Fairbanks, and the drive to Tok
Over the last couple of days we’ve traveled from Healy to Fairbanks and had a look around that city, then continued on back to Tok, where we stayed last night.
We arrived at Golden Heart Park in Fairbanks just before 11:00 am on Friday. This statue is called The Unknown First Family. Created by Malcolm Alexander, it’s dedicated to “all families past, present and future, and to the indomitable spirit of the people of Alaska’s interior”.
After lunch, I took most of the group to the Riverboat Discovery for a 3-hour cruise. One person, though, wanted to go to the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum, and I was happy to oblige. The collection is extremely good and includes this 1934 Packard Convertible Touring.
This hood ornament on a 1928 Pierce-Arrow Series 81 Runabout wasn’t used for very long, as the company president thought that having his bare backside facing the car’s occupants was in poor taste 🙂
We finished off Friday at a very good salmon bake, where the King crab seems to be the most-appreciated of the seafoods. The next morning, I went for a walk from our hotel, the Bridgewater, and found this charming antique shop.
Our first destination Saturday morning was the University of Alaska’s Museum of the North.
Visitors to the main exhibit hall are greeted by this massive brown bear. Most mounted bears are done with a ferocious look, but I love the look on this guy’s face 🙂
The collection of art is stunning, including “Mt. McKinley From the North” by Eustace P. Ziegler.
We stopped at Santa Claus House in North Pole, then were on the road by 12:30. It would have been nice to have time to take a walk at Birch Lake, at Mile 306 on the Richardson Highway. What a gorgeous day we had!
I always stop for lunch at Rika’s Roadhouse at Big Delta State Historical Park – excellent food in beautiful surroundings.
One last rest stop along the Alaska Highway at Milepost 1344, about half an hour from Tok.
The Northern Lights forecast for last night was quite good so I’m hoping that some of my guests were rewarded for getting up in the middle of the night. Two of them saw the aurora in Fairbanks. I looked out at 1:30 but the lights at the motel blot out the night sky and I wasn’t into a long walk to find darkness.
At 8:30 this morning we’re off to Dawson City for 2 nights – that’s our final destination before returning to Whitehorse.
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