Tok and Fairbanks

We spent two very enjoyable days in Tok, a town in Alaska that boasts of having no government of any kind. They also hold the record for having the lowest temperature (-80 degrees, I think, if I remember correctly), but they've also recorded a summer high of 105! We met some great people who we visited with quite a bit--a couple and their parents from Crawfordsville, IN, and another couple from Michigan who we joined for dinner at "Fast Eddy's" and then enjoyed entertainment by a local singer/songwriter/commentator who was quite entertaining!

The drive to Fairbanks was scenic; below is the Alaska Range from the Gerstle River bed

Closeup of the Alaska Range

Moose crossing the road in front of Eielson Air Force Base as we were approaching Fairbanks

Saturday we drove up to Fox, just north of Fairbanks, and passed the Alaskan Pipeline--quite interesting

Ernie under the Alaskan Pipeline . . . he found it and all the information displayed very interesting. It was cool to see but too technical and mechanical for me!

A sign at the pipeline display . . . we're fascinated with the continual light! Even though the sun supposedly rises and sets, it never really gets dark--it just looks like twilight at the darkest. It hasn't prevented us from sleeping, but we tend to stay up too late because we don't realize how late it is--we don't have the normal cues of the day getting later.

This one is for Tim and Mary Ann . . . we enjoyed lunch in Fox Saturday at the Silver Gulch, thanks to Tim and Mary Ann's recommendation!

After lunch at the Silver Gulch, we spent the rest of the day (until they chased us out at the 9 PM closing) at the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks--fantastic museum!

Sunday we took a riverboat cruise on the Discovery. This is another boat similar to the one we were on, only a little smaller--we were on the Discovery III, the "big boat."

The Chena River, which we were on, where it merges with the Tanana River, a glacial-fed river

The cruise included a land tour of a reconstructed Athabascan Indian village--very informative! I was fascinated with the huge begonias!

Today was a day of taking-care-of-business, laundry, shopping, etc. I also bought Christmas ornaments from Santa's House in the North Pole--how cool is that?! Tomorrow we plan to drive up to the Arctic circle!!