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| Riverboat Discovery |
I started by saying that we didn’t spend much time in
Anchorage on this trip, opting instead of going directly to Fairbanks. That’s
actually a bit misleading. We didn’t spend a lot of time IN Fairbanks, either.
The Aurora Borealis Lodge, where we stayed, is very far northeast of town and quite remote. And, most of the rest
of the time we were there, we were exploring the Chena River and Chatanika
River areas. The main reason we were in Fairbanks – in addition to trying to
catch some Aurora Borealis – was as a launching point for our trip to Bettles
and Kobuk Valley Gates of the Arctic
National Parks
But, still, just a little about Fairbanks … Fairbanks is the largest
city in the Interior region of Alaska, with population of about 100,605 in the
city and surrounding North Star Borough, making it the second most populous
metropolitan area in Alaska after Anchorage. Located 196 driving miles (or 140
air miles) south of the Arctic Circle, Fairbanks is home to the University of
Alaska Fairbanks, the founding campus of the University of Alaska system.
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| Photo: University of Alaska |
And, the University of Alaska is home to the magnificent Museum of the North. We didn't go this time, but we have in the past. Scott did stop by briefly trying to identify a relic he bought a few years ago.
Although there was never a permanent Alaska Native settlement in Fairbanks, Athabascan Peoples have used the area for thousands of years for seasonal hunting and fishing.
Archaeological sites 3,500 years old and
10,000 years old have been excavated in Fairbanks, some actually on the campus of the University of Alaska, which is pretty convenient for researchers!
Arrowheads found in the
sites matched similar items found in Asia, providing some of the first evidence
that humans arrived in North America via the Bering Land Bridge.
The first recorded exploration of the Tanana (pronounced TAN-NAH-NAW) Valley and the Tanana River was in 1885, but historians believe traders from Nulato (Russian) and Hudson's Bay Company (American) ventured into the lower reaches of the Tanana and possibly the Chena River in the middle of the 19th century.
In 1885, U.S. Army made the first recorded expedition down the length of the Tanana, charting the Chena River's mouth along the way.
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| Chena River |
In July 1897, the first news of the Klondike gold strike reached Seattle, Washington, triggering the Klondike Gold Rush. Thousands of people boarded steamships heading north to the gold fields. Some of these travelers sailed around the western tip of Alaska and up the Yukon River to Dawson City (site of the gold fields) rather than take an arduous overland trip across the Boundary Ranges. The gold rush brought lots of businesspeople along with prospectors.
One was Captain E. T. Barnette, who founded Fairbanks in 1901 while headed to Tanacross where the Valdez-Eagle trail crosses the Tanana River, where he intended to set up a trading post.
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| Felix Pedro |
The steamboat on which Barnette was
a passenger ran aground in shallow water, stranding Barnette on the banks of
the Chena River seven miles upstream from its confluence with the Tanana River.
Two local gold prospectors, Italian immigrant
Felice Pedroni (better known as Felix Pedro) and his partner Tom Gilmore,
convinced Barnette to set up a trading post where he was stranded. That attracted other
gold prospectors, who worked drift mines, dredges and lode mines as well as panning and sluicing.
The settlement was named after Charles W. Fairbanks, a
Republican senator from Indiana and later the 26th Vice President of the United
States, serving under Theodore Roosevelt during his second term. Interesting,
because I always thought it referred to the banks of the Chena River, which
flows through town.
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| Chena River |
The presence of the U.S. military has been strong in
Fairbanks since before WWII, with Fort Wainwright being part of the city.
With a subarctic climate, Fairbanks is the coldest large
city in the U.S., although its short summers can be very hot. We’ve been there
when it was in the 90s. The average first and last dates with a freezing
temperature are September 9 and May 15, respectively, allowing a growing season
of only 116 days. The monthly daily mean temperatures range from −7.9°F in January
to 62.5°F in July. On average, temperatures reach −40°F on 7.3 days and 80°F
on 13 days each year. Since 1949, Fairbank's average winter temperature has
risen by 7.8°F, average spring temperature has risen by 4.2°F, average autumn
temperature has risen by 1.1°F and average summer temperature has risen by 2.1°F.
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| Fairbanks, taken in November 2004 |
When you first visit Fairbanks – especially if it is your
initial visit to Alaska – you might be surprised. While near mountains and
forests, Fairbanks is generally flat-to-hilly, dry and dotted with scrawny-looking White
and Black Fir trees. It does not possess the heart-stopping beauty of the
Seward Peninsula, the Inside Passage, Denali National Park and Preserve, the
Chugach Mountains or the Wrangell-St. Elias area. But, it serves as a good
starting point for visits to the Arctic – including the drive up the Dalton
Highway to the oil fields in Prudhoe Bay.
