Fairbanks, Alaska

WELCOME to the Fairbanks Airport

Fairbanks, Alaska, is a town of about 32,000 people.  It is less than 120 miles from the Arctic Circle.   Fairbanks' winter lasts from late September/early October until late April/early May.  On average, the season's first snow falls in Fairbanks on September 21 and the first inch of snow accumulates by October 8. The snowpack is established by October 18, on average, and remains until May.

Fairbanks from October to May

My son, Mason, and ME in front of Discovery III
(a paddle wheeler) on the Chena River.

Susan Butcher's dog training center for sled dogs.
Her teams won the Iditarod four years (1986, 1987, 1988, 1990).
Her husband Dave Monson is continuing the training since
her death in 2006.

Granite was lead dog on three of the winning teams.
More than any other sled dog in history.

Where the Chena River runs into the Tanana River

there is a reconstruction of an ATHABASCAN INDIAN VILLAGE.

Villages similar to this appeared along the rivers after steamboat captains began bringing

prospectors in search of gold in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  They continued to thrive

from the late 1930's through the 1950's.

Reindeer:  domesticated caribou.

Early dwellings of Athabascan Indians.

Cache: a place for storing supplies and for hanging kills and furs.
Those are dog houses on the ground.  They maintained upwards of 60 dogs
per village so had to make provisions for them too.

How many votes do I get for looking like Judi Dench?

A lady sitting next to me on the plane said:  "Gasp!!!  Has anyone ever told you 

that you look just like Judi Dench?

(Maybe I should have looked for a better picture of me - yes? 
Or a not so good picture of Ms. Dench?)