Fairbanks and the Start of our Cruisetour

Sunday and the official start of our cruisetour.  We had a welcome breakfast this morning for our entire group…51 of us…most from all over the US, a few from Canada and four from Australia.  Got to meet our tour director, Jill.  She is very nice and seems very accommodating and coordinated.  A good sign.

At 9 we’re on the bus and on our way to our first tour…the Discovery Steamwheeler and a tour down the Chena River.  What a great excursion…we got to see a floatplane land a take off,  the home and kennels of Susan Butcher, a multi-winner of the Iditerod, and a stop at an Apathascan Indian Village.   Plus a beautiful ride down the Chena with some beautiful log cabins.   

The weather this morning contained some liquid sunshine, but by the time we were headed back to the dock the sun was making a come back!  The tour included an all-you-could-eat miner’s lunch of beef stew, roasted vegetables, salad and rolls which was pretty good.  We even had a chance to experience Fairbank’s bitter cold…they have a -40 degree room you can go into.  Brrr…it was ungodly.  Kim and I didn’t last one minute!    I’ll take Florida’s warmth anytime!

Afterward we headed out to Gold Dredge #8 to view the Alaska Pipeline and to pan for gold.  What a great excursion!  It was humbling to see the pipeline.  So large, so vital, so real.  It extends for 1,600 miles…800 miles in either direction from Fairbanks. 

Then it was onto a mining train out to the gold dredge.  We were each given a poke of dirt in a small, burlap bag and directed toward the gold pan water tanks.  After given a few simple directions, we were got busy shaking the pan and trying to extract the gold from the dirt and rocks.  Let me tell you…it was hard work.  I don’t know how those miners did this day in and day out.  When all was said and done, Bill and I had a total of $26 in gold flakes!  We’re rich!!

The best part of the day…I found a camera store here in Fairbanks that had a universal charger that would work for my camera batteries.  Even better, our tour director asked our bus driver to drop us off there on our way back from the gold dredge.  I’m a happy camper!!

Our day ended with a wonderful wine dinner for our tour group.  Delicious dinner of salad with blueberry vinaigrette dressing paired with a nice pinot noir, halibut with grilled vegetables with a good chardonnay, and filet mignon and garlic mashed potatoes with a delicious California cabernet.  A wonderful bananas Foster for dessert brought a sweet ending to a great day.