Day 32: Exploring Fairbanks

The day began with a heavy cloud cover, but by late morning there were some patches of blue.  Dan got the bikes ready and we set out to explore the city.

The campground host had suggested that from the campground we cut through a residential area to reach the main bike path, and naturally I managed to get us lost.  However, we did eventually get to Pioneer Park.  It is a theme park along the Chena River with several big playgrounds, miniature golf, picnic tables, concessions, and a reconstructed gold rush town made up of log homes that were moved there from various places around the city.

Continuing on the bike path along the river, we reached downtown Fairbanks.  There is, indeed, a downtown with banks, a courthouse, stores, and so forth, though no skyscrapers.  The area along the river is nicely done with a park, grass, lots of flowers, and various pieces of sculpture.  We walked through the visitors center which had a display of life---both natural and human---in the Fairbanks area, season-by-season.  We also had the obligatory picture taken at the antler arch.

We returned to the campground along a different bike path, one that runs along Johansson Expressway.  Despite the fact that snow covers the ground for quite a few months, the city seems to have committed to a fairly extensive network of bike paths and bike routes.  The return trip was a bit strange, in that the path ran right along the expressway, so to our left, cars and trucks whizzed by as we pedaled along. 

We enjoyed a lovely campfire, with the sound of airplanes and cars in the background….but a nice end to the day.

An aside about the length of the day:  I had wondered whether I would be able to sleep with it light most of the time.  That has not been a problem.  Dan checked the other day on the GPS unit, and official sunset was around 11:30 pm and sunrise about 4:00. However, in between those times, it does not really get dark but stays rather dusky. 

And for those of you who asked prior to the trip about going to such a cold place:  It has been warmer  in Fairbanks than it was for most of the way through western Canada.  Daytime highs upper 60’s or low 70’s, with 50’s at night. 

And yes, Alaska does have many, many mosquitoes!