Tag Archives: Fairbanks
Excluding Alaska and Hawaii…
I have taken so much time away from WordPress, that I was locked out of the site. Oddly, it happened one device at a time. The two previous posts were done with the last device standing: The cell phone.
My email was not recognized, nor was my username. I moved on, enjoying summer in Interior Alaska.
But autumn is on the immediate horizon and WordPress offered me an opening. They wanted me to upgrade services and suddenly a path opened to get me back between the Circles.
After midnight sunsets
Thursday night’s sunset in Fairbanks happened after midnight. Making it the first of the summer where the sun set the next day.
I absolutely love Fairbanks summers.
SS Nenana partially opens for visitors
This Memorial Day weekend, the cargo hold of the old sternwheeler was open to the public for the first time in six years.
The steamer Nenana plied the waters of The Yukon and its tributaries from 1933 to 1952. During that time, the Nenana brought goods, news, transportation and employment to the villages along the Yukon River.
Inside the cargo hold, you can see the boiler and the engine room. The boiler is the steamer’s second when it was fitted to run on oil, instead of cords of wood.
The cool feature is the diorama that runs along the outside walls. The display depicts all the villages that the SS Nenana served. At 340 feet long, with a mural background of close to 240 feet, the diorama is one impressive piece of artwork.
Besides the villages and the Alaska Railroad, six Interior Alaska rivers are also depicted: The Yukon, Tanana, Nenana, Innoko, Koyukok and Porcupine.
The plans are to have the cargo area open most of the summer, with a major restoration project to begin on the Nenana in 2025.
Green Up Day 2024
The Fairbanks phenomenon known as Green Up Day occurred this Saturday.
When I drove into work early that morning, there was not a green bud noticeable.
Upon my return in the late afternoon, the hills were glowing a vibrant green.
As a reminder that we are in Alaska, it snowed all day Monday.
Call of the Sandhill
Early Saturday morning I heard the calls of sandhill cranes echoing from the Goldstream Valley.
It was the first time this season. It is officially spring.
A bit of a chilly start
The revamped Yukon Quest race had its start on Saturday morning. It was a balmy -45F at the first mush.
Officially, Fairbanks dropped to -50F that morning. It was our first “official” -50 since 2017. It was the third morning at the cabin during this cold snap, that I saw -50 on my thermometer. For some reason, my cabin is not considered the official weather station for Fairbanks. For purely political reasons, that honor lies with the Fairbanks International Airport.
Speaking of streaks broken: I broke my previous record for distance traveled with “thumpity-thumpity-thumpity” coming from my tires. For those left out in the heat, tires make that sound after a flat spot forms where they met the driveway during extreme cold temps. It usually only takes a few hundred yards for the tires to warm up enough to reform, but in fifty below, the flat spot lingers for a mile or so.
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