Tuesday, August 5 - Exploring Fairbanks

Bob and Grizz

When we arrived at our hotel yesterday afternoon, it was warm and sunny and I even put on shorts, but in an hour it was raining!  And it’s been raining on and off ever since.  Fortunately one of our fellow guests at the Homer B&B went on and on about the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, so that seemed like an ideal activity for a rainy day.

We had a meager breakfast at our hotel and headed over there.  We got a 4-hour packing permit and used almost every minute of it.  What a fabulous museum!!  First of all, the building is a large white swooping shape built to resemble ice, snow, glaciers and arctic ridges.  Inside we rented head phones that allowed us to listen to short lectures by professors, natives, etc about all aspects of the exhibits.

"Two Uniaks Under Sail" by Rusty Heurlin

Kayak of birch and walrus skins

Caribou hide cape

Dress with bead work

We first saw an art exhibit of older paintings by famous Alaskan artist and then entered a large hall full of displays of native culture, crafts, tools, toys, and clothing, and others discussing the animals, geology, natural resources.  We found a bench and sat down to watch a very interesting film on the aurora borealis.  Afterwards we went up stairs to see an exhibit of contemporary art.  One could go to that museum again and again and learn something new!  Really wonderful!

Mask

Decorated window pane made from intestine

Grass baskets

We drove to just off campus and found a good bookstore with a little café upstairs where we got some mochas and split a roast beef sandwich.  We then returned to the Large Animal Research Station; they were open but we missed the last tour which had just started.  We saw our Musk Oxen again and I bought some Qiviut, the amazingly soft and light Musk Ox undercoat.

I wanted to see the University Georgeson Botanic Garden and as it was only drizzling we stopped there; it was half closed, probably due to flooding, but we saw some lovely flowers and veggies. The extremely long summer days can produce oversized plants with some extraordinary results!

We returned to the Best Western; I ran next door to get a frozen custard from a tiny drive-through which seem to be all over Alaska selling bagels, espressos, etc.   I stood in line with the autos and got my treat.

Just before seven we drove “downtown” to Lavelle’s Bistro, the best restaurant in town according to the travel guides.  Downtown consists of a few old log cabins made over into businesses and large hotels and a few office buildings.  The total lack of planning and zoning in Alaskan towns of any size results in a total hodge podge of businesses and housing with great open spaces of asphalt, weedy lots, or birch forests in between.

Anyway, Lavelle’s Bistro, located in the Marriott, was a total surprise.  A large, full, very noisy place, but run by a very professional staff of cooks and wait people.  We both had a cup of really good mushroom soup chock full of mushrooms.  Bob then got his prime rib which could easily have been pretty bland, but was really flavorful, and my grilled scallops in an Asian sauce with coconut rice were delicious!  We split banana wontons in crème anglaise with raspberries which were Really Good!  A very well-run restaurant!

Banana Won Tons

We’re planning to get up early tomorrow, go out for breakfast and then drive south 300 miles through some very scenic country.