June 20, Last Day in Fairbanks.

I was very undecided what I wanted to do today. There was still a lot to see in Fairbanks yet I had toyed with the idea I'd go to Denali a day early. Well, the weather made the decision for me. It was raining...really hard. So off to the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska. I think I read somewhere that I should allow at least 4 hours to fully enjoy the museum. I'm not a real museum enthusiasts..I get bored easily, but the museum kept my attention. In addition to the cultural and art exhibits, and Alaska's largest public display of gold, there were three short 30 minutes films. The film on the aurora boreal was very interesting and full of information, so much so I watched it twice.

                                                Snow goggles worn by the early settlers and Athabaskans

                                          The kayak is made out of caribou hides and parts.

                                         This is "Babe"the mummified bison

                                    There were lots of displays of bead work.  This is just one example of the detailed bead work done by the Athabaskans. 

                               Part of the gold display.  Look at the size of the nuggets.  

There was also a nice collection of classic and modern art.  

The Northern Museum at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.  

Part of the University Campus.  It was very big and very nice.  

I have noticed that the native term Athabascan is spelled several different ways.  I checked and there are several correct spellings:  Athabascan, Athabaskan, and Athapaskan.  Apparently they are all correct spellings, just to confuse one.  

Every year Fairbanks has a summer solstice festival in the downtown area starting and noon and continuing until midnight. This is a huge event and it is usually held on a weekend day closest to the actual Solstice, this year being Sunday.  Bands play all day and into the night; there is a wide of variety of food to sample; and local artisans show off their work and offer it for sale. We are so far north that it really doesn't get dark at night, maybe a little dusky. I lasted until about 10:00 and then called it a night. The pictures were taken pretty late in the evening so you can see how light it was. On the actual summer solstice date, they play midnight baseball.  The city folk are quit proud that no lights are used.  

The band Cold Steel, uses only steel drums for their music.  I took a video of them and a recording.  Someday, I figure out how to up load it to the blog.  

The arch is made of moose antlers and is located downtown at the entrance to the river walk. 

Tomorrow we head for Denali!