Leaving Matanuska Glacier we had a long drive to Fairbanks which would be the most northerly point on the itinerary. For the most part we had the road and its stunning scenery to ourselves.
Fairbanks is Alaska’s second largest city and the coldest city in the US. It is only about 230 kms by air south of the Arctic Circle and we arrived at the end of their short summer. The temperatures were sitting in the mid teens and comfortable enough. The ‘northern lights’ season started the the day before we got there but unfortunately there was too much cloud cover for even a chance at seeing, perhaps next time.
We had a lovely air BnB which backed on to the Chena River and after unpacking we headed off to nearby Pioneer Park which is a 44-acre city park commemorating early Alaskan history with multiple museums and historic displays on site.
It was very quiet and we had a stroll around until we found the iconic Alaska Salmon Bake which operates thoughout summer. The presentation was nothing fancy but the salmon was delicious!
The following day we visited the highly recommended Museum of the North which houses cultural and historical exhibits and was well worth the visit.
They currently have the only suspended bowhead whale skeleton, all 43 foot of him, hanging from the lobby ceiling which is complemented by a very interesting short film on the Bowhead whale. This animal has huge significance to the people of the Bering Sea and we learned a lot during this presentation.
I was also fascinated by the well detailed impact of the Russian invasion on these people and then WWII which resulted in the ‘relocation’ of whole populations to terrible living conditions for the duration of the war as Japan attacked Alaska. It is a very sad story, more info if you are interested here.
Leaving the Museum we were headed toward Creamer’s Fields Migratory Waterfowl Refuge but stopped at a lovely little farmers market for lunch on the way – Russell couldn’t go past the crepes where the gentleman serving asked me to repeat my order three times so he could hear my accent 😁
We had been told that the timing was perfect for us to see the return of the Sandhill Cranes to this 2,200 acre bird sanctuary and our intel was spot on. We spent an hour or more watching these beautiful birds as well as large numbers of Canada geese before it was time to get back on the road, this time heading south.
The road south was pure Alaska, long picturesque valleys, towering mountains and the occasional good humour 😉
We were on our way to Denali but that deserves a whole post to itself so stay tuned.