Alaskan Pipeline

Here are a few of my favorites from the Alaskan Pipeline. A part of the pipeline can bee seen by taking a short drive out the Steese Expressway from Fairbanks, toward Fox.

Visitors are Welcome: Claude and Ruth Larson

What a coincidence! Our aunt and uncle came to Fairbanks to pay us a visit. Claude, Ruth and Little Bit - a white Chihuahua - pulled a fifth wheel from Minnesota all the way to Alaska. The fabulous state of Alaska had been on their minds as a vacation destination for quite some time. In fact plans to come here last year were postponed til this year. They followed my advice and camped at the River's Edge campground, next to the China River, here in Fairbanks.

They eased into their space last Friday (July 16th) and we were able to visit them for a little while. David had to go back to work, so we chatted a while and David gave them some ideas on points of interest in the area. We grabbed some dinner and decided that I should tag along and play back seat tour guide.

The stop that I thought was the most important, was the Pipeline. A short drive out the Steese expressway will take you to a visitor's stop that is perfect for photo ops.

Claude and Ruth were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary while they were here. Ruth is a retired school teacher and Claude still operates the farm that once belonged to David's grandfather. Claude and two of his grandsons farm 800 acres in western Minnesota.

Things to do in Fairbanks: Kitty Hensley House at Pioneer Park

Katherine Hensley, known as Kitty, owned a cabin on Eighth Avenue for more than two years when the end of the Florence S came.

As the ice on the Chena River broke up one year around 1913, it damaged the riverboat Florence S. in its moorings near Fairbanks. Captain E.J. Smythe dismantled the damaged boat, and  salvaged the wood to remodel the home of his former partners' abandoned wife.

Smythe  continued to care for Katherine Hensley for almost 20 years. This caused rumors about the Captain and Kitty's relationship. Some still think of her as a "kept woman" and Smythe, nicknamed "Cap," as her "lover."

Cap maintained his devotion to Kitty for the rest of her life, perhaps out of concern as a single older woman in the far north.


http://fairbanks-alaska.com/kitty-hensley-house.htm

Things to do in Fairbanks: Visit Pioneer Park

Pioneer Park offers a relaxing setting for week-end activities. Admission is free, however some exhibits charge a nominal fee.

There are dozens of attractions - Mini-Golf, 40 Below Fairbanks (pay $8 to experience a room chilled to minus 40 - I'll wait til winter), Gold Rush Town, Tanana Valley Railroad, Palace Theater and much more.

They offer 9 museums, Pioneer Air Museum, President Harding Railroad Car, the Riverboat Nenana, and the Tanana Valley Railroad Museum, to name a few.


If you get the munchies: Bag Ladies of Fairbanks (some good shopping too), Frosty Paws, Caribou Grill, and the famous Alaska Salmon Bake are just four of the nine eateries there. I'm sure we will make visits there in the future. The Palace Theater and Salmon Bake are on my of things to review.

A little history on the park: Ca. 1961 the Pioneers of Alaska requested public land from the State of Alaska. The plan for the land was to create a tourist attraction that showed historical Alaska exhibits.

In 1965, the Alaska 67 (or A-67) committee requested that the park be used for the 100^th year celebration of Alaska’s purchase from Russia. A-67 requested federal funding to develop the Pioneer Memorial State Historical Park.

When the park was opened in 1967 it was known as Alaskaland. The name was changed to Pioneer Park in 2002 in order to remove the persona of a “Disneyland” theme park experience.

http://www.co.fairbanks.ak.us/ParksandRecreation/PioneerPark/
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The Pilot's Lounge July21 2010.3

Just a few more fun float planes that I found at Fairbanks International Airport.

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These were also taken July 7, 2010. The biggest surprise was that this is in the middle of Fairbanks!

The Pilot's Lounge July21 2010

Here are some of the float planes that I promised you. Most of these were taken in the same trip down the street (in under 20 minutes). Comments are always welcome :)

The Alaskan Interior: Fort Yukon

Last week I was given the chance to jump on a plane and head just north of the Arctic Circle. I spent about 4 hours playing tourist.

My tour began with a briefing given by Ed Peebles, the marketing director at Warbelow's Air Ventures. My head was filled with facts about the history of the Athabaskan Tribes, the Pipeline and the lifestyles of the Native People.

My pilot was Jeremy. A handful of tourists and I boarded a Piper, Navajo twin engine aircraft. This is the typical aircraft that is used by Warbelow's to serve the villages. Aircraft are the lifeline that the villagers rely on to see the doctor, dentist and to take supplies back to the villages.

