This Memorial Day weekend, the cargo hold of the old sternwheeler was open to the public for the first time in six years.
Map of the Nenana’s old splashing grounds
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.
The steamer’s namesake: The town of Nenana, circa 1930. Tanana, circa 1918Not surprisingly, Nenana had the largest display
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.
The Nenana Basin lies southwest of Fairbanks. The Parks Highway runs along its eastern boundary, and the Tanana River runs right through the middle of it. The basin is 56 miles long and 7.5 miles wide. Over the course of millions of years, the basin has been filled in with river sediment. Considering that the basin is 4 miles deep (7km), that is a lot of fill.
Several entities have been drilling test holes throughout the basin looking for oil and gas, so the University of Alaska – Fairbanks has been studying the basin’s makeup. One thing they found is that earthquakes last longer and feel a lot stronger in the basin, than just outside the basin.
The shockwaves from an earthquake travel differently through the sediment, which is mostly gravel, than the solid rock along the ridge lines. Reverberation also plays a roll here: The seismic waves are amplified by the basin walls and floor.
Seismic sensors have verified what local residents have been claiming: The shaking is a lot worse down in The Flats than up in the hills.
Source credit: Alaska Public Media, University of Alaska – Fairbanks
“Nenana: Where River Meets Rail, and Past Meets Future”; Charcoal drawing by Noah Nolywaika
2023 is the Centennial year for the Alaska Railroad. U.S. President Warren G. Harding presided over the completion ceremony on July 15, 1923, by driving in the golden spike.
“Alaska Railroad: 100 Years Strong”; Oil painting by William Chase
This past weekend, the annual Alaska Railroad print signing took place at the Anchorage Depot. The tradition of a yearly AKRR print was started back in 1979.
This year, Nenana artist Noah Nolywaika was on hand to sign his charcoal drawing of the Nenana Depot, where the railroad was officially completed 100 years ago. William Chase was also there with his painting of the locomotives throughout the railroad’s history, including Engine No. 1. That historic steam engine now sits outside the historic Anchorage Depot.
Prints and posters are available through the Alaska Railroad’s website.
We are quickly coming to the deadline to get Ice Classic tickets into the red barrel. The deadline to have your guesses in is April 5th.
The Nenana Ice Classic, Alaska’s gambling addiction of choice, was first started in 1917, when railroad engineers, working on the fledgling Alaska Railroad, started a pool to guess when the ice would go out on the Tanana River. Alaskans have been taking their shot at the prize ever since.
The ice was last measured at 32″ thick on March 24 near the tripod.
A ticket will set you back $2.50, which is good for one guess. The winning guess in 2021 was worth $233,591.
The ice has gone out on the Tanana River in Nenana, Alaska. Officially, the tripod moved enough downstream to trip the clock at 12:50 AST on April 30. The jackpot for the 2021 Nenana Ice Classic is $233,591.
The Nenana Ice Classic tripod was raised on the Tanana River this past weekend. The Ice Classic is our annual event, where residents and visitors can guess when the ice goes out on the Tanana. This is the 104th year of the event. Tickets are $2.50 per guess. The ice thickness as of Sunday was 44-1/2″.
The 2021 tripod is in place.
The 2021 Iditarod:
The 2021 Iditarod Trail map
The Last Great Race is seeing a lot of changes for Covid-2021. The race will not end at Nome this year, due to Covid concerns. In fact, to protect villagers, mushers will not be venturing into communities like in a normal year. Due to the new route, which is now an 850 mile long loop, teams will race to the ghost town of Flat, and return to Willow.
The Iditarod Start at Willow, Alaska; Photo credit: ADN/Marc Lester
There was no ceremonial start in Anchorage this year. The 46 mushers and their teams went directly to Willow for the Sunday morning start time. Press accounts have the crowd at starting line at 300 visitors, mostly family and dog handlers. In a normal year, there would be at least 6000 cheering the teams on.
The ice went out on the Tanana River at the village of Nenana on Monday. The tripod officially moved the distance to trip the clock at 1:56pm.
This was the second time that I have guessed the correct day the ice went out. I was so close, so tantalizingly close. As they say, close only counts in horseshoes and bear encounters.
Between the years of 1917 and 1989, the ice went out this early only three times. Since 1990, the ice has gone out this early 11 times.
Ice Classic officials say it may be a month before winners are notified and announced. They are running a skeleton crew due to Corvid-19. They have also stated that the number of tickets sold are well below normal numbers due to the difficulty after the virus forced businesses to close.
Not surprisingly, even the 103 year old Nenana Ice Classic has seen some changes this year due to Covid-19. Every year, since 1917, Alaskans have been betting on when the ice would go out on the Tanana River at the village of Nenana.
The Ice Classic time schedule
The earliest the ice has gone out was last year, when the famed tripod tripped the clock at 12:21 am on April 14. The latest the ice has gone out was on May 20, which has happened twice.
As one can see from the above graph, 2019 was an anomaly for more than one reason. The ice rarely goes out between midnight and 9am.
Image from the Nenana Ice Cam on April 7.
As of April 6, ice thickness near the tripod was 32.5″. Usually, all guesses/tickets must be in before April 6, but the deadline has been extended to April 10. We usually buy the tickets at various venues that have the bright red Ice Classic Can on their counter, the filled out tickets are then dropped in the can. This year, since so many businesses are closed, and people are urged to stay at home, guesses can be mailed to the Nenana Ice Classic directly. Entries must be postmarked no later than April 10, 2020. Each guess/ticket is $2.50.
I have never missed an Ice Classic since I moved to Fairbanks, and this year joined the stay at home club, and mailed in my guesses. Last year’s jackpot was $311,652.
