Day 7 - Part 2 - More Adventures in Fairbanks

Our day continued with a visit to Gold Dredge No. 8, which is now a National Historic District . . .

We boarded a replica of the Tanana Valley Railroad, which back in the gold rush days served over two dozen gold camps scattered throughout the interior of Alaska. It was a narrow gauge system which carried freight from the steamboat port at the old town of Chena on the Tanana River to the camps.  It also carried gold-bearing ore from many of the hard rock mines to a stamp mill at Chena for processing.  Today it  takes visitors to Gold Dredge 8's main camp, while local narrators give detailed information about the history of placer and drift mining in this area.  A lot of information in a very short amount of time - almost too much to remember.

Replica of Tanana Valley Railroad

Gold Dredge No. 8

This thing is HUGE!  

This gold dredge has a ship-like steel hull 99-feet long and 50-feet wide.  It was a masterpiece of engineering for its time, and was incredibly efficient in recovering gold left behind by less efficient drift miners, because it could dig deep into the ground, reaching areas that the miners could not.  The guides gave us a complete description of how it worked, and how it could dig deep into the bank using a "bucket-line" of 64 buckets pinned together in a chain, each able to hold 6 cubic feet of gravel.  Pretty amazing.

Here's a closer look at Gold Dredge No. 8

At the end of our train ride, we were each given a "poke sack" so we could try our hand at gold panning. . . 

Will I strike it rich?  Let's see . . . 

We were shown to the panning area where we were given detailed instructions on how to pan for gold.  We each selected a lucky pan, and got down to business.

Step 1 - Select your pan

Step 2 - Empty your "poke sack" into the pan

Step 3 - Shake your pan to distribute the dirt

Step 4 - Dip your pan into the water

Step 5 - Drain off the water and as much of the dirt as possible.
The heavy rocks and gold will stay on the bottom.

Continue this process until the dirt has been washed away.  You also need to pick out the bigger rocks. Eventually you will end up with only the gold.  And yes, the process is scary, because you are just SURE all the gold will be washed out of the pan, but even these tiny flakes are actually heavy enough to stay on the bottom.

Look!  Gold!  We're rich!!!!!

When all the gold has been exposed,
you carefully pick up the little flecks and tuck them into the little
canister that is provided.

And then you go into the assay office to have the gold weighed and valued, and start planning how you're going to spend it all.  Maybe a sexy new sports car?  Or another trip from the bucket list?  Well, let's not get carried away just yet . . . 

Ready to be weighed.  And the value is?????

Carol came out pretty good with $17.00!  Wow!  I only found $7.00 worth!  Boo!  But some of our fellow travelers did much better, one got $69.00 worth, and one couple combined theirs together for a whopping $120.00.  Not bad for a few minutes of fun!  And it was fun!!!

Here's the nugget we should have found!

But our day wasn't over yet.  Later that evening, we were picked up at our hotel for our hummer adventure. We went on one last year when we were hiking in Utah, and we had so much fun then, we were eager for another.  This one wasn't quite as crazy as the first one, but still a really fun time.

Our hummer

First stop was a visit to the Alaska Pipeline . . . 

The Alyeska Pipeline Service was formed in 1970 to design, construct and maintain the pipeline.
"Alyeska" is an Aleut word for Alaska -
meaning "mainland", "great country" or "great land".
The Aleut's were some of Alaska's native people

This is a cut-away section of pipe showing a "pig" -
a little roto-rooter devise to improve the flow of oil through the pipe
and to monitor it's condition

Another view of the "pig"

More information about the "pigs"

Here's an older version of the "pig" that's been "retired"

More about the "retired pig"

And here's a look at the pipeline itself . . .

Alaska Pipeline

Some Pipeline Facts

More info

The pipeline is a pretty amazing feat of engineering.  The pipe is 48-inches in diameter, is 800 miles long, spans three mountain ranges and more than 30 major rivers and streams, took 3 years (1974-1977) to complete, used a cumulative work-force of over 70,000 people, and cost approximately $8 billion.  At it's peak (in 1988) it transported 2.1 million barrels of oil/day, today it carries about 500,000 to 600,000 barrels/day.  Amazing, yes?

