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| Sharon, me, Ruthie and Jan--ready to roll on the Tour de Fairbanks. Being on a bike anywhere is a treat!! Sharon and Jan have friends who own a bike and kayak shop, and they hooked us up with splendid 2-wheelers. Ruthie and I found speeder bikes in the back of the shop, dusted them off, and had a wonderful 15-mile ride. Jan and Sharon opted for a cruiser and a cross-bike. |
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| Me, Ruthie taking a break along the trail. Fairbanks, surprisingly, has an extensive system of paved trails throughout the city. We cycled along the Chena River, by the University of Alaska and to the Air Force Base and had a blast. |
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| Which way to LA?? Fairbanks was really cool--literally! Look at how we were dressed on this August Day! At least we got a day without rain for our ride. This picture was taken in a downtown park. (Ruthie, Sharon, me.) |
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| What's better than a speeder bike and new adventures in a new city? And one that's only slightly below the Arctic Circle? We had to keep our eyes peeled for moose and bear, and frost heaves which regularly break up the pavement. |
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| Fairbanks under the watchful eyes of the natives and early explorers, depicted in the statue behind us. |
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| Art throughout Fairbanks and all of Alaska is always delightful to discover, whether served up through practical purposes, like these whimsical bike racks, or on building-size murals, or the collection of antlers (below) shaped into an arch. |
The 10-day trip to Alaska in August was so memorable, so wonderful. First of all, we had the most wonderful hostesses in my sister, Sharon, and her partner, Jan. They've both lived in Alaska for over 20 years, and their jobs required them to travel throughout the state. Sharon is a skilled mapmaker, who has run her own business as well as completing government contracts for various projects, including mapping the migratory patterns of caribou elk, mapping all the toxic waste sites throughout the state, mapping which native villages had indoor plumbing, and mapping ecological effects of various pipelines. Meanwhile, Jan stayed busy as a neonatal intensive care nurse, flying to remote locations in helicopters to assist with infants having difficulties. That sounds pretty impressive, but, in essence, they are two sincere, fun-loving individuals who like to explore and try new things and go new places.
Sharon escorted us the first few days to the Kenai Peninsula, where we tried salmon fishing, although not too successfully. The 'professional' fishermen (ok, the 10-year old boys fishing right next to us) were pulling them out, but we could only pull in one for all our efforts. And, yet, even that was awesome, because it's just soooo beautiful watching the river flow, seeing the fish swim by (hmmm, well that may have been a little frustrating), and being on the look out for bears, moose, caribou, eagles and other wildlife.
Then, we rolled back to Anchorage, packed all our things in the car, and headed out to points north, including Denali National Park, Fairbanks and Chena Hot Springs. The rolling hills were beautiful, covered in white birch and pines, and although the drive was long, it seemed to go fast. On our return, we stopped in Talkeetna, which is well known to mountain climbers as the jumping off spot to climb Denali. Climbers will hire a guide and air service, and fly to the glaciers below the peak so they get a good jump on the summit. The locals spruced up their homes and businesses by painting and decorating plywood mooses in creative ways, and it was fun driving around town trying to spot them, while marveling at the creativity.
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| Restaurant featured on the Travel Channel's Man vs. Food. |
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| Sometimes you can get kissed by a moose! |
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| Those moose are amazing! |
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| This one was described as a "moose-quito." |