This time the aircraft was used to serve as a tour plane. Seats can be removed, or added to provide different configurations, depending on the purpose of the aircraft at a given time. Jeremy asked for a volunteer who would like to fly "right seat". I took a glance at the timid faces of my co-tourists and decided to raise my hand. It was a wonderful position to be in, although difficult for taking photos. I was allowed to see forward with a panoramic view without other tourists blocking it.

The famous Alaskan Pipeline that pumps oil from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, is visible on part of this flight. Fort Yukon is about 1 hour (by air) to the north-east of Fairbanks. Jeremy pointed out the accordion look, somewhat noticeable from our distance. He explained how this allowed for expansion and contraction during temperature fluctuations.

We reached the Yukon-Tanana Uplands mountain range within moments of taking off. Jeremy gave the extra effort as we skirted the white mountain peaks. A few of those chiseled limestone peaks were dotted with Dall sheep. Their coats were brightened by the available sunlight and they looked like tiny puffs of cotton. Fire weed swept up the slopes. The bright magenta blossoms were a wonderful contrast to the sand and limestone colors.

The terrain changed again as the flats offered the colors of sage and burnt sienna. Numerous creeks meandered through the wilderness. Odd little mounds were built by muskrats in the middle of some of these streams. Jeremy explained that the muskrat mounds provided a means of trapping and food for the critters that built them. We were fortunate to spot a few moose. Jeremy had a keen eye when it came to pointing them out. When he had the chance he would tip the wing and circle them so that we could get a better view.

The flight was smooth as we glided into the small village of Fort Yukon. We landed at the agent's station and were greeted by Richard Carroll and his 2 year old grandson. The tourists and Jeremy snacked on sandwiches that were ready when we got there. We rested and chatted until it was time to board the tour bus.

The tour bus was humble, yet comfortable. The windows were rolled down, since it was quite warm. Temperatures in Fort Yukon are similar to those in Fairbanks. It was about 80 degrees and humid.

"C'mon, Son." Rich coaxed the toddler who was with him at the station. 

"Is he really your son?" one of the tourists asked.

"I wish he was, but he's my grandson. I would have had more kids, if I could have, so I call all of them Son." The little boy had an uncanny resemblance to his grandfather.

The dark haired, brown eyed little boy gently patted his tiny hand on a seat as if persuading me to sit on the best seat available.

"Where you folks from?" Richie asked.

"I'm from Fairbanks, but I've only lived there a month." I answered.

"Do you plan on dieing here, in Alaska?"

"I'll at least turn gray here."

The bus rumbled toward the cemetery. "Too many people don't stay here. It hurts the village. These people in the cemetery, they're not coming back. Take photos if you like, they don't mind. The village has ingrained upon me to stay, so I will die here. It's a way of life. There are no jobs here. We used to do so much trapping, but not anymore. The animal activist groups from the 90's destroyed our industry, so the young people leave. They go to Fairbanks, or Anchorage. It hurts the village. They're the ones with the marketable skills, so the ones they leave behind don't have those skills. 800 people lived here at one time. Now it's only about 400."

We continued toward the fishing village. We stepped out of the bus to observe the activity of boats and fishers. "Wish I had my camera," Richie said "This is kind of a neat scene." I thought so too, and snapped a few shots. The scrubby fishing boats were rustic, yet intriguing. I wandered off to snap just a few more.

We traipsed back into the bus. "Now I will show you the resorts and casinos." Rich turned and looked at us with a wry face.We rambled away from the fishing area as the locals called out hellos and waved at Rich and the familiar blue bus. Then we toured the streets with the humble dwellings that lined the narrow dirt roads. "So many of these homes are abandoned... People who are still here live by subsistence, or rely on the government. I don't need a job. I drive the tour bus; been doing it for 32 years."

Fort Yukon has a few modern medical buildings. Dozens of people from outside the interior have tried to make it in Fort Yukon, but have had to leave because of the extreme conditions. The sun doesn't set in Fort Yukon for several weeks during the summer. In the winter it is the opposite. It can remain dark in December - no sunlight - for several days. "If you live here, get outside no matter what, or you will go crazy," Rich warned us.

Over there," he pointed "was a big wedding. Everyone came just to see what a wedding was like. We don't see many weddings here. I don't understand it; people just don't get married anymore. It's not like it was in the olden days: single women could stay on welfare much longer. Now it only lasts five years. Either way, I don't get it."

We had wrapped ourselves around the village and soon our tour was over.

Once again,we boarded the Navajo and were on our way to Fairbanks. A thunderstorm was building up on the horizon. We reached our cruising altitude, but were able to catch the sun's magical rays beaming down between clouds. The rays stretched down to the peaks and gave faint hues of gold and amber.

 We reached Fairbanks. Jeremy managed to spot some sand craines on the way.

