Alaska Adventure Day 14: Fairbanks – The end of our journey

We made our daily call home in the morning and John had news of the latest terrorist scare. The U.K. had uncovered a terrorist plot using liquids to explode a bomb on planes traveling from London to the U.S. So, Homeland Security had put an immediate ban on all liquids in carry-on luggage. Thankfully we learned this before our arrival at the airport. Already there were huge delays in the check-in lines as people re-packed their bags. So, with this bit of news, we started to re-pack our behemoth bags, putting everything into our checked bags. It certainly made the carry-on experience much easier and our bags much lighter. We just checked everything except our handbags.

Breakfast in the hotel was buffet- and we had visions of a horrible experience. It was great- oatmeal with raisins, walnuts and brown sugar, small cheese-filled Danish and fresh fruit with granola and yogurt. We just called it “brunch”.

We had a few hours before our “Riverboat Discovery” experience, so we decided to get the hotel shuttle and visit Fred Meyer’s (a local Walmart) to see where the locals shop. It was a huge store- with everything from 1 hour photo, to furniture, to jewelry and clothing, to food and Alaska souvenirs. They didn’t have any reindeer sausage, so we walked over to Safeway and Mom bought some reindeer sausage to take home.

Mom’s Interesting Facts:
* Peaches: $3.49/pound
* Bananas: 79 cents/pound
* Milk: $4.09/gallon
* Butter (Land o’ Lakes): $4.59
* Delicious Apples: $1.99/pound
* Fuji Apples: $2.29/pound

After dropping off the sausage to the hotel freezer, we took the shuttle to the Riverboat Discovery. This Alaska sternwheeler cruises along the Chena and Tanana Rivers for a 3 ½ hour cruise. A family run operation, the ship has 4 decks, can carry 700 passengers and offered free coffee and donuts. It proved to be a relaxing way to spend our last afternoon in Alaska.

While the experience was a bit “canned”, they did a good job of trying to educate and entertain. Cruising down the river, we got to see a variety of houses- some palatial, some much more crude. These were the ‘off the grid’ folks – who have to supply themselves with everything except electricity.

* A 1 acre waterfront property ranges from $50,000 to $100,000 and cost to build a home about $150/sq ft.
* The temperature ranges from 90 above to 60 below.
* The walls of homes are 16” thick and they use quad-glazed windows.
* Wells are 300-500 feet deep due to permafrost.
* The Tanana River is the largest glacier-fed stream in the world.

After watching a bush pilot demonstration, we cruised past Susan Butcher’s Dog Kennels. Susan Butcher (who recently died from cancer) was the famous 4 time winner of the Iditarod. She was loved by Alaskans and they truly are mourning her passing. It was so sweet to see her dogs racing and playing outside. Then, to see them get ready for the sled dog demonstration. I have never seen dogs so excited in my life- they love their job. And this time, instead of pulling a sled, they were pulling a tractor! Absolutely amazing.

The canned experience continued as they herded several reindeer to the banks of the river. Note- reindeer were introduced from Siberia and are the domestic version of caribou. From there, we saw the fish wheels (now regulated) which were designed to increase the daily catch of salmon from 12/day when caught individually to over 1000/day when using the wheel.

The boat stopped at the Chena Indian Village where we were sent in groups for a 4 stop tour of the village. They did a good job of explaining the housing and lifestyle of the Native Americans. At one stop, we saw the handiwork of Dixie Alexander. Her parkas, made of 45-50 muskrat hides and taking 6 months to make, cost $16,000. The inner ruff is made of wolverine, the outer ruff made of timber wolf.
There are 11 Alaska Native cultures in 5 distinct groups:
1. Inupiaq – lived in the northern part of Alaska. They used semi-underground dwellings because of the harsh climate.
2. Yup’ik – lived in the southwest. Men and women lived in separate sod structures dug into the ground.
3. Aleut and Alutiiq - lived in the south and southwest Influence of Russian culture was strong in these groups-in language, food and religion.
4. Athabascan Indians – lived along the major riverways of Interior Alaska. Prior to western contact, they were a nomadic people. Today many live a subsistence lifestyle. They focus on a respect for every living thing and the culture is matrilineal.
5. Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian Indians – lived in the southeast. Similar to Athabascans, children inherited rights through their mother.

Interestingly, there are no Indian reservations in Alaska. Under a Settlement Act signed in 1971, 13 Native Corporations were formed and granted $96.5 Million and 44 million acres to settle their aboriginal land claims. Most Alaskan natives born prior to 1971 are shareholders in one of these corporations. They are for-profit businesses (the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation grossed over 41 billion in 2004). They benefit their shareholders by making money from their lands natural resources (oil, gas, timber) and pay dividends and also provide employment. No gambling casinos required!

Well, our riverboat cruise ended and it was time to head back to the lodge, pick up our bags and make our way to the airport. The airport was only a 5 minute drive away, and we were grateful to be departing from Fairbanks this particular day. We arrived to the NW check-in area and got a one page update on the “new carry-on rules”. Not only had they banned all liquids and gels, but they wouldn’t let us take lipstick! We did a last minute purging of our purses of all cosmetics and send our bags on their way.

With the “no-liquid” rule, we decided to finish off our water bottles of wine before going through security. We grabbed a seat and had our own private happy hour. Thankfully, both check-in and security were painless. No lines, no hassles…we were the only ones in the security lines and other than having to take off our shoes, we breezed through. Now, we had 2 ½ hours to spend in this very tiny airport. We had our last shopping experience in this land of a thousand gift shops. The gift shop could not even sell any liquids to be taken on the plane- this included jams and jellies, lipstick…. Oh how ridiculous.

We got a seat by the gate and watched as the TSA staff set up two long tables outside the check-in. We were in for yet another security check. And this was FAIRBANKS!!! The line started to form and we watched as everyone was subjected to another search of their carry-on. We were fortunate to get a TSA agent with a sense of humor. I told him my distress at having to meet my husband after a two week separation and an all night flight- with a few extra pounds from the cruise and no way to brush my teeth and no lipstick. Finally, we were in our seats- fortunately, with an empty middle seat between us and we settled in for our all night flight.

The next morning, we said our goodbyes in the MSP airport and I headed off to Cleveland. Back to reality…. Hopefully this will be the first of our annual “girl get-aways!”