Fairbanks & Arctic Circle Flight Tour

Fairbanks is pretty uneventful. It is not as nice as Anchorage. We struggled to find interesting things to do and see in Fairbanks. It gets very cold in the winter in Fairbanks and they have to plug their cars in so the engines don’t get too cold. Everyone’s cars had plugs hanging out of them and there were plug in stations in every parking lot. We were able to visit North Pole, AK and visit a little Christmas shop. The restaurant selection was also very bland in Fairbanks. We went to a Prime Rib joint called The Turtle Club and it was very good, but we were told it was the nicest restaurant in town, and it was not that nice. It had a salad bar which I guess is a big deal to the Alaskans since it is hard for them to get produce.

On our last day in Alaska we took an Arctic Circle flight tour. We traveled along the Dalton Highway to Coldfoot, AK by air. The Dalton Highway was built to service for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and connects the Arctic Ocean in the North with the Gulf of Alaska. It has also been made famous by the TV show Ice Road Truckers, which the locals say is mostly faked. The explained they don’t actually get very much snow in the arctic circle and that when you spend most of the time well below zero, it is too cold to precipitate and that ice becomes no longer slippery, that it is very much like driving on normal asphalt at that temperature. We took a VERY small plane with 5 other guests on our 5 hour tour. The flight up was an hour as was the flight back to Fairbanks. The Arctic Circle is a very interesting place. We went to a very small gold mining village called Wiseman.

Wiseman is home to 13 people and they have no access to life’s modern day conveniences. They are settled there from the gold rush in the early 1900’s and they ended up staying behind when everyone left (WWII). Our tour guide, Jack, lives in Wiseman year round and took us around the community and showed us his house. Jack and the other Wiseman residents live off of the land. They grow as many vegetables as possible during their short 3 month growing season and pickle them. They also live off of a state subsistence program allowing him to kill so many allotted moose or caribou in a certain amount of time to eat for food. It is all very strict and government regulated. Jack was a bit on the weird side and keeps the legs off all of the animals he kills and lines them up around his trees in his yard. It was kind of gross. We noticed in Jack’s kitchen, we had pictures of pugs taped up everywhere. Naturally we asked him about his pugs because I didn’t think they would be able to survive in -60 degree weather. He said they would die during the first winter but his wife really wants one, so she just prints them off Google and tapes them up! Jack did have a computer, internet access and Facebook! He did not have a tv or refrigerator. He just keeps things in his cellar. I did not take any photos in Jack’s home because I thought that would be rude. AJ made the comment that just because you live off the land, doesn’t mean you can’t clean and organize. I think Jack and his wife may have been able to qualify for an episode of hoarders soon! Jack and his wife are expecting their first baby this week and she will be giving birth in their home. The other ladies and I on the tour where like oh my God! Never! Jack said the winters are about -60 degrees and that it is awful when the sun is gone. They don’t actually see the sun for about 6 weeks, he said it gets light outside, they just never actually see the sun and that it is not like living in the dark constantly. Jack also said they are currently losing daylight very quickly at about 10 minutes per day. Many small towns in Alaska are just like this one, only accessible by plane and most people never leave the area and live off of the land.

Below are some photos from the Arctic Circle:



Santa's reindeer at the North Pole!

Our Plane!

The Flight Controls

The gravel runway in Coldfoot, AK.

AJ before our flight home.

Our tour guide Jack. Pictured with his home and his garden.
His lettuces look very nice!

Jack's home

Jack's moose decor. I didn't get a shot of all the legs!
I cannot believe I didn't get that shot!

The church alter in Wiseman, AK.

The trading post.

The rich doctors from Fairbanks who just built this for a vacation home.
Notice the sled dogs and the dog trailer, they travel with their sled dogs to keep up with their training.