Alaska redux - Fairbanks

Alaska Redux - Fairbanks

Our destination after Valdez was Fairbanks, but the distance is too far to make it in one day. We decided to dry camp at the Paxson Lake BLM Campground.

Rob favorably remembered staying here 11 years ago. I remembered we had a nice long pull through set comfortably away from other campers. I also remembered finding a pile of moose “poop” just on the other side of the bushes surrounding our campsite. Rob remembers walking down to the lake and not being bothered by mosquitos. Well, things have changed in 11 years! The trees have grown up making almost all of the pull through campsites too close for our long coaches. Steve was miffed most of the day and into dinner due to the scratches on his coach from branches. And then there were MOSQUITOS, making a stroll down to the lake out of the question. Fortunately, it was only for one night.

Fairbanks was only another 3 hours down the road. Someplace, along the way, Rob went through the “unfixit” zone. He was hearing an unusual thwacking noise somewhere under him. After consulting with Steve, via handheld walky talky, we decided to stop and conduct an inspection. So, there were some loose hoses that could have been whacking the generator. After some quicky repairs we were underway again. We only went a few miles before we were looking for another turn-out…the quicky repairs didn’t stop the whacking. Meanwhile, we’re traveling through some beautiful scenery.

Along this highway is a stop where you can walk up to the Alaska Pipeline and read about it on billboards. Well, Steve, “who had the con”, missed the turn. We did stop at another viewing site, but we couldn’t walk up to the pipes and the information was more limited. How do I know this you ask? We had stopped 11 years ago, of course.

The whacking noise continued all the way into Fairbanks, except where the road was without damage…frost heaves, pot holes, ruts, etc. Luckily, there were some pretty smooth stretches of road leading us to surmise that something is loose, since it was only audible when we bounced down the road. The wavy lines are a result of the frost heaves and not because the road painter had a little too much to drink.

Our chosen RV Park was actually in North Pole, Ak about 9 miles south of Fairbanks. It’s a large park and frequently a stopover for the numerous caravans touring Alaska. While we were there, a minimum of two caravans was there also. They usually stay 2-3 days then move on and another caravan moves in. The park was large enough to handle all the coaches without anyone feeling too crowded. I was even able to get my laundry done, although at 5 a.m.

Fairbanks, the third largest city in Alaska, (behind Anchorage and Juneau), is located in about the middle Alaska (they call it the “Heart of Alaska) and on the banks of the Chena River. The population of the city is almost 32,000, with the suburbs it’s closer to 100,000. The “land of the midnight sun”, between May 17 and July 27, the sun never goes below the horizon far enough for it to get dark. Of course, in winter, they have many days with only 5 hours of sunlight.

We made many trips to Fairbanks during our stay. Rob and Steve searched out auto repair shops for parts. We visited the Saturday Farmer’s Market and brought home some fresh produce. Amazing quantity and variety of produce available due to the extended hours of daylight. Rob and I had breakfast at a highly recommended restaurant, The Cookie Jar. We were seated within 10 minutes and our order was taken in decent time. Then we waited 45 minutes before we were served. We saw our waitress once when she refilled Rob’s coffee, until she delivered our food. Then again when she brought the check. Needless to say our opinion wasn’t as high as many others. I noticed one of the caravans in the RV Park was slated to have a meal there. I was tempted to tell them to skip it, but it’s probably already paid for. We also found Fred Meyers and Safeway convenient for picking up things we couldn’t live without. Rob and Steve both needed haircuts so they went in search of a barber. I think the one they found must specialize in the military. Fairbanks is home to Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright Army Post. (Eielson is actually in North Pole). The good news is, these haircuts should last until we get home.

One day was devoted to visiting Gold Dredge No. 8 a 5 story 250 foot dredge built in 1928.

The Alaska Pipeline passes through the parking lot of the dredge so we were able to get up close and personal with it finally. The pipeline is cleaned out on a regular basis by means of a "pig".

We were taken to the dredge from the parking lot in a replica of the Tanana Valley Railroad. Travel on the train was accompanied by a description of processing placer gold.  As we departed the train,

we were handed a “poke” bag containing pay dirt. Then we got to pan for gold from out of our “poke” bags.

Rob and I combined our gold before taking it to the Assayer. Our little bag of gold flakes weighed out at $30!

WooHoo! Of course, there was an enticement to turn our gold into a souvenir by having it encased is a glass (or plastic?) bauble. My gold stayed in the little canister they gave us for free. After panning we were able to meander around in and out of the dredge.

