Alaska Trip Report, Hateful Solar Daytime 9: Fairbanks: Pioneer Park, Morris Thompson Center, Antique Machine Museum , Georgeson Botanical Middle , Wedgewood Wild Life Sanctuary

Day 9, Sep 7, 2018: FAIRBANKS

SUMMARY:

Pioneer park, Morris Thompson cultural too visitor center, Antique automobile museum Fountainhead, Georgeson Botanical middle at the University of Alaska, Wedgewood wild life sanctuary

Reached Fairbanks yesteryear 9.30. Parks highway was ordinary compared to the scenic highways nosotros had driven earlier.

https://goo.gl/maps/VoPjUZePVX72

is the map from Talkeetna to Denali to Fairbanks

ACCOMMODATION:

Golden North Motel, Fairbanks

Clean, quiet, spacious rooms. Conveniently located ii miles from the aerodrome too top tourist attractions such every bit Pioneer Park.

Nicest owners. LOVED THEIR WARMTH! During checkin they gave pamphlets/info.

Breakfast was available from 6.30 the adjacent day. When nosotros told them nosotros are driving to Valdez, they really solicitously ensured nosotros had the magazine amongst relevant info.

We had an early on cheque in, had some nutrient too and thence started on our sight seeing.

Pioneer Park:

Pioneer Park was the showtime on our agenda. It is an open air museum amongst master cabins from Old Fairbanks and has the riverboat Nenana there every bit well.

Includes a mock gold-rush town amongst authentic pioneer log cabins, mining equipment, museums, a replicated Native American hamlet too a huge, drydocked sternwheeler open for tours. Shops are inwards quondam 1900's log cabins moved to this location from town.

Pioneer Park was built inwards 1967 every bit a celebration of the 100th twelvemonth anniversary of Alaska’s buy from Russia. The Park opened on May 27, 1967 for the Alaska ‘67 Centennial Exposition. At that time, the park was known every bit Alaska 67 or Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 67 for short. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 few months after the green opened, its cite was changed to Alaskaland. In 2001, the green was renamed Pioneer Park to reverberate the historical nature of the park.

The Park is bordered on the due north yesteryear the Chena River. The cite is of Athabascan origin, too is derived from “che” pregnant stick too “na” pregnant river—The Stick River.

In 1901, Fairbanks’ founding father, E.T. Barnette traveled upwards the Chena inwards search of the town of Tanana Crossing, immediately called Tanacross, where he had hoped to works life a trading post. Unfortunately for Barnette, his boat hitting a sandbar, too he was forced to pass the wintertime along the banks of the Chena River.

The next spring, a miner yesteryear the cite of Felix Pedro found gilded inwards the surrounding hills. Barnette decided to works life his trading send service correct where he was. That early on community was known every bit Barnette’s Cache, but within a twelvemonth it became known every bit Fairbanks after Senator Charles Fairbanks of Indiana, who eventually became Vice President nether Theodore Roosevelt during Roosevelt’s minute term.

Mining Valley:

In the Mining Valley, nosotros saw some of the equipment used inwards the early on mining operations. Son found the quondam machines amongst gears AWESOME!

The large H2O spout is called a monitor or a giant. It was used to launder large amounts of soil too stone from the hillside to acquire inwards easier for prospectors to take gold.

Steam shovels, similar those inwards the Valley, helped to cut back some of the backbreaking project of those early on days. Pioneer Park’s steam shovel was also used on the Panama Canal too inwards Hawaii before it was brought to Alaska during the Gold Rush.

Gold was discovered inwards Fairbanks inwards 1902 yesteryear Felix Pedro. Those who missed their lead a opportunity inwards Dawson stampeded into the Tanana Valley to mine. The showtime twelvemonth wasn’t really successful too many of the miners quit too left.

The miners didn’t realize that gold lay 100 feet or to a greater extent than nether the permafrost. Once discovered, output increased, too yesteryear 1913 $66 1000000 dollars inwards gilded was mined.

Around 1910, gilded mining began declining, non because of the lack of gold, but because of a turn down inwards trees that were used every bit fuel to thaw the the world too render the necessary H2O pressure level for sluicing.

The mining technique included clearing the solid reason of brush too trees inwards the fall, earthworks shafts inwards the winter, using fires to thaw the the world too the dirt would live hauled to the surface, too repeating the process. Then, inwards the spring, they would purpose a sluice box amongst slats to grab the gilded piece H2O washed away the silt too gravel. (Gold is heavier than both silt too gravel.)

Most of the buildings don’t opened upwards until noon. So nosotros drove on to Morris Thompson cultural too visitor center

Morris Thompson cultural too visitor center:

Open twelvemonth round. FREE. It's a lovely place!

Plane inwards the ceiling

A BOAT higher upwards the window

Lots of native items

Bead work

In the Elder’s hall where nosotros acquire close Athabascan civilization too stance historic too contemporary fine art too tools.

Whale skull too tusks

Snow shoes, birch baskets, leather article of apparel adorned amongst bead work

IVORY AND WHALE BONE

Three life-sized dioramas describe the seasons.

Summer features a fish military camp too a stunning stance of Nuchalawoyya—the house where the Yukon too Tanana rivers meet.

In fall, a grizzly digs for the world squirrels, too a hunting military camp shows the connectedness nosotros receive got amongst the land.

We stance the wintertime diorama from within the warmth of a populace purpose cabin. Outside, northern lights trip the lite fantastic toe across the sky, piece a moose peers through the window.

We saw the Antlers arch... LOVELY

Contemporary art...

