Fairbanks, Alaska – the Golden Heart City

12 Aug

August 8 -10, 2019

Our stay in Fairbanks was not too exciting.  The weather was rainy and chilly so we didn’t get to spend too much time outside.  We were shocked at how many available RV spaces there were in the RV park.  On our past visits, the park was full and very difficult to get a reservation.  Not this time!  We were parked in a premium row for Big Rigs, along with The Alaska Excursion Caravan group.  Most of the other rows were empty! Maybe the early fires scared everyone away?

Thursday turned into a nice day with sunshine and temperature in the high 60’s. We drove just outside of Fairbanks to view theTrans- Alaska Oil Pipeline. We walked along a portion of the pipeline and saw a “pig” – a device used to collect data and clean the pipeline walls. It is always interesting to see the pipeline up close since we have a college friend, that worked on the pipeline. 

We drove to the University of Alaska Fairbanks and stopped by the Museum.  Since we had been to the museum before, we decided not pay the admission.  We drove around the campus and couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to attend college in sub-zero temperatures.  The temperature gets mighty cold in Fairbanks! In the winter, the temperature can fall below −50 °F…Brrrr! 

We located the Great Alaskan Bowl Co. It is one of the few remaining wooden bowl mills. They cut Alaskan Birch Trees into beautiful wooden bowls. We actually got to see bowls being cut!  It was very interesting! The shelves were filled with so many bowls to choose from, but I finally made my selection!  I picked out a fish shaped bowl and a wine bottle stand.  The store is pricey but the items are unique!

The Riverboat Discovery Gift Shop was our next stop. We think it is one of the best gift shops in Alaska! They have good prices, too! 

The grocery store was our final stop. Fairbanks was the largest town since Whitehorse and our pantry needed a little replenishing! 

Our next stop – Cantwell, Alaska ( 27 miles south of Denali National Park)