Saturday August 29 ..North Pole, Alaska..... Yes...there is a Santa Claus
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System includes the pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. The pipeline is 800 miles long and 48"in diameter and carries oil from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Valdez, Alaska. Maximum flow of oil is over 2 million barrels per day!
We are looking for the "real" Alaska. No better place to find it than at the local farmer's market. The place is crowded. Looks like everyone in Fairbanks is here. It's not quite like the McMinnville farmers market. There are a lot of crafts for sale; purses, jewelery, etc. And some unusual items like Elk steaks @ 16.99 per pound. (You know we will have a couple of these on the charcoal tonight). Fire weed honey. We both have been amazed at the life cycle of the fire weed so we will have to have a bottle of that @ $1.00 per ounce. ( I have to tell the Burck's about that). Vegetables are a plenty; but the prices. You always hear that living in Alaska is more expensive how about $1.00 per tiny cucumber or $6.00 per pound tomatoes?
We next go to University of Alaska LARS.....Our guide for the day is a beautiful tall thin blond that's been working here for 2 years since graduating from the University. She tells us that she is from a small village 90miles west of Denali. (I thought Denali was remote).She tells us that her village had 30 residents. Now that's small.
We start our day with a leisurely drive back to Fairbanks. 1st stop for the day in the oil pipeline.
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System includes the pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. The pipeline is 800 miles long and 48"in diameter and carries oil from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Valdez, Alaska. Maximum flow of oil is over 2 million barrels per day!We are looking for the "real" Alaska. No better place to find it than at the local farmer's market. The place is crowded. Looks like everyone in Fairbanks is here. It's not quite like the McMinnville farmers market. There are a lot of crafts for sale; purses, jewelery, etc. And some unusual items like Elk steaks @ 16.99 per pound. (You know we will have a couple of these on the charcoal tonight). Fire weed honey. We both have been amazed at the life cycle of the fire weed so we will have to have a bottle of that @ $1.00 per ounce. ( I have to tell the Burck's about that). Vegetables are a plenty; but the prices. You always hear that living in Alaska is more expensive how about $1.00 per tiny cucumber or $6.00 per pound tomatoes?
We next go to University of Alaska LARS.....Our guide for the day is a beautiful tall thin blond that's been working here for 2 years since graduating from the University. She tells us that she is from a small village 90miles west of Denali. (I thought Denali was remote).She tells us that her village had 30 residents. Now that's small.Did you know the caribou and the reindeer are genetically identical? I didn't, but I do now. What makes the difference in their names? Good question... A caribou is a migrating animal, some traveling as much as 3000miles per YEAR & the reindeer are domesticated... I think Mikey has characteristics of both. What do you think?
Now the Musk Ox. They are resilient creatures. They are dated back to pre-iceage with very little changes in their bodies. They live only in really cold climates and this facility is the largest research for Musk Ox in the world.
Musk Ox, unlike reindeer & caribou, do not shed their horns yearly. Their horns are part of their skull system. (By the way, our guide says reindeer & caribou racks are called antlers, not horns).
Lunch was downtown Fairbanks at "Soapy Smiths". The restaurant was a history lesson of old photos, newspaper articles and artifacts. The owner's grandfather was from the Klondike and his father was a previous Governor. (sorry papa that's as close as we could get to Sarah).
Speaking of Papa....He continues to recover nicely with Nancy Nurse by his side. Here's Mikey checking in on both of them. Cell phones make life so much easier when away from the ones we love.
Cooking Elk steaks and fresh vegies by the creek.
The end of a perfect vacation day.
Now the Musk Ox. They are resilient creatures. They are dated back to pre-iceage with very little changes in their bodies. They live only in really cold climates and this facility is the largest research for Musk Ox in the world.Musk Ox, unlike reindeer & caribou, do not shed their horns yearly. Their horns are part of their skull system. (By the way, our guide says reindeer & caribou racks are called antlers, not horns). Lunch was downtown Fairbanks at "Soapy Smiths". The restaurant was a history lesson of old photos, newspaper articles and artifacts. The owner's grandfather was from the Klondike and his father was a previous Governor. (sorry papa that's as close as we could get to Sarah).Speaking of Papa....He continues to recover nicely with Nancy Nurse by his side. Here's Mikey checking in on both of them. Cell phones make life so much easier when away from the ones we love.
Cooking Elk steaks and fresh vegies by the creek.The end of a perfect vacation day. 
2 comments:
Hey, Jeremy has a really good friend that he played trombone with from North Pole! Funny!
Mmmm...Elk Steaks???? :o)
I was just about to tell you about Jeremy's friend from North Pole Alaska that spent the night here when Jeremy and a group of his friends stopped here when traveling to concerts but I realized that Kristi beat me to it!!!!
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