Alaska Day 11 - Fairbanks

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Adelia Austin
6 years ago
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1 Alaska Day 11 - Fairbanks At Fairbanks we found out that there was a nearby town of North Pole (12 miles south). The real North Pole was actually 750 miles away. We signed up at the Westmark Hotel for the Gold Dredge 8 tour on our last day in Alaska. It included a short stop at the Alyeska ( Great Land ) Pipeline.

2 The Alyeska ( Great Land ) pipeline went from Prudhoe Bay (Beaufort Sea) to Valdez Marine Terminal (Gulf of Alaska) Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS).

3 Sign: Map of Pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. History of the pipeline. Guide Tim tells us about the Alyeska pipeline. It drizzled that day.

4 The outer casing was silver colored. The inner parts of the pipeline revealed how the pipeline was cleaned.

6 The second part of the tour was on a replica of the Tanana Valley Railroad, which took us on a 20 minute ride through mining history. Guitarist/Conductor Earl Hughes entertained us with his songs.

7 Demonstration of how the old machines did the work of gold mining.

8 The small tourist train arrives at the Gold(stream) Dredge No. 8. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the dredge is a mechanical wonder. It walked across the gold fields, scooping up pay dirt and mechanically panning it.

9 Yukon Yonda is the lady guide who gives us a short talk on how the dredge worked spit out rocks, processing of ore, conveyor belt to wash the material, sluice boxes, etc.

10 Here is where we got a chance at our own panning for gold looking for bits of gold (i.e. flash in the pan ). If it didn t pan out, we called for help.

11 Signs: The Dredging Process. The Mountains are Calling and I must Go. John Muir

12 I got $30 worth of gold (it was weighed). The gold pieces ( flakes ) were put into a necklace, which I bought as a gift.

13 Sign: The Inner-Workings of Gold Dredge 8. Washing Trommel, Stern Gantry, etc.

14 On the way back, Earl Hughes entertained us with his fiddle music. All the workers at the Gold Dredge waved to us as we left the golden place.

15 The locomotive of the replica train. Old machines were placed strategically along the way to remind the visitors of the Golden Era.

16 It looked like a graveyard of old machine parts. After the tour, we explored Fairbanks and stopped at a Thai restaurant to eat.

17 The Thai restaurant featured a painting of the story of Hanuman (the monkey king) in the Indian classic Ramayana. Other works of Thai art adorned the restaurant.

We walked to downtown Fairbanks, where the Chena River flowed through it. https://en.wikipedia.

The plaza s central feature is a fountain statue, "Unknown First Family" by Malcolm Alexander.

18 We walked to downtown Fairbanks, where the Chena River flowed through it. First Family Statue near the visitor center. The plaza s central feature is a fountain statue, "Unknown First Family" by Malcolm Alexander. Standing 18 feet high with water cascading over it into the surrounding pool, the statue has been dedicated to all the Alaska families of the past, present, and future.

was special/ As if the hand of God/ Had briefly

19 Annus Mirabilis plaque in Golden Heart Plaza: It was not a year/ Just like other years;/ Somehow Eight-Four was special/ As if the hand of God/ Had briefly brushed the place/ And sparked a miracle. 6. Athabascan Circle.

20 Bronze plaque: Fairbanks, It all started with Gold. 25. Vignettes of History: History of North Slope Oil Development.

21 The Transalaska Pipeline: an Epic Construction Effort. Sled Dogs: in the history of the interior.

22 Yukon Quest Trail at the Visitor Center. My claim to fame on the Yukon Quest Trail.

23 Yukon Quest Trail poster.

24 Downtown art on buildings, by Lathrop Artists Studios.

25 Paint the Pipes public art project by Fairbanks. Interior Alaskan Images by Dan Kennedy features an Alaskan landscape with recognizable flora and fauna, and the northern lights dancing overhead.

26 My favorite Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) photo. It reminds me of what I saw in the distance at Mt. McKinley Wilderness Lodge.

27 Farewell to Fairbanks, The Golden Heart of Alaska. Room Key.

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