July 6, 2010 Departing Fairbanks

Today we slept a little late, this daylight thing is getting to us. Although I like it as I feel more energetic. Today is like most days here when it doesn't rain, low 55, high 72 with a little breeze.
We started of the day with a visit to Sam's Club. That is always a treat. We bought some things we needed and some we didn't but not the one we went for, a small vacuum for the motor home.
Then we went to the Yukon Quest Dog Sled race headquarters. They had some plaques, a statue, and gift shop. It was located downtown Fairbanks in a log cabin. They had a few small dogs for show and tell. Took a few pictures and left.
We then went to Pioneer Park which was also located in town. It is a theme park of a sorts. It was free but you had to pay for some rides and stuff like that. I didn't know until we were inside that dogs can go in also. They had a train that ran around the entire park. Deatra was begging to ride it so we did. It was kind of neat. They had a lot of exhibits and artifacts about Alaska, Fairbanks, and the gold rush. They had an air museum. They also had a lot of old equipment used in the gold rush days. The one I enjoyed the most was a steam shovel that was actully run with steam.
In another part they had an old paddle wheel river boat. The railroad car that President Harding rode in when he came to Alaska was there. There were a lot of old log cabins that were orginally located in Fairbanks that had been relocated to the park. They all had plaques telling about their past. Pretty neat. They also had the Fairbanks home of Judge Wickersham. If you remember the earlier post about Eagle he is the one that first came to Eagle to restore law and order then moved to Fairbanks. The big attraction may have been the nightly Salmon Bake. They have a buffet with salmon, halibut, and prime rib with outdoor seating. You have to make a reservation for that.
I was surprised that the park was not crowded although it seemed that more people were beginning to come when we were leaving.
Overall Fairbanks is a very nice city. The streets are will laid out and I had no problems getting around even downtown with a 31 foot motor home. They have a good selection of stores and things to do and see. I am sure the University adds to the town.
We left and drove just outside Denali Nationl Park and set up camp in a pull off. Grilled some hamburgers and settled in. Living large in Alaska.