June 12, 2011 Fairbanks/Riverboat Discovery- We decided to learn a little bit more about Fairbanks and I thought I would refresh your memory too. It’s the second biggest city in Alaska with a population of 30,367 and if you include the North Star Borough it’s 97,970. In 1901, Captain E.T. Barnette set out with his stern-wheeler Lavelle Young with supplies for his trading post which he proposed to set up at Tanana Crossing. But the stern-wheeler could not navigate the fast-moving, shallow Tanana River beyond the mouth of the Chena River. Barnette abandoned his original plan to continue on to Tanana Crossing. In September 1902, Barnette convinced the 25 or so miners in the area to use the name “Fairbanks” for the town that he expected would grow up around his trading post. The name had been suggested by District Court Judge James Wickersham, who admired Charles W. Fairbanks, the senior senator from Indiana. The senator later became vice president of the United States under Theodore Roosevelt. The town grew largely due to Barnette’s promotion of gold prospects and he also became the first mayor of Fairbanks in 1903. The town of “Fairbanks” first appeared in the U.S. Census in 1910 with a population of 3,541.
Today in Alaska, not just Fairbanks, I discovered a few facts, some I knew, and some I didn’t: Population for Alaska is 686,293 and the Capital is Juneau, which you can’t get to by car. The largest city is Anchorage and Fairbanks being the second. The state flower is Forget-me-not, the state tree is Sitka spruce and the state bird is the Willow ptarmigan. Alaska is the largest state in the union in area (twice the size of Texas), but ranks 47th in population. Cruise ships bring nearly 1 million passengers through the Inside Passage each summer and on January 3, 1959, Alaska became our 49th State!!! So I think I have brought each and every one of you up to date with the facts that refreshed my memory and so I’ll move onto our trip on the Riverboat.
It’s such a beautiful day with the sun shining and we have decided to take the Riverboat Discovery trip today. It’s owned and operated by the Binkley family, whose riverboating experience in Alaska spans four generations. It’s a 3 and ½ hour trip, with so much going on. They really have a nice presentation all along the river cruise. We saw Susan Butcher’s Iditarod champion sled dogs in action during a sled dog demonstration. We actually listen to her husband explaining what they do to train the dogs, how they teach them different things to do and accomplish. It is an amazing demonstration of how these dogs pull a 4 wheeler through the trails with her husband and daughter behind the wheel. Unfortunately Susan passed away in 2007 due to complication with cancer, but before that she won 4 Iditarod champion sled dog races. We stopped ashore at the Old Chena Indian Village. The Alaskan Natives share their culture as they recounted how their ancestors hunted, fished, sewed clothing and built shelters to survive for centuries in the harsh Alaskan wilderness. Also a bush pilot takes off and lands next to the boat. It was an amazing adventure and I’d like to do it again and we recommend you put it on your bucket list. As a note, if you would like one of the coats that we featured on our blog, it only cost $25,000. Thank goodness I don’t need one of these in Florida; I’d have to go back to work. LOL!!!!/ Marilyn
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