Fairbanks

We came up from Seward and picked Sid up at the airport. His plane was late and he arrived an hour late.. With over 20 hours of day light it really didn't make much difference. On Monday we went on a paddle wheel powered boat tour of the Chena River.

We road down the Chena River to where it joins the another  river which is a glacier fed river and is very dirty and silty. The Chena is a clear water river and there is a great contrast where the waters meet.

We were able to see the late Linda Butcher's sled dog training center and an Native American fishing camp which is maintained by the tour company.  They had several presentations on camp life and catching and preserving the fish (a fish wheel and smoking the salmon.

Carolyn stayed in camp to paint and rest  of us headed north 275 miles to cross the meridian that marks the Arctic Circle. The highway parallel the Alaskan Pipeline. It was built to supply the materials and workers on the pipeline. Both are marvels as they were built in a short time over permafrost land and  sever climatic conditions. The bridge over the Yukon River is also impressive. An information center is provided by the BLM at the bridge for information about the bridge, the Arctic Circle and the pipeline.

We went to the El Darado Gold Mine and panned for gold the 5 of us panned about $100 total of gold out of the sluice box.That same day a 60 mile drive up the Chena River produced many great photos of moose.

Mean while at the campground we had daily encounters with blue wing teal and a couple of beavers who were eating the aquatic plants along the river bank.

We are headed up the Chena River to fish for large grayling and camp for about 3 days.