4th of July Fairbanks Style

I have to admit the 4th of July is kind of a let down here in Fairbanks. It is my favorite holiday but living in Fairbanks takes away all the fun. No fireworks - It is pointless to do them because it is daylight all night long and you cannot see them. And the fireworks are my favorite part of the 4th of July.

While you probably all got to see fireworks on the 4th, I bet you did not see what I saw. Look what I did see on the 4th:

I decided since I was not going to get to see any fireworks that I'd play tourist and hit one of the local tourist attractions - the Riverboat Discovery. So I convinced a friend to spend the day playing tourist and we were the very young ones in the crowd. The riverboat takes you down the Chena river, which is across the street from my house, and educates you on the Native people to the Fairbanks area. Here are some photos from my trip.

The Riverboat

Hi Everyone. It was a very hot 4th of July. It almost reach 80.

I was sweating buckets by the time I got home.

This float plane took off and landed on the river. It is amazing how little river is needed to get into the air.

A typical cabin you'd see in the Fairbanks area.

This is a dog sled yard that we stopped at. They raise and train the dogs here and then did a demo showing the dogs pulling a 4 wheeler. The dogs are much smaller than you'd think.

This is a fishing wheel used by the Natives. It catches salmon from the River. They are still used today and are highly regulated. Yes, you heard that right, I can catch Salmon in the Chena river - about 40 feet from my front door. Are you jealous yet?

The mock village. You can see the salmon drying here. This is bad salmon (not the primo kind that people eat) - the salmon that is fed to the dogs, literally. I guess you could say we are salmon snobs up here. You can see the drying racks and the smoke house.

When you all come to visit me in Alaska you will see lots of fur, but not on me, so get used to it. Fur is popular in coats, hats and gloves here.

Caches like these are used for storage and to keep things away from the pesky wildlife. You can see these around town still today. In fact I pass one every day on my way to work.

Yes there is grass on top of this cabin. This is also normal too. It helps keep the building together and is an insulator. Think this is still not used today - your wrong. I'll take you to the North Pole visitor's center when you come and visit.

Don't you just want to come visit Alaska now? We might not have fireworks but there are many fun things to do and see here. So when you come and visit me you might just get to see some of the things above and the midnight sun.