We had a lazy day, as we had overnight flights to look forward to. Bernadette even finished marking the assignments that she brought!
We had a look around the downtown Fairbanks area, which is fairly small and a bit downbeat. Grey skies and light rain added to the atmosphere.
We had a walk by the river and checked out some of the historical signs and monuments, before heading off to the visitors centre. The visitors centre was excellent. They had a great display on the history and life of the Alaskan interior. This included a fascinating film about a man who, at ago fifty, decided to live in the wilderness. He hand-built a cabin, grew vegetables and fished. He lived in the cabin for thirty years, only leaving when the winters became too much for him. He was clearly an excellent craftsman, but was also an amateur film-maker. This meant that he recorded his time through film and with detailed diaries.
From there we wandered around town, finding a local restaurant (Soapy Smith's) for lunch. The food was good (crab cakes and ribs) and the environment interesting. I met the owner, who was one of thirteen children of the first governor of Alaska. Restaurant walls documented aspects of Fairbanks and Alaskan history, including numbers of photos of his father with notables.
More of a stroll and we found the Fairbanks town museum. This free museum was also well worth time. More on the history of Fairbanks, but also on dog mushing and on the impact of gold rushes on the north. This tied in well with what we had seen in Skagway, which was the jumping off point for the Klondike.
Back round the block to the Coop Diner, which looked just like a diner. We had coffee and shared a cheesecake. The cheesecake was excellent and the coffee fresh and the whole lot only $7.50.
We have been surprised and delighted at how friendly people are in Fairbanks, in the hotel, in shops and in the restaurants. The days are getting shorter here - by about an hour a week. People comment that it is possible to see stars at night now, which means that, on the right clear nights, the Northern Lights might be seen. No luck for us though - it's too overcast. People here also seem to be looking forward to the cold weather returning - they seem to be over the "warmer" weather, particularly as they had a dry and quite hot summer (30 days of over 80 F).
A hotel shuttle carried us to Fairbanks International Airport. To give you a sense of scale, this airport has six gates! So, no queues, no fuss.
We have a flight to Chicago and then an hour or so till a flight to Montreal. No meal service, so we buy food to take on the plane (as seems to be the custom in the US).
We had a look around the downtown Fairbanks area, which is fairly small and a bit downbeat. Grey skies and light rain added to the atmosphere.
We had a walk by the river and checked out some of the historical signs and monuments, before heading off to the visitors centre. The visitors centre was excellent. They had a great display on the history and life of the Alaskan interior. This included a fascinating film about a man who, at ago fifty, decided to live in the wilderness. He hand-built a cabin, grew vegetables and fished. He lived in the cabin for thirty years, only leaving when the winters became too much for him. He was clearly an excellent craftsman, but was also an amateur film-maker. This meant that he recorded his time through film and with detailed diaries.
From there we wandered around town, finding a local restaurant (Soapy Smith's) for lunch. The food was good (crab cakes and ribs) and the environment interesting. I met the owner, who was one of thirteen children of the first governor of Alaska. Restaurant walls documented aspects of Fairbanks and Alaskan history, including numbers of photos of his father with notables.
More of a stroll and we found the Fairbanks town museum. This free museum was also well worth time. More on the history of Fairbanks, but also on dog mushing and on the impact of gold rushes on the north. This tied in well with what we had seen in Skagway, which was the jumping off point for the Klondike.
Back round the block to the Coop Diner, which looked just like a diner. We had coffee and shared a cheesecake. The cheesecake was excellent and the coffee fresh and the whole lot only $7.50.
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| Dahlias, and other flowers, grow large in the long days |
A hotel shuttle carried us to Fairbanks International Airport. To give you a sense of scale, this airport has six gates! So, no queues, no fuss.
We have a flight to Chicago and then an hour or so till a flight to Montreal. No meal service, so we buy food to take on the plane (as seems to be the custom in the US).
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