Pioneer Park, Cheena Hotsprings, Hurricane Train

 

We're heading off to Denali soon - no internet there!

Stinky still traveling well - often enjoys 'surfing' on the dining room table while we're flying(figuratively) down the road.

Will quickly summarize the last couple days.

Cheena Hot Springs is about 60 miles northeast of Fairbanks. There are natural hot springs that miners found which cured their aches and pains associated with mining injuries. It has turned into a destination resort with dog sledding, biking trails, hiking, horseback riding etc. They turn old vehicles into landscape centerpeices. 

 There is an ice house on site (it has been featured on 'Sunday Morning' show) that is kept at 25 degrees. They issued one size fits none and the zippers don't work' parkas to anyone who wanted one. EVERYTHING in side is made of ice, including the bar and the maratini glass that they serve appletini's in. 

 There is a husband/wife competitive sculpture team that keeps the place carved up. Ice is carved from large blocks harvested out of the on-site ponds.

We boondocked (overnight free camping) in the parking lot of Pioneer Park, a very touristy 'attraction' in Fairbanks that all the cruises go to. It's a way to get a taste of Alaska, without seeing real Alaska. Was entertaining to watch the parade of guests. It does serve as a spot for relocation of historic log homes from downtown Fairbanks.

The Nenana sternwheeler was there - 237 feet long, in service from 1933-1964. It's a national historic site.

 
The engine room was beautiful
　

　Hurricane Flag Train

We took a day long ride out of Talkeetna on the last flag stop train in the United States. It's a train the folks can take out into the rural bush to fish, camp, hike etc. Also, the people who live out there use the train to come into town to buy groceries and supplies. 

 Anyone can literally flag the train down, and it will stop for pick-ups and drop-offs. 

　
The conductor, Warren, was a hoot - filled with information about life in the wilderness, the history of the train etc.   He loves his job and it was a joy to be on his train.

The train travels along the Susitna river, through bogs, past beaver ponds and over big gulches.

The conductor stopped the train so that we could get off, walk a short way to a woman's house (she's a homesteader), and see her vegtable garden. She did not expect to see the crowd of 20 visitors - but was delighted to show us around her place. She is also a well known children's book author / illustrator. Her logpile:

The train stopped so that we could get out and walk around a favorite camping and fishing spot. 

 

 The conductor also stopped the train (at our request) at the 'trackside' bookstore where we purchased her autobiographical book about their journey from Missouri to Alaska, to homestead, with 4 children, in 1963.

We pulled off onto a spur track to wait for a passanger tain to pass.

We STOPPED on the hurricane gulch bridge - a 900 foot span, 300 feet above the bottom of the gulch, built almost 100 years ago in 90 days. That was creepy.

We stopped to see a family of trumpeter swans.

The flag stop train is a national treasure. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

We are in willow 'bloom' season. The willow trees/bushes are spewing seeds into the atmosphere and they fly all around and eventually land into pretty carpets of fuzz - on every flat surface.

There is monster Queen anne's lace (or something like it).

　The salmon are beginning to run up-stream.

　

We are frantically preparing the camper, cleaning, re-arranging, to accomodate Becky, John and Juniper, who will arrive in about a hour. After a day settling in and figuring out how to house all of us in the RV, we'll head to Denali for 3 nights. Hoping to see wild animals !