Next nosotros drove to Wedgewood Drive. Saw the resort.

Wedgewood resort:

Very pretty flowers, cabbage patch too prelude to automobile museum...

cabbage patch

Parked the automobile at that topographic point itself too followed the ruby-red flags to the Antique Auto Museum. Could receive got driven every bit good every bit nosotros after discovered.

Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum [$10]

Summer Hours: Lord's Day - Thurs 10am to 8pm; Friday & Saturday 11am to 6pm

Over 80 American made antique cars. WOW, WOW WOW. We were thence fascinated too spent some iii hours inwards the museum!!

On the grounds of Wedgewood Resort, the museum showcases dozens of historically significant, pre-World War II automobiles.

The museum houses some amazing classics. Its rotating collection of to a greater extent than than eighty autos includes an 1898 Hay Hotchkiss, a tulip shape 1903 Cadillac, the final remaining 1920 Argonne too a 1917 Owen-Magnetic amongst an electrical motor. The museum fifty-fifty has on loan the 1905 Sheldon Runabout that was the really showtime automobile e'er built inwards Alaska.

The museum displays large format historic photos too videos to convey to life the emerging Alaska of the early on 20th century. There are pictures of Alaskans customizing their cars to navigate through the snow, ride on rails or fifty-fifty cutting firewood. We also consider examples of “alternative” vehicles from agency dorsum when, such every bit early on steam, electrical too hybrid cars, every bit good every bit the showtime American Midget racers too the showtime V16-powered engine.

The museum also features a Vintage Clothing section, which explores the ways that fashions receive got changed over the course of pedagogy of 8 decades, every bit good every bit how the rise popularity of automobiles had an affect on fashion. The collection includes to a greater extent than than 130 dresses, suits, shoes, coats too accessories spanning 8 decades.

We tin can participate too. In the exhibit close the historic Valdez-Fairbanks Trail—Alaska’s showtime major shipping artery, which is immediately the Richardson Highway—put on a duster, chapeau too gloves too accept a film inwards front end of a replica of the master Sourdough Roadhouse, or climb within a 1911 Everitt too pose amongst a grizzly acquit hide.

All of the museum’s automobiles are nonetheless quite operable, thence on summertime evenings a driver takes a automobile out for a roaring spin around the grounds.

THERE IS EVEN Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 SLED

We had to reluctantly go out the museum, walk dorsum to our car. Then nosotros drove to the same place, parked at the entrance of the Fountainhead Wedgewood Wildlife Sanctuary

Fountainhead Wedgewood Wildlife Sanctuary

free, opened upwards 24/7

15 unlike kinds of mammals—from beavers to ruby-red foxes, flight squirrels, snowshoe hares, too fifty-fifty moose—and several species of birds. Throughout the Sanctuary’s trail organization at that topographic point are fourteen interpretive signs, how the birds, fish, frogs, too mammals live inwards interior Alaska’s tough climate

Two slowly nature trails inwards the Sanctuary.

The .7-mile Taiga Trail winds through boreal wood habitats, including tall white spruce, newspaper birch, dark spruce too aspen. The trail also traces the western shore of Wander Lake, featuring a peachy spot for views on a large observation deck.

The 2-mile Wander Lake Trail, which loops around the lake, features a beaver hut, H2O meadow, photography blinds too shallows that attract wading birds, every bit good every bit providing a rearing habitat for non-game fish.

birder’s gilded mine. Pick upwards the checklist of to a greater extent than than 100 plane species unremarkably seen hither (including a bevy of owls, thrushes, cranes, pipits, kingfishers) too perchance fifty-fifty some migrating birds, such every bit a tundra swan or Eurasian Wigeon. The sanctuary connects to Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge nature trails; the Wedgewood Resort is also habitation to the Alaska Bird Observatory.

Plenty of benches to sit down downward amongst binoculars, photographic television receiver camera or sketchbook.

We went for the brusk trail, reached the Wander lake, took some pics too left. It was already yesteryear vi pm.

Public art...

Georgeson Botanical Garden:

We drove to the Georgeson Botanical Garden Milepoint 359, Parks Hwy Fairbanks.

The gardens are on the campus of the University of Fairbanks. Perched on a gradient below the university, the garden is a northern oasis of flowers, trees, shrubs, herbs, too whimsical features. if our garden had non-stop sunlight during the growing flavor nosotros tin can consider what’s possible. This peaceful sanctuary boasts an impressive collection of some of Alaska's 3,000 varieties of flowers, vegetables, too herbs.

Cabbages here...

Strawberry sunflowers

We regretfully injure upwards for the day... nosotros had missed out on LARS, Large Animal Research Station , the UA Museum of the North etc.

We were really happy amongst the flavor of Fairbanks nosotros had managed to taste inwards our brusk stay.

Our study continues here:

http://www.kris-sapiutri.blogspot.com/search?q=alaska-trip-report-day-10-richardson

VIDEO LINKS:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/cXSyvujZzxEHxAfY8

Palmer too Fairbanks (Hatcher pass, independence mine, Alaska state fair, Pioneer park, Morris Thompson cultural too visitor center, Georgeson Botanical garden, Wedgewood Wildlife Sanctuary)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GsnbT2fFvXvz3xwB8

Antique automobile museum

Alaska Trip Report, Hateful Solar Daytime 9: Fairbanks: Pioneer Park, Morris Thompson Center, Antique Machine Museum , Georgeson Botanical Middle , Wedgewood Wild Life Sanctuary

4/ 5

Oleh Admin