 years with these students from Marshall middle school and been quite successful. I was impressed. It was 90 degrees during our shopping expedition.
After our shopping excursions, we set out to find the VFW post in the North Pole. We had seen a note in the Milepost Magazine (that has become our “bible” along the Alaska Hwy, telling us information at each mile). The day before we had been unsuccessful at h it because of road construction. This time we called ahead and found Post 10029, North Pole, AK in a log cabin.
These folks were wonderfully enjoyable to spend the evening with (and they make super hamburgers!). We spent the hours listening to stories of how everybody got to Alaska and their adventures. Many settled here after their military service at Eielson Air Force Base (here in Fairbank area). Talking about the summer solstice on the 21st, they told me that after Saturday, their days will get shorter by 7 minutes a day! Add that up…49 minutes a week; days will be getting shorter by almost an hour a week! It boggles my mind. So, by December 21st, they will have only about 2 hours of “almost” day-light per day, as contrasted to today, where there is only about 2 hours of “almost” night. Sure is a very different part of the world.
Today we will be going to the “North Pole”, to Saturday evening Mass at St. Nicholas Church in the North Pole (go figure), then back to the Solstice Party and steak fry at the VFW, and the baseball game afterward. We’ll back here to camp…in the wee hours of the morning. They’ve extended hospitality to us for as long as we wish. And they certainly made us feel like family.
The famous or infamous mosquitoes have begun to plague our lives. We are prepared, though, with the thermo-cell. They work wonderfully and we don’t have near the problem we could have.
For the first time since we traveled through Canada, we have had cell service, and have enjoyed catching up on the news from home with the kids. But we have to be real cautious about not calling them too late, as our time in Alaska is 4 hours earlier than in Indiana.
Until we “connect” again….
We arrived in Fairbanks @ 3 pm on June 20, Thursday; it was 84 degrees. We found a campground on the Chena river, almost in town. Chilled for the evening, I did wash, and Rudy Laderack’s daughter, Shauna, who lives outside of Fairbanks, stopped by after work, visited a bit and gave us some pointers on the Dalton Hwy, also known as the “haul road” to Prudeau Bay, since she has traveled it. (The Dalton Hwy is the road from Fairbanks to Prudeau Bay, that runs along the Aleyeska pipeline….that’s where some of the oil in the US comes from. The road is primarily for semi trucks, the only supply for the oil fields on the north slope.)
June 20th, Friday
We went on a tour of historic Fairbanks. We figured that this would allow us to see the most important places. We were not disappointed. Our tour guide was a retired wild-life biologist who has lived here for 30+ years. We stopped at many places that were important to the birth & growth of Fairbanks during the gold rush, a cultural museum at the University of Alaska, the pipeline, etc. Well worth our time.
Then we had to do a re-stock shopping trip to Wal-Mart.
It’s odd going into a Wal-Mart store that is not a “super” Wal-Mart and has only a “grocery shelf” and not the fresh meat and produce section. So then we have to go elsewhere to find our apples, lettuce, etc. Then we had to go looking for some hip boots for Chris; the ones that brought along were all of 30 years old…and oddly enough, sprung a leak; can’t imagine why. We accomplished our mission. While Chris was in the store, I met a chaperone for a group of 45 8th graders from Marshall, MI. I noticed the sign on one of their vans…and of course, me, being “me”, had to speak to them. They have been doing this trek to Alaska for about 20 years with these students from Marshall middle school and been quite successful. I was impressed. It was 90 degrees during our shopping expedition.
After our shopping excursions, we set out to find the VFW post in the North Pole. We had seen a note in the Milepost Magazine (that has become our “bible” along the Alaska Hwy, telling us information at each mile). The day before we had been unsuccessful at h it because of road construction. This time we called ahead and found Post 10029, North Pole, AK in a log cabin.
These folks were wonderfully enjoyable to spend the evening with (and they make super hamburgers!). We spent the hours listening to stories of how everybody got to Alaska and their adventures. Many settled here after their military service at Eielson Air Force Base (here in Fairbank area). Talking about the summer solstice on the 21st, they told me that after Saturday, their days will get shorter by 7 minutes a day! Add that up…49 minutes a week; days will be getting shorter by almost an hour a week! It boggles my mind. So, by December 21st, they will have only about 2 hours of “almost” day-light per day, as contrasted to today, where there is only about 2 hours of “almost” night. Sure is a very different part of the world.
Today we will be going to the “North Pole”, to Saturday evening Mass at St. Nicholas Church in the North Pole (go figure), then back to the Solstice Party and steak fry at the VFW, and the baseball game afterward. We’ll back here to camp…in the wee hours of the morning. They’ve extended hospitality to us for as long as we wish. And they certainly made us feel like family.
The famous or infamous mosquitoes have begun to plague our lives. We are prepared, though, with the thermo-cell. They work wonderfully and we don’t have near the problem we could have.
For the first time since we traveled through Canada, we have had cell service, and have enjoyed catching up on the news from home with the kids. But we have to be real cautious about not calling them too late, as our time in Alaska is 4 hours earlier than in Indiana.
Until we “connect” again….
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