The Alaskan Interior

The Alaskan interior includes Fairbanks, (the urban center of the Interior and Alaska's second-largest city). Other towns include North Pole just southeast of Fairbanks, Eagle, Tok, Glenallen, Delta Junction Nenana, Anderson, Healy and Cantwell. Most of us have heard of at least one of these towns.

The Alaskan interior also known as the Tanana Valley, includes dozens of tiny villages. Warbelow's Air serves 22 villages: Allakaket, Anaktuvuk, Beaver, Bettles, Central, Chalkyitsik, Circle, Fort Yukon, Galena, Hughes, Huslia, Kaltag, Koyukuk, Manly Hot Springs, Minto, Nulato, Rampart, Ruby, Stevens Village, Tanana and Venetie. They are located along the Yukon, Koyukuk and Tanana rivers.

Fuel, construction materials and supplies are shipped from Anchorage to Nenana by railroad, and then transported to Yukon River villages by barge in the summer. Many supplies are delivered by air, year-round.

Most Interior Alaska residents on the road systems have utilities. About half of the interior village homes have no water or waste water facilities.

The Interior covers about 167,644 square miles, and contains over 37 percent of Alaska’s land mass. In Fairbanks Alaska Natives make up about 9% of the population. In rural areas, the percentage increases to about 73%.The vast majority of indigenous Native people of Interior Alaska are Athabascan Indians.

Interior temperatures can be as cold as 65 degrees F below zero in winter, and as warm as 95 degrees F in the summer. The average temperature is 10 degrees below zero in January and 65 degrees in July.

Summer daylight lasts 21 hours; December nights are 21 hours long. Normal annual precipitation is 11.67 inches, with an annual average snowfall of 50 inches. When temperatures drop below 20 degrees, the wind is calm.

Fairbanks is the transportation hub for Interior Alaska. Jet service is available in Fairbanks with daily flights to Seattle, Anchorage and other Alaskan communities. Most communities (the villages) are accessible only by air, by boat during the summer, and by dogsled or snow machine in the winter.

Travel by any means is simply not practical in extreme weather. Airplanes stop flying at -45 degrees or colder. There can be days or weeks during the winter when airplanes are grounded and villages are cut off completely.

Agriculture, mining (mostly gold), tourism, fish and game are the major natural resources of the Interior.

Residents of rural Alaska (the villages) rely heavily on subsistence hunting, fishing and trapping. Wage, salary, and employment is limited in the villages. The photo you see above is a fishing village at Fort Yukon, on the Yukon River.

The Fairbanks economy also benefits from four military bases: Fort Wainwright, Eielson Air Force Base, Fort Greely and Clear Air Force Station.

Things to do in Fairbanks: Float Pond Road

Here is a tip for a quick, short outing in Fairbanks. Most of us in Fairbanks only need to drive a few short miles from our own back yard. If you happen to be a float plane pilot you will get a kick out of it. In fact, you will believe that you have reached Nirvana. July 7th was the perfect day for me to swing by the float pond. Fairbanks International has a handful of ponds within its boundaries. Out of curiosity, I stumbled upon this one. Just south of the Mitchell expressway, from University Avenue, turn west on Float Pond Road. The float pond is dotted with dozens of treasures. There is even a campground for pilots who remember to pack a pup tent. I will show more float planes to you later.

The Pilot's Lounge 12July 2010.3

Wings...

Fairbanks International Airport, East Ramp.

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Wonderfully weird...
Fairbanks International, East Ramp

Cessna T337c, 1968 (i.d. found using link that Gary Spence provided). All comments are welcome.

Things to do in Fairbanks: Dine at Gambardella's

It was July 5th, our 24th anniversary and yet another day to go back to the grind. I arrived at work according to the time posted on my schedule."You're not supposed to work until 2:15," Katherine said. I moseyed on home with my hopes lost that dinner would be spent over quiet candle light, in a ritzy restaurant. I told David that once again, a last minute change had been made. The workplace will have me on a regular steady schedule one of these days. Patience. Patience.

We decided to have a nice lunch instead. We cruised the rain soaked streets of Downtown Fairbanks until we found something that was open. Most of the eateries took the 5th as part of the 3 day weekend.

Gambardella's was willing to serve up some pasta and home made bread; the open door invited us in.The service was fast and friendly. The dining room was cute and comfy making us feel as though we were at an Italian sidewalk cafe'. We were the very first ones there and a few more dampened patrons followed.

You can't beat a pile of pasta and marinara with a hearty meatball in the middle. The home made bread alone is worth going back for (almost as good as Granny Haas's).

At 11:30 Super Hubby picked me up after work with his Hot Wheels car, the top down, and a bundle of roses. It still looked like daylight, even after the rain. This will be one of our more memorable anniversary celebrations.