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Thursday, Aug 21, 2008
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Fairbanks features of interest |
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| Fairbanks features of interest | |
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by Rev. Barbara Allen, CMP -
SGN Contributing Writer When visiting an unfamiliar area, tourists are barraged with brochures and suggestions from hotels Chambers of Commerce, and concierges about what to see and do (recommendations which may involve kickbacks). I've already written in prior articles about the World Eskimo Indian Olympics, and some good places to dine. This is a short but comprehensive list of what else to do that I experienced, starting with the least expensive. The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) has an outstanding Museum! Take a day to enjoy all of the exhibits, including "The Place Where You Go To Listen". This is a small room, difficult to find, where the moment to moment sounds of the earth moving, and the sun's energy, are played softly in the background on a direct feed from the university's Geophysical Institute, each sound keyed to a different musical instrument. Soft changing pastel lights and a meditation bench induce an altered state of consciousness you may not want to leave. Nominal admission charge. There's also the UAF LARS (the University's Large Animal Research Farm) with guided tours where you can see photograph and learn about: musk oxen, caribou, reindeer, etc. A small fee helps ongoing research. The UAF Botanical Garden and horticultural research center is splendid. Guided and self-guided tours in summer. Admission: $2 The stern-wheel Riverboat Discovery Cruise on the Chena and Tanana Rivers with Alaskan captains includes a guided walking tour of an authentic Athabascan Indian Village re-creation; seeing Susan Butchers sled dogs in action; salmon being filleted next to a fish wheel by a native, in the traditional manner; bush planes and pilots taking off and landing on short strips; free coffee and doughnuts while they last. It's a pleasant educational afternoon on the river. Under $50. The same company owns and operates the El Dorado Gold Mine where you ride a narrow gauge railroad, see sluices and hydraulics in action, pan gold for yourself, and ride through a permafrost tunnel. Under $35. Beware of the gift shop you must walk through on your way out&there's free coffee and cookies&lots of things to buy, some reasonable, some not. They'll weigh the gold flecks you'll find when panning for free if you ask, then tell you what they think it's worth, and suggest buying a charm or locket to put them in, with a chain, etc&.that's how they make a profit. If you're there in time for the inexpensive Tanana Valley State Fair (July), I recommend the agricultural building and the local Alaskan food products sampling area for some tasty free samples. The giant cabbage contest was fascinating, the cabbages huge, the rules somewhat puzzling&all in good fun. Imagine rough looking bearded men wheel-barrowing in giant cabbages they'd grown in this annual competition which these rugged gardeners take seriously. They seemed to leave as much of the stem or root on the cabbage as possible, dead leaves, etc., to add weight. Sometimes it took two men to lift an entry onto the scale. There was a children's division, whereupon proud parents brought in their children's offerings. That was puzzling since when the judge asked if the kids had planted the seeds, weeded, or watered the plant, the answer was usually "no". Go figure what goes in AK. The adult winners cabbage was about 72 lbs., but had started to break up on top. It's impressive, good fun. The midway wasn't much, food mediocre, belly dancing exhibition and competition fun, the walking tree man amazing and reminiscent of Tolkien "Ents". Outdoor areas in AK are likely to have extensive populations of yellow jacket pests. Avoid carrying open food or using scents that might attract these venomous easily riled insects. A pricier activity, well worth the expense, would be to take one of the Arctic Circle Adventure expeditions, which include private air transport to north of the Arctic Circle for various tours. We took the Fly/Drive option for under $300 each, flying from Fairbanks airport one hour north of the Arctic Circle landing in Coldfoot Alaska, where we were met by a knowledgeable guide and tour van driver who narrated our land trip on the Dalton Highway. Numerous stops for sightseeing, including touching the Alaska pipeline, feeling it vibrate, seeing it move&yes, it moves! We also got a close up walk upon the tundra, and learned that if you dig a little more than 12" down, you hit frozen earth aka permafrost. Stopping at the Yukon River for a no-host dinner of basic meat and potatoes, we learned that the restaurant had been broken into that winter by a grizzly bear, which trashed it, and had to be shot. The gift shop offered "Bearly Worn" shirts that had been "bear'd", or used for a grizzly nest, then washed by the management and offered for tourist acquisition as exotically stained. (I bought non-used souvenirs.) Having the tour operators providing transportation and narration was invaluable. At one point on our way back we had to wait an hour inside the van while titanic earth moving equipment literally created the highway so that vehicles could get past. The Dalton Highway is hard on motor vehicles. Our tour plane had departed around 1 p.m. for a one hour flight. We returned by van transport 12 hrs. later including the delay for road-building on the Dalton Hwy. We'd stopped at the exact Arctic Circle line, and stepped back and forth over it (while dodging mosquitoes, flies, and yellow-jackets) several times upon a marked piece of Astroturf placed on the ground by our guide, Patrick. Ask about additional flights and adventures offered, it's a little pricey, but worth it! In winter, Fairbanks Ice Sculpture contest and Yukon Quest dog sled race&in temperatures significantly below zero Fahrenheit (-60F). First resource for visits to any city should be the local Visitors Information Center, which will provide brochures, maps, suggestions, perhaps some videos to watch. I first learned about the World Eskimo Indian Olympics, the Giant Cabbage growing contest at the Tanana State Fair, UAF etc. from these folks before leaving Washington state. They're a good information resource, located downtown, but with little or no available parking space nearby for cars. Note that there are no Gay or Queer Fairbanks establishments. You can contact the University group via email. There was a (PFLAG) booth set up at the Tanana Fair, which is where I found them. They state that there are no Gay bars or groups needed because people in that area have a "live and let live attitude", so long as you're a decent pleasant human being, friend and neighbor. I was invited to the next private party by these friendly folks, but, regretfully, would be long gone by then. Perhaps, next time. |
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