Oh, and another thing this pipeline provides . . . . Every year, each and every person who has been a resident of Alaska for at least one year receives a check from the state as a percentage from the sale of the oil.  Every person!  So if you're married and have 10 children, you receive a check, your husband receives a check, and each of your 10 children receive a check - all for the exact same amount!  The amount varies from year to year, but . . . . Wow!  Also, there is no sales tax, no income tax, and no gasoline tax in most of Alaska.  And there is no property tax for anyone over the age of 65.  Does that make you want to move?  Pretty awesome!!!

 The pipeline was built under-ground as much as possible, but in areas of permafrost, it had to be placed above ground and held up by steel supports.  We were at the 450 mile mark, which is obviously above-ground.

Shortly past this marker, the pipeline goes back underground . . . 

Pipeline going underground

Check out the unpolished area just above Carol's head

A closer look at the unpolished section -
That's our hummer guide telling us all about the pipeline

The pipeline sits on a steel structure, high enough in some areas to allow migrating animals such as caribou and moose to pass underneath.  It is not attached to the structure to allow for expansion and contraction and also to prevent earthquake damage.  There are LOTS of earthquakes in Alaska.  We were looking at the pipeline in a "touristy" area, and they keep it nice and polished and shiny.  The one section in the photos above is left natural so you can see what it looks like everywhere else.

The Alaska Pipeline is something I've always been fascinated by, and I was so excited to see it.  

Back in the hummer, we continued on our way to the Alaska wilderness, not knowing we were in for one more surprise . . . 

A stop at another sled-dog kennel -
Lance Mackey's Comeback Kennel

Lance Mackey's story is very compelling.  His father was one of the founders of the Iditarod race, and won that race in 1978.  Lance's half-brother Rick won the race in 1983, and Lance won it in 2007.  Lance also won the Yukon Quest, another 1000 mile sled-dog race, in 2007 - his 3rd consecutive win of that race. To win both the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest in the same year is a feat considered almost impossible and very impressive.   Lance went on to win them both again in 2008. Another really interesting thing - all 3 of them (Lance, his brother and his dad) won the Iditarod for the first time after their 6th attempt, and all three were wearing Lucky # 13!  

Lance went on to win the Iditarod again in 2009 and 2010,  making four consecutive wins of both the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest.  Totally amazing!  What makes this even more amazing is that he was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2001 and told he would never race again.  He took a full year off to treat and recover from his illness, and then went on to accomplish all these amazing feats.  Talk about determination and perseverance.

And now we were getting to meet some of his dogs and even go into his house to see his "trophy room". Sadly, he wasn't home and we didn't get to meet him in person.  But the dogs are so much fun!

I got to hold  a puppy -
a very active, squirmy one at that!

These dogs are just as crazy as the ones we saw at
Susan' Butcher's kennel -  All wanting their chance to run and pull the sled (ATV).

"Pick me!"  "No, pick me!"

We got to see these dogs go on a practice run - they are so fast!

And it's so cute how the dogs jump up on their houses

While the dogs were out for their practice run, we got to see some of Lance's trophies . . . 

His First Iditarod Trophy from 2007

A closer look at the inscription

And his scrapbook

I love this stuff!!!!!

Back in the hummer, we were finally off to see some of the pristine Alaska wilderness . . . 

Driving on bumpy, curvy, dirt roads . . . and now it's raining!

Another look at the road and surrounding area

Check out this video . . . . 

                                                                      
                                                               

Raining really hard now!!!

Once the rain stopped, our guide got out and attempted to wash the windshield so we could see - pretty much a useless attempt.  But by the time we reached the end of the road, the rain had stopped and we were able to get out and enjoy Alaska as it has been for thousands of years.  From this point on, there is 500 miles of nowhere - what our guide described as the REAL Alaska . . . . gorgeous!

   

Don't you just love nature!!!!!

Thanks to our guide -
 who's name I've forgotten :(
for a really really fun time!

Whew!  That was a LOT for one day.  See what you get to do when the sun never sets?   But now it's time to get some shut eye to be ready for tomorrow.  Can't wait!