Riverboat Discovery...

The next day we visited downtown Fairbanks. I had to find another of the pylons marking the Alaska Highway and mileages from Fairbanks. 

Griffin, Georgia is 4,210 miles from Fairbanks. We thought we were a long way from home, but did not realize just how far. At this point we are closer to Mexico City (3840), Oslo (3750), Seoul (3770) and Tokyo (3480). What?!?! Too bad we can't just drive to those places, too. Okay, not really.











The afternoon was spent on board the Riverboat Discovery. A family run business, the tour takes visitors for a ride down the Chena River and stops at a re-creation of an Athabaskan Indian village. They have hired native teenagers to provide the narratives about the lives of the native peoples. These kids did a great job and have a genuine appreciation of their heritage. This is one of those teenagers wearing a beautiful coat used for special occasions.










We also stopped by the kennels of the late musher Susan Butcher, four time Iditarod Champion. The dogs were amazing! Wouldn't you like to have a job where puppies follow you everywhere? Can you imagine the smiles?








Small world time. Paula runs into a lady from her Sunday school class and her husband. They were on a cruise and ended up on the same boat. She got to catch up with her and find out what's been going on at home. Nice!

On the way out, we decided to spend a very short time in the Alaska at 40° Below room. Okay, it was really a walk in freezer to let you see what 40° below 0° feels like. Okay, our door had been left open so it was only 20° below 0°. It was positively balmy. Not! 






Craig noticed a beautiful restaurant along the shore as we cruised and surprised me with a belated anniversary dinner. The Pump House was wonderful. A beautiful setting on the river and the food was amazing. A fitting end to our time in Fairbanks.

On the road again...