The dredge is a giant gold-mining “ship”, 99 feet long and 50 feet wide. It floated in a manmade pond and scooped up gravel containing gold left behind by inefficient drift miners. A “bucket line”

could scoop up 6 cubic feet of gravel in each bucket. The gravel was spilled through a “trommel”, a cylinder 36 feet long and 6 feet wide.  The trommel was perforated with holes of various sizes, thereby sorting the gravel. The trommel would spin and blast the gravel with high pressure water sending the heavier pieces of gold through the holes into sluice boxes. Every two weeks the gold would be recovered from the sluice boxes yielding an about 4000 ounces of gold. The gold was accumulated until there was enough to melt and form bars.

There is a fascinating museum (The University of Alaska Museum of the North) at…the University. This was a “must see” spot on our agenda and we spent at least two hours there. It is on the campus and easy to get to except for the road construction and detours we had to hurdle. The museum is devoted to Alaska’s wildlife, people, and land which it portrays in separate “cubicle-like” exhibitions.  In one such cubicle was a plaque commemorating the contribution to mining made by C.J. Berry. C.J. was a gold miner and a businessman. He originally had a fruit ranch in Selma, California, but left, with his wife and brother, for Alaska when he heard of the Klondike Gold strikes. He and his brother worked claims side by side and literally struck it rich. They were mining areas of permafrost which required heating to enable them to dig. C.J. invented a method of thawing frozen soil and permafrost using cold water or steam rather than using hot rocks or underground fires. The latter methods made the tunnels more susceptible to collapse. C.J. later became an “oilman” forming the Berry Petroleum. Berry Petroleum produced its 100 millionth barrel in 1996.Today Berry Petroleum is trading on Nasdaq at around $13.00. Why is this information important you ask…Because C.J. Berry was a relative of a coat-tail relative of Steve’s…brother’s wife’s family.

For our “Farewell to Fairbanks” dinner we chose the Pump House, overlooking the Chena River. When we drove into the parking lot we were rather dismayed to find in practically full. We envisioned a crowded dining room even though we did have reservations. We were very pleasantly surprised to find the dining room fairly empty. This restaurant is popular for the outdoor deck and it was elbow to elbow with the owners of all the cars in the parking lot. The restaurant’s design was in the motif of the 1890’s Gold Rush using authentic furnishings from the era. A pump house was part of the gold mining water system, necessary in the dredging operation. Pump houses provided pressure for the hydraulics used to wash away the overburden and thaw the permafrost.

With Fairbanks in our rear view mirror, (well, not really since we don’t have a rear view mirror in the motorhome), we moved on to Denali. We seem to be one step behind one of the caravans as they were in the same RV Park near Denali as us. Another park large enough to handle the numbers. We didn’t even see them. Steve and Jeannie drove the 15 miles into the park that is permissible with private vehicles. They opted not to take the bus ride through the park. Rob and I opted to stay in the motorhome. We had taken the bus ride through the park on our last trip and decided it wasn’t worth the time or money to do it again. Weather was not favorable for viewing the mountain. Seems to be the usual condition.

On to Montana Creek and Talkeetna. “The Silvers are in”!!!

Alaska redux part 8 - Valdez part 2

Monday morning, Steve knocked early on the coach and reminded Rob that it was time to get serious about fishing. They already had all their gear assembled and ready to go so off they went. Both successfully limited out (6 each) within a couple of hours. The fun wasn’t over however, now they got to clean them. Valdez has provided several fish cleaning stations along the small boat harbor. Each site is set up with water sprayers, cutting board table tops and troughs used to dispose of the unwanted parts of the fish. Jeannie and I watched as they cleaned and bagged filets from all 12 of their catch.

After we returned to the coach, the filets were wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen.

 Since they were so successful, Rob and Steve convinced me and Jeannie to get our fishing licenses. We thought a one day license was adequate, after all what would we do with all that fish? But, we walked out with 3 day licenses, new fishing poles and reels, and lures that were guaranteed to catch fish.

The best time to fish is on the incoming tide and since the tide was out, and wouldn’t be coming in until later, we decided to go have dinner and wait for the high tide. The sun is still high in the sky in the early evening so after dinner we had plenty of time to make use of our new licenses. The Pinks must have heard us coming because our efforts turned out to be more of a practice session. That was probably to our benefit because we didn’t have any fish to clean. The sun had gone down behind a mountain creating twi-light making it really hard to see where the lure might be landing.

