June 10, 2026 Fairbanks, Alaska

At 6 a.m. the temperature was 4°C with sunny skies and a breath of wind. The overnight low was very close to 0°C. Frost warnings had been issued yesterday afternoon.

Back home, beginning late yesterday afternoon and overnight, over 35 mm of rain fell. Tornado warnings had been issued. The storms were described, in one report, as “storms with monsoon-like downpours”. There were funnel cloud reports east of the city. Some communities north of the city reported 120 mm of rain or more, in less than 12 hours. Meanwhile in the city, nickel sized hail, wind gusts in excess of 90 km/h., flooded streets, underpasses and basements were reported. Our son’s recently waterproofed basement remained dry.

Our luggage was placed outside our room before 8 a.m., to be gathered and transferred separately to Fairbanks.

We got our coffees and muffins at the Outpost in Denali Square, then walked up the staircase to go to the main lodge to checkout and eat our breakfast at the overflow tables by the Grizzly Grind. Zelzen’s group gathered at 9:45 a.m. outside of the Golden Nugget Saloon and filed onto the bus for the three hour journey to Fairbanks. Ryan Hales was our driver and commentator. We were on our way before 10 a.m.

As we passed the village of Fairy, Ryan told us the story of the residents of a small town not liking some policy of the Alaska Railroad. On the fourth of July at noon ,as the train passed, the whole village stood by the tracks and mooned the train. It has remained a tradition ever since.

The 20 minute rest stop was at the Tatlanika Campground where there was a restaurant, gift shop and around the property were scattered old farming equipment, a fishing wheel, a cache raised on stilts (to store food high out of reach of bears) and a few small planes. The owner is a bush pilot. We bought a small bag of fresh popcorn.

We had only travelled a few miles from the campground when Ryan noticed several motor coaches stopped in to a pullover and the passengers unloading. Back in the distance, 250 miles (400 km) away, Mount Denali could be clearly seen, its snowy peaks glistening in the sunshine. We had a short stop to take pictures, using some of the extra time built in to the itinerary for a large construction project slowdown further down the highway. On average only 30% of visitors to the Denali area see part of the mountain, which usually is shrouded in cloud and less than 10% of visitors see it cloudless, like we had today.

There was a huge highway straightening project underway to straighten the dangerous “S” curves of the highway. Vehicles had to wait for the pilot vehicle to lead the way for a 15 minute drive at about 35 mph (50 km per hour) through the construction zone. Our wait was only five minutes, so the photo stop did not delay us. There were 16 vehicles waiting at the other side.

The vegetation by the roadside is cut back at least 20 feet so that drivers can spot moose close to the road. A collision with a moose causes a lot of damage to vehicles, people and the moose.

Entering Fairbanks we passed the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. Fairbanks, known as the Golden Heart, has a population of about 32,000. It is the second largest city in Alaska. At Pioneer Park is a collection of gold rush era buildings from the early 20th century.

We arrived at Discovery Riverboat just before 1 p.m. As we left the motor coach, Zelzen distributed the lunch voucher and riverboat voucher. The group assembled for a group photo on the boardwalk by the riverboat (we are the only Canadians in the group) before finding the large dining hall which could easily hold 600 people. (The riverboat capacity was 900.) The hall was full of 16 seat tables. Our waitress explained that dining was family style, meaning that the food would be presented in pots, bowls or platters. We were to signal her when refills were needed. There were two litre cast iron pots containing beef stew or roasted carrots and potatoes, bowls of kale, apple, pecan and feta cheese salad, plates of small buns plus a brownie slice at our place. Iced tea and water were also on the table. Coffee and tea were also available There was a cash bar.

Also housed in the building was a 8,000 square foot gift shop doing good business. Soon the riverboat whistle blew to begin the boarding of the 156 foot four deck stern wheeler riverboat named Discovery 3. There were 19 large monitors scattered on the four decks. We were travelling on the Chena River.

Once underway the boat’s video camera focused on a yellow bush plane floating on the water. The audio was connected to the pilot who demonstrated taking off, lifting off the water to the starboard side of the boat then circling and landing behind the boat and float past. Homes lined the Chena River where boats rested on shore or by a dock and one homeowner had their float plane moored to their dock.

Next on the video screen was Tekla, owner of Trailblazer Kennels where she raises sled dogs and is a musher who participates and organizes sled dog races. We floated across from the property as Tekla explained her business and demonstrated the training of the sled dogs showing us a team in action using a sled on wheels. When the demo was finished, the dogs were unharnessed and they made a beeline to the river and splashed to cool off. The air temperature was about 16°C. Tekla later met the group at Chena Village on the opposite side of the river.

