Guerin’s On The Go !

What an unforgettable day and night we had !  

The day started off early with Riverboat Discovery cruise on the Chena River, in Fairbanks. The day started off overcast and cool but improved as the day progressed. We decided to brave to the cold and sit on the upper deck, which was a smart move as we had the entire deck to ourselves, as well as a tray of free blueberry donuts and coffee. The river itself is quite shallow and the boats are all flat bottomed. 

The Riverboat Discovery Cruise arranged a float plan to take off and land right next to the boat which was very cool to see. As we floated down the river we were struck by the diversity of homes on the riversides. There were beautiful, large ,well manicured homes as well as small cabins , side by side. No zoning rules or deed restrictions here.

We stopped alongside Trail Breakers Kennel  where we had a presentation on Alaskan Huskies and were able to see a demonstration of their mushing as they pulled an ATV with no motor alongside the river. The dogs were very excited to get going and were pulling at the lines to take off. Once they were off, they pulled the “ sled” along at about 20-25 mph. At the conclusion of their training run ,they happily ran into the river to cool off. 

As we moved further along, we arrived at a replica of an Athabascan village. The Athabascan  are the native people to the area now known as Fairbanks. They taught us about how they survived in this harsh environment, from how they hunted, fished and preserved food to how they dressed to survive the cold. The parkas have a very large headpiece that was lined by Wolverine fur around the face as the wolverine fur contains an oil that keeps the fur from freezing around the face….. Fascinating how clever and resourceful these people were to adapt in such a harsh environment. Not to mention the bravery to hunt wolverine, bear and moose with a spear! They basically antagonized the animals until they attacked the hunter who then hunched down and pointed the spear up, waiting for the animal to land on it.

On the cruise back , we were treated to smoked salmon dip, delicious, even to me, who is not a big seafood eater. 

After the Riverboat Cruise , we had a tour of Fairbanks and learned some of its history. We ate lunch at Big Daddy’s BBQ, wandered down to  the Golden Heart Plaza . This was followed a trip to the Morris Cultural center. Vigdis and I parted ways with the rest of the group as they headed out to the Fountainhead  Auto and fashion museum. They really enjoyed their visit there. The antique cars were paired with dresses that women would have worn during that time period. I think this a clever way to keep some of the ladies , who might be bored by cars,  engaged and interested in the museum. Vig and I were feeling tired so we opted to go back to the hotel for a much needed nap! 

The nap was much needed for 2 reasons, we were a little jet lagged but more importantly, we wanted to be awake for our Aurora Boreallis viewing tour. We booked our trip with Aurora Husky Lodge . We were picked up at 10 p.m. at our hotel and driven about 30 minutes away from the lights of Fairbanks to a little lodge in the middle of nowhere. We were with a small group 16 people in total. The guide was very knowledgeable about the aurora and when we could expect to see action as he monitored a satellite with this data. He also helped with camera settings , a life saver for me! As a nice treat there a was also all you can drink hot cocoa! The guide was also a former Iditarod competitor so he had a documentary about the race playing if wanted to be inside .

Our group stayed outside for the bulk of the 4 hour tour . We could not understand how the rest of the group just stayed inside and dozed! This was the northern lights for Pete’s sake! How could you just lounge around where there was a beautiful display happening in the heavens above our heads??? The stars were breathtaking as well and the Milky Way was visible directly over head. This was my first time seeing both of these and I was just overcome by the beauty of it all. The starts were so bright they even show up I. The photos .

We were beyond exhausted by our return to the hotel at 2:30 a.m., but it was absolutely worth it. We packed up our bags and had them ready for our next adventure to Denali!