Fairbanks 8/5 to 8/11

One of our first outings was to the Girl Scout Office here in Fairbanks.

Judy picked up some things in the gift shop for the troop back home, and, we talked with the ladies in the office.

On Saturday, the four of us (Chris, Bob, Judy and me) drove out to the gold mine to do some prospecting for gold.
In 2011 we panned at the Eldorado Gold Mine but now they have moved to their own property and call themselves "Gold Dredge 8".

The pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez runs thru here.

The silver things above the posts are to help regulate the temperature of the permafrost.

A train takes you around the area and this man sings a few songs along the way.  Another person talks about how gold mining was done here.

Here is a guy using a pan.

In this picture they show a bucket coming up from a deep well with dirt and in it they (hopefully) find gold.

This was an interesting section.  When the miners first came here, the ground was as high as the mountains in the background.  With the equipment they had back then, they dug down to find pay dirt and also used water from a nearby river to wash it out.

This is a dredge that was used to dig up the ground (buckets are going up that conveyor).  It goes into the dredge and is washed thru and thru so that only the (heavier) gold remains.

 In the end, we got our sack of "material," dumped it into a pan and began the process of eliminating the dirt, leaving only the gold!  Chris was watching them get started down the way.

We got our pans filled and started the process.  Gold is about 5 times heavier than dirt so it sinks to the bottom as you swish it back and forth.  After swishing it back and forth a few times, you let some of the dirt and water out. You do this a few times until you have very little sand left and then you swirl the water around the pan hoping to see some gold.

Judy and I ended up with about $21 of gold while Chris and Bob got around $42.  The gift shop is the main attraction, however, as you can then get your gold put into bracelets, necklaces, etc.  And they do have many other items you can buy that relate to process, such as hats, jackets, sweatshirts, and on and on!!!  But it was fun...

Denali, AK

OK! OK!!  I know I am way behind as I am writing this on 8/19 but it took place 8/1.  Just having tooooo much fun, I guess.  (Actually, the WIFI at the CG's since 8/1 haven't been too great).

We did visit Denali National Park again this time around.  On the road to the Park we saw this interesting store.

We also saw this tanker truck.  Have been wanting to get a good picture of one and Judy finally got this one.  Check out the number of wheels/tires (I counted 42!).

A bit of scenery along the way.

This is actually the road from Denali to our CG (about 5 miles).  Several construction sites along the way.

Of course, another picture of the train going along the mountainside.

We did drive into the park one day while there (about 15 miles).  It was a beautiful day as you can see.

At the turnaround area to head back out, we saw three buses stopped along the road.  Check out the caribou (courtesy of Bob's camera!).

What a huge rack!!!

On the way out, we saw a moose in the bushes, but this is the best shot we got of him/her.

Another view of the mountains in the park.

Several gift shops were visited by one and all.  Bob and I finally tired out and found a nice spot to have our coffees ) - notice the sign says "Caution - Man Area!!"

The four of us drove over to Healy which is about 12 miles from Denali to visit the 49th State Brewery.

It was a rainy day but the place was very busy (picture doesn't show it, but it really was busy).  We actually sat in the tent-type area in front.  It was cool so they had big heaters going and it felt good!
Food and beer was good.

The brewery has only been open for about 3 1/2 years but they have a big room for brewing.

We purchased one of their bottles.  Notice the flip-top cap.

We enjoyed our time here again and on Tuesday, August 5th, moved on to Fairbanks.

Talkeetna

As I mentioned in the last post, we arrived in Talkeetna on Sunday, a beautiful, sunny day.  Monday our flight was rescheduled due to the weather so when Chris and Bob arrived, we went into town.

Everyone has to have their picture taken with this sign.  You can't really see it, but main street is in the background. 

On Tuesday we took our flight over Mt. McKinley, ventured into town and had coffee and some delicious, fresh baked rolls with frosting and raspberry swirl at the local roadhouse.  By the way, it is a very popular place - most of the seating is at big tables so you get to know people sitting next to you!! The couple we met were from Iowa.

Later in the day, we went back into town with Chris and Bob.  It was another beautiful day and we went over to the river (at the far end of main street) to see where 3 rivers come together.  Little did we know that you could also see the mountains from here!

River rafting is very popular up here.  

We walked up and down main street visiting the many shops.  After awhile, you need a break so we got some ice cream.

Watched this guy make the ice cream.

Artwork around town.

We went back to the Roadhouse for dinner.  We thought the "Chili-Rudy" was rather unique.

(P.S. Judy supplied the cherry for Rudy's nose!)

Judy saw the wine selection (never drinks wine) but thought she should have a glass (not a bottle at those prices).  Can you guess which one?

We also visited the local grocery.  Not your normal supermarket!!

We did visit the river several more times just to view the mountains.  You do it because you can - McKinley is only visible about 31% of the time so we are definitely members of that club!

On Thursday we all took a train ride on the Alaskan Hurricane Train (more about that later).

That night we went back to the river bank to see what the mountains looked liked - about 10:30 PM.

Friday morning we were scheduled to leave for Denali, but had to have breakfast at the Roadhouse before leaving.

Check out the Friday special.

Only one pancake - check out the size!!  DELICIOUS!!!

Good thing we just ate.  Here is a sampling of the baked goods for sale.

Train ride to come....