More Rain

This is getting old.  It rained hard all night long again.  As we sat eating breakfast listening to the raindrops on the roof, we both felt we couldn't take this dark cold rain and fog anymore.  We both felt like heading south.  Having driven so far, that wasn't a real option for us.

Heavy Duty Snow Machines

We packed up headed into the city.  I needed to get some new sneakers.  We could see a bright spot in the sky to the south.  We decided to head that way today to see if we could drive out of this dismal weather.  Not far out of Fairbanks the sky brightened.  The rain stopped.  Our spirits lifted quickly.

Soon we reached the frontier village of Nenana.  It is a very small town.  Buildings from its storied past are still in use.  We stopped at the railroad museum on Front St which runs parallel to the Nenana River.  The old railroad station that now houses the museum was the site where President Harding drove the golden spike that completed the Alaskan Railroad.  President Harding was the first president to visit Alaska.  Three weeks after the nail driving ceremony, President Harding died of a stroke.  The golden spike is on display at the museum.

Old Train Station

We ventured further down Front St. to the site of the Nevana Ice Classic Tower.  We had heard about the Ice Classic when we passed through here on our cruise tour years ago.  They have an annual contest that is open to the world.  This years prize was over $300,000.  A large tripod is placed on the ice in early April.  It is connected to a clock in the tower.  The moment the ice breaks up and begins moving downstream is recorded on a clock in the tower.  The object of the contest is to guess the day, hour and minute that breakup occurs.  Darlie and I bought two tickets and made our guesses for next spring.  

Black and white tripod sits on the ice.  When it goes downsteam with the ice the clock is tripped.  This one is the only one ever recovered.  It hung up on a sandbar.  The lady who owns the craft shop paid some guys to go bring it back to town.

From the Ice Classic Tower we passed the Episcopal Church.  It is open for visits.  We took a few minutes to go inside.  It was a cozy little church.  Parishioners have cushions on their favorite pew spot.  So if you visit for a service, you better not sit on one of those cushions.

We stopped at the general store to browse around.  They carry everything from grocery items to shotguns, rifles, bullets, plumbing and hardware supplies, toys, and a host of other things the local population would have to drive up to Fairbanks to get.

Interesting combination.

We bought another Ulu from a local craftsman.  We now have four of the things.  I told Darlie I am going to open a Ulu store when I get home.  A Ulu is a knife used by natives for generations.  They are used to fillet a fish, skin a moose or chop up a salad.  They are handy gadgets.  

We visited with a local who says she came up here back when the pipeline was being built, saw all the men and said that was the place for her.  I am not sure why she saw that as such a bonanza and I didn't ask.  She has a book going to the publisher this summer about her life in Alaska called, "The Land of M & M".  She said M&M stands for men and money.  That might be a clue to her endeavors.  Darlie told me later she thought the old gal had an eye for me.  I was clueless.

We continued our trip south on the Parks Highway towards Denali National Park.  We turned off the highway towards a little place called Anderson.  It is near the Clear AFB where they watch the skies for ballistic missiles coming over the pole.

Anderson is very small but it has a municipal campground along the creek that runs near   the village.  We decided to spend the night here.  We are parked alongside the creek.  We thought this would be an excellent place to have some wildlife show itself.  So far we have seen just one seagull.  There are no birds or squirrels.  There isn’t a sound.  The silence hisses in your ears.  The sun is still shining brightly as I write this at 10 PM.  Maybe it will be clear enough tomorrow to see the mountain.