The sternwheeler turned around where Chena River joined the Tanana River, whose waters were a noticeably different colour due to glacial silt. The Tanana River flows into the Yukon River.

Once the 180° turn was complete, the boat stopped close to the Chena Village for an explanation of different types of salmon and how it is filleted and dried and smoked for storage. The less desirable Chum salmon becomes dog food for the sled dogs. The King salmon and Silver salmon are preferred for people. There is no Sockeye in the Chena River. Nearby was a fish wheel powered by the water current and used to harvest the salmon, none were caught today.

The salmon is first filleted then placed in a brine with some brown sugar added for two or three days. Then the salmon is hung is a smokehouse with an alderwood fire smouldering for a few weeks and finally dehydrated and placed in a cache on stilts to keep them away from bears and other wildlife. Once the demonstration was complete the boat proceeded to dock for passengers to disembark for an hour long visit to replica historic Chena village and learn, at three different locations about life in the village over a century ago. The temperature was 17°C and no wind, under mainly sunny skies.

Our first stop was a 500 meter walk to benches within the open air amphitheatre. At the front was a log cabin, about 400 square feet in size, and beside it was a cache on stilts. Our guide showed us pelts of a wolf, lynx, wolverine, several different coloured foxes, muskrat, marten and mink, which the Athabaskan people thought worthless until the fur traders arrived and paid premium prices for the pelts. There was a beaver pelt on a stretcher, its was valued for European Top Hats and the beaver was good to eat. Mosquitoes were present during the village visit and we did not have bug spray.

The group of about 200 walked another 500 meters to the reindeer enclosure where four domesticated caribou roamed. The only difference between caribou and reindeer is that caribou are wild. Caribou hides were used as mattresses.

At the final open air amphitheatre we were shown “punk” which is a black mass that grows on birch trees in was used to carry embers, to light a new fire, from campsite to campsite when the Athabaskan people were nomads. Birch bark was useful to make a canoe or baskets for food storage. As a baby carriers, the seat was lined with moss or rabbit fur that was used like a diaper, easily changed as necessary. Here there was a display of hides on stretchers, grizzly bear, moose, caribou. On the other side of the cabin was a stuffed moose in a glass case. A nice surprise was the modelling of a chief’s fur coat and a women’s parka made of different fur pelts. It took eight months to create, weighs 23 pounds and is worth $35,000 US.

We had another 30 minutes to explore the replica village and investigate the small dwellings. We saw the enclosure where Tekla had brought three of the sled dogs. They prowled the perimeter and if they noticed a scent of someone’s pet, she warned that the dog might pee on your shoes. We wandered back to the reindeer enclosure. The stern wheeler whistle blew to signal guest it was time to return to the boat.

Within ten minutes we were underway to return to the home dock. An announcement was made that samples of smoked silver salmon mixed with cream cream was being served on crackers on each deck. It was very tasty. We docked a few minutes before 5 p.m.. Zelzen directed us to our bus parked among 14 other motor coaches. Ryan checked off passengers names as they boarded.

Within half an hour we were checking in to the Westmark Fairbanks Hotel. As we alighted from the bus, Zelzen handed out envelopes with room cards and instructions for tomorrow’s early morning activities. Our luggage was already in the spacious, about 500 square foot, room that included a dining nook, desk area and bedroom and a good sized bathroom.

We quickly got ready and waited in the lobby for the Alaska Salmon Bake school bus to collect us and several others to take us to the Fairbanks Pioneer Park for dinner.

We entered a replica underground mine corridor that lead to the open air facility and a dining hall. After receiving some directions, we were given plates and directed to the plentiful salad bar, barbecue area where silver salmon was being cooked on an open fire. There was also battered cooked cod or baked cod and trays from an oven slow cooking prime rib roasts. There were roasted potato wedges and cooked green beans. Sodas, coffee and tea were included and there was a cash bar. Desert was a choice of cheesecake or lemon sherbet. You cleared your dishes before exploring the Pioneer Park next door.

The Pioneer Park is a collection of early 20th century wooden buildings that once graced the main street and are now small businesses, gift shops, restaurants and cafés which closed at 6 p.m. We found the Palace Theatre arriving 15 minutes before the start of the show. The capacity was under 150. Before the show started the piano player asked the audience to call out where they lived. There were only six Canadians. It felt like a 100 year old music hall. The show presented Fairbanks history is music and comedy. There were four singer/actors and a piano player - all very talented. There was a sled dog themed skit built around the famous Abbott and Costello rountine “Who’s on First”. After the show, the same bus driver met us to return us to the hotel just after 10 p.m.

We set the alarm for 4:30 a.m. to be able to put the luggage in the hall by 4:45 a.m. for transfer to Fairbanks International Airport.

Total steps 8,924