That must be why my lure always seemed to be coming back to me, as I reeled, from a direction I wasn't looking. We returned to our coaches confident that we would come back tomorrow loaded with fish.

Bright and early Tuesday morning, (around 9), we returned to the other side of the bay and claimed our site between the hatchery and the marine terminal where oil from the Trans-Alaska Pipeline is gravity loaded into tankers. The tide was coming in and so were the Pinks! I caught the first fish, followed closely by Jeannie.

Rob and Steve did their duty of clubbing the fish and securing them either by a stringer or in a bucket. Of course, that allowed Jeannie and me to get right back to fishing. After a couple of hours Jeannie and I had limited out at 6 each.

Jeannie's limited out, Steve's still fishing

Another hour or so, (now that they could tend to fishing,) Rob had 4 and Steve 5. That was enough! Back at the cleaning station, Jeannie and I decided to go in search of lunch while the boys were busy with their trusty filet knives.

We decided to walk to one of the restaurants listed in the tourist guide located on the harbor road. It turned out to be all the way down at the far end of the harbor. By the time we returned to the cleaning station, the fish were cleaned and in the car. Rob said he would have brought the car down to us, but I had the key in my pocket.

I almost forgot to mention the bear, or rather bears! While we were fishing a smallish black bear made his way through the brush and down to the beach, maybe about 50 yards from us. 
Just at that moment, both Jeannie and I had fish on our lines and were frantically pulling them in. Rob and Steve were making “go away bear” noises and gesticulating which I’m sure caused the bear grave concern. He ambled over a log in the other direction and lazily made his way down the adjacent beach. Eventually, he disappeared into the brush. This could be good or bad since he could have circled back around unseen behind the shrubbery. When all was calm, Rob reminded us that it was not a good idea to continue fishing with a bear on the scene. It was just a little black bear.

We were all tired, but Jeannie and I still had one day left on our licenses so off we went. The day was gray and drizzly, but we were undaunted. It was good luck for Jeannie and Steve, not so much for Rob, and I ended up with only one. Oh, and another bear, a bigger one this time with a smaller one in tow, came down the same break in the bushes. (We think this was maybe a mom and cub.) They didn't seem interested in us and soon made their way back up the hill.

Valdez is a beautiful, deep water, ice-free port located on a fjord off the Valdez Arm of the Prince William Sound. It is sometimes referred to as a little Switzerland because of the majestic mountains that surround it.

Gold discovered in the Klondike led to a surge in the population and it became a port of entry for the miners. The trail to the Klondike was a hard one over the Valdez Glacier. They faced crevasses, snow blindness and just general exhaustion on their journey. In the early 1900’s copper was discovered bringing more development to Valdez. Valdez continues to grow with the building of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline bringing oil from Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Circle.

In 1964 the Good Friday earthquake centered in the Prince William Sound hit Valdez with a magnitude of 9.2 causing underwater landslides. Valdez was engulfed by waves destroying the entire waterfront and many residences and businesses. Because of all the damage, the Army Corps of Engineers decided the town should be moved. Construction was completed on the current location in 1968.

Much as we liked Valdez we had to leave to keep on our schedule.

We left Valdez as we found it…in the fog!

Alaska redux 7 - Valdez part 1

We were originally scheduled for four days in Valdez, but we were able to arrive a day early and leave a day late. The early fog soon gave way to crystal clear sunshine. Our host had our sites ready and waiting and immediately filled us in on all the possible activities and attractions. 

Primarily our activity will involve fishing. The “Pinks are in” and Rob and Steve can hardly wait to throw out a line. The Pinks being in means the Pink Salmon are running up river to the place they were born, which in this instance means the fish hatchery across the bay.

Just down the street, in a residential area and near the hospital (in case we need one) is a large dog park. The park was empty and Nugget and Charlie had a chance to stretch out their legs with some quality running around time. Charlie was even tolerating Nugget without curling his lip.

Charlie

Judy, our hostess, pointed to a grassy (read that “weedy”) area next to the RV park and said we could run the dogs there if we wanted, but we should be aware that a bear had been taken out of there in the last couple of days. Later that evening I noticed a bear trap had been reinstalled with warning signs to keep away. Everett, our host, said the idea that there’s another bear in the area is ridiculous and a waste of time so not to worry.