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| Dalton Highway, taken in November 2004 |
Because Fairbanks is halfway between New York City and Tokyo, it was a popular stop on the first around-the-world flights such as Wiley Post's 1933 solo circumnavigation and Howard Hughes' 1938 effort.
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| Bob Ross |
There are still gold mines in the Fairbanks area. The largest open-pit gold mine in Alaska, Fort Knox Gold Mine, is located 26 miles north. It has produced several million ounces of gold since it opened in 1996.
Approximately 500 Alaskan Moose live in the area (although I seldom have seen them there).
The late Bob Ross, artist and host of The Joy of
Painting on PBS, lived in Fairbanks (incidentally, he also lived in my hometown of Clearwater, Florida).
And, when clear, Fairbanks has some of the best Aurora Borealis in the world.
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| Taken in February 2012 |
But, with disappointing opportunities to view the Aurora
Borealis, what did we do?
Trans-Alaska Pipeline
Of course, we made an obligatory stop at the site northeast
of town where the Trans-Alaska Pipeline passes through Fairbanks above ground.
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| Photos by Scott Stevens |
The $8-billion-dollar 800-mile-long 48-inch-diameter
pipeline conveys oil from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. Much of it runs underground,
but some is elevated – sitting on piers designed to withstand earthquakes and
to prevent damage to the sensitive permafrost underlaying much of the pipeline.
It was built between 1974 and 1977 and was expected to operate for 30 years. It
is still going strong.
Since the completion of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the
government of the state of Alaska and the people of Alaska have benefited greatly from taxes paid by oil
producers and shippers. Prior to 1976, Alaska's personal income tax rate was
14.5 percent -- the highest in the US. The gross state product was $8
billion, and Alaskans earned $5 billion in personal income. Now, the state had
no personal income tax, the gross state product is $39 billion, and Alaskans
earn $25 billion in personal income. The Pipeline moved Alaska from the most
heavily taxed state to the most tax-free state.
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| Dall Sheep grazing beneath the Pipeline, taken in November 2004 |
Oil going into the Trans-Alaska Pipeline comes from one of
several oil fields on Alaska's North Slope. Oil emerges from the ground at
approximately 120°F and cools to 111 °F by the time it reaches Pump Station 1
through feeder pipelines that stretch across the North Slope. From Pump Station
1 it takes an average of 11.9 days for oil to travel the entire length of the
pipeline to Valdez, a speed of 3.7 miles per hour.
Pumping stations maintain the momentum of the oil as it goes
through the pipeline. Pump Station 1 is the northernmost of 11 pump stations
spread across the length of the pipeline. The pipeline crosses 34 major streams or rivers and about
500 minor ones. Its highest point is at Atigun Pass, where the pipeline is
4,739 feet above sea level.
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| Photo by Scott Stevens |
The pipeline has at times been damaged due to sabotage, human
error, maintenance failures and natural disasters. The Exxon Valdez oil spill
is the best-known accident involving Alaska oil, but it did not involve the
pipeline itself. Since the startup of the Alaska pipeline, seven incidents and
accidents have caused the pipeline to be shut down periodically. The largest incident
was a 16,000-barrel leak that occurred in 1978, when someone blew a 1-inch hole
in it just east of Fairbanks.
On a whim, we decided to do something we have never done in all the times we have been to Fairbanks -- take the Discovery Riverboat tour. We had always thought it might be too cheesy.
While it was very touristy, it was
surprisingly fun.
We were, of course, an anomaly, because we did not arrive on
a Princess Cruise bus, we were not from the Midwest and neither of us was
wearing a tracksuit.
The three-hour cruise doesn’t really travel very far because
the Chena River is navigable, but the intersecting Tanana is too shallow and
muddy (remember what happened to Captain E. T. Barnette?) for large boats.
The Riverboat
Discovery business was founded in 1950 by Jim Binkley, a former freight
riverboat captain on the Yukon River. Binkley initially operated a small
converted missionary boat, the Godspeed, on tours of the rivers near Fairbanks.
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| Discovery I |
The company's first sternwheeler, Discovery I, was built by Binkley in his backyard in 1955 to accommodate more passengers. Later, more
riverboats were added to the Discovery fleet; Discovery II was converted from a
freighting steamboat in 1971 and Discovery III was built in 1987. The first
boat carried 25 passengers; today’s sternwheeler has four decks and
accommodates 900 people.
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| Discovery I and Discovery III |
Always a family business, Riverboat Discovery is
operated by Captain Jim's grandchildren. However, his wife, Mary, who was
instrumental in starting and building the company, is still active in the
business. The route passes her home and, most days, she steps out to wave at
passengers.
The first “activity,” upon leaving the dock is a bush
floatplane “demonstration.” The plane takes off, flies around and then lands in
the river adjacent to the boat.
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| Floatplane landing |
Next, the boat stops in front of the Trail Breaker Kennel,
home to four-time Iditarod sled dog race winner Susan Butcher and her
husband David Monson, winner of the Yukon Quest sled dog race. Trail Breaker
Kennel was established in 1980 and
opened to public tours in 1993. After Butcher’s death from cancer in 2006,
Monson has continued to operate the Kennels, raising and training dogs and
providing opportunities for up-and-coming mushers.
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| David Monson at Trail Breaker Kennel |
During the winter, Trail
Breaker Alaskan huskies train for and participate in sled dog races around
Alaska. In the summer, the dogs take a break and participate in short training
runs around the lake, swimming in the river and interacting with visitors. He
spoke with us from the shore and we watched the dogs pull an ATV around the
property and then jump in the river to cool off.
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| Sled dog demonstration |
Monson later joined the cruise
participants at the Chena Indian Village to autograph books and conduct a few
more sled dog demonstrations. One thing I learned (although I already knew it by just looking at the variety found on most teams), was that sled dogs are not bred for physical characteristics the way other dogs are. Rather, they tend to be multiple breeds - both pure and mixed - and they are selected based on characteristics, such as stamina, energy, excitement at mushing and the ability to lead or follow, as needed.
Our next stop was the Chena Indian Village – another potentially hokey part of
the trip. Again, it was actually quite nice.
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| A nice place to visit |
Following the tour, we re-boarded the Discovery and chugged
back to the dock – a trip of approximately four miles. Along the way, we were
served “complimentary” dip made with smoked
salmon, which, of course, was for sale on the boat. Scott bought some and made
some dip at home. It really is quite good.
The trip also passed many lovely homes along the Chena River ...
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| Nice place |
... and a fair amount of wildlife.
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| Ducks on a log |
We had a lot of fun (and that is NOT a sweatshirt I am wearing!).
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| Scott and me on the Discovery III |
Creamer's Field
While in Fairbanks, I also visited Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, a 2,200-acre bird sanctuary that comprises wetlands, fields and forests surrounding the former farm of Charles Hinckley and later Charles Albert Creamer (1889-1974).
Creamer saved waste grains from his barn to feed migrating birds and, after his death, preservationists banded together to make the area a state refuge. The Creamer farmstead now serves as a visitor and environmental education center, with the non-profit Friends of Creamer's Field presenting programs year-round. It has trails that wind across a field, through some forest and along boardwalks in wetlands that were already starting to look like fall ...
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| Birch reflections in the wetlands |
The time of our visit was NOT peak birding season in Alaska.
Many migratory birds appeared to have left for the winter already. But, I did see
Greater White-fronted Geese ...
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| Greater White-fronted Geese |
... Canada Geese, a Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored), one Trumpeter Swan and a few Sandhill
Cranes ...
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| Sandhill Cranes |
I spent a long time concentrating on a Hairy Woodpecker that
was enthusiastically excavating a home in a tree.
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| Hairy Woodpecker |
And, while I was doing that, I observed my 500th Life Bird. Unfortunately, I didn't know it. I thought it was a Brown-headed Cowbird and didn’t take many pictures
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| Rusty Blackbird |
That night, I tried to log the Brown-headed Cowbird into eBird, only to discover that that
would be very rare in Fairbanks.
On closer examination, I determined it was a Rusty Blackbird – probably a female (the Lone Ranger-style mask was the give-away). It had been jumping quickly about in dense foliage, making it tricky to photograph. So, because I thought it was a bird of which I already had good pictures, I didn't try very hard to capture it. I ended up with only two rather poor photos.
There is a
lesson learned: take good pictures first and figure out the bird later. But, I did hit 500, which was a 2018 goal for me.
I imagine Creamer’s Field is hopping during high-population
times, especially with Sandhills. I wanted to at least attempt some birding in Alaska, so I was glad I went. Plus, it was a very pleasant walk.
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| Sandhill Crane |
In my next post, I will talk about our activities on the Chena
and Chataniki Rivers.
Trip date: August 17-September 4, 2018
Although there was never a permanent Alaska Native settlement in Fairbanks, Athabascan Peoples have used the area for thousands of years for seasonal hunting and fishing. 
Thanks for sharing these wonderful pictures. In Alaska northern lights is best. We offer Alaska northern lights tours.
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