Saturday again dawned sunny and clear. Today was the kid’s fishing derby so the prime fishing spots will be taken by kids until 5 pm. We drove over to the other side of the bay next to the fishery to see what was what. Both sides of the street were end to end cars, campers and trailers. Kids were trying their luck at fishing with the hope of winning the derby. The tide was still going out so anyone who was fishing was standing in shallow water. Several participants were displaying their fish on stringers or in plastic bags or buckets. Some of the “kids” looked more like young adults, but I guess they qualified. We never did hear who won the derby.

Notice the snow capped peaks in the background

We arrived back at the RV park just in time to witness another bear being taken away in the trap. The police and animal control had captured another black bear and were getting ready to transport. Our host was slightly chagrined.

Other wildlife in the area

Fishing was scheduled that night over by the fish hatchery. Hopefully, the kids left some. Rob and Steve went over about 7pm to catch the incoming tide. They tried for a couple of hours before giving up with no luck. Jeannie and I watched from a couple of rocks above the water line.

Sunday was devoted to a glacier and wildlife cruise on the LuLu Belle.

Rob and I had taken this cruise 11 years ago and were excited to go again. The boat departs at 11 am for a seven hour cruise, unless the captain, Captain Fred Rodolf, finds sights to keep him, and us, out longer. (like whales!) 

There was alread a long line of cruisers waiting to board the boat.

Capt. Fred has been running this tour since 1979 and has a running monologue to entertain his guests. The only time he was silent on the entire trip was when we were floating in the ice fields.

As we slowly left the harbor we passed a “tender”.

The “tender”, (a much larger boat), relieves the commercial fishing boats of their catch, weighs it, and when full, transports the fish to the processing plant. Capt. Fred pulled up alongside one that was waiting for another load. The two crew members on deck were quite animated in showing us what their jobs were.

After exiting the harbor we spied a smaller boat that was just in the process of pulling in its nets. 

No wonder the boys didn't catch any fish!

This guy was waiting for the net to be emptied. Once empty he would grab the line and take it out away from the big boat making a large circle setting up the net for another load. 


The fish is processed right in Valdez. When the tender is full it will take its load to a processing plant similar to what we saw in Haines. Peter Pan is one of the processing plants in Valdez. It is a full service operation staffed largely by college students on summer break. The “campus” even has dormitories and a mess hall for its employees and a shuttle to take them to town in their off hours. 

Continuing on the cruise, we passed groups of sea otters lolling around on the surface.

Actually a group of otters is known as a “raft” and that’s exactly what it looked like. Some of the “rafts” had only 3-4 otters while others had more than 10-12. They had no fear of the boat getting close to them.

We passed by several buoys loaded down with sea lions. Capt. Fred said he didn’t like them because they eat lots of salmon so we kept on going. Cruising out through the “narrows” the scene opened up with high forested cliffs on either side. We sidled up along one side and nosed into a cave in search of a Puffin which nested on a shelf in the cave. On our last visit, the Puffin was at home and we were able to photograph it. This time, no one was home. Puffins are cute little birds that actually swim under water in search of food.

After backing out of the cave we went in search of whales. On the way we passed a large harem of sea lions relaxing on a narrow beach below a cliff.

The large male in the bunch has number 644 painted on his body.

This guy is a California Sea Lion that was caught eating salmon near the hatchery. This was totally unacceptable due to the economic impact fishing has in the area, and since sea lions are an endangered species, the Fish and Game people decided to relocate the big guy back to Southern California, along with several others, by truck. #664 made it all the way back to Valdez a few days later. I guess he’s here to stay along with his harem. (the story as related by our captain!)

All the passengers were anxious to see a whale. Capt. Fred said a Humpback had been seen the day before, but none the day before that. Luck was with us and very shortly a Humpback was spotted just under the surface.

We spent quite a while following him around as he consumed his lunch of herring. When he dove, his tail would stick up showing markings on his tail. Since the markings are individual Capt. Fred said this one had been seen often.  

After watching the whale for about an hour, we took off for the Columbia Glacier in the Prince William Sound. 


The temperature dropped dramatically once we entered the ice field.

Jeannie and Gerri braced for the cold!

There is no evidence of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in the Sound. The water is crystal clear. We floated around among the icebergs for a while before heading back to dock, just barely over 7 hours at sea. 

Some of the beauty of the sound!

Sea otters on an iceberg

Entering the icefield

Columbia Glacier

Columbia Glacier

Close up of calving area

Floating in ice

ice cubes anyone?

Part of the glacier covered with grit

End of part one from Valdez. Part two will continue soon, I hope!