After a good rest from our trip to Arctic Circle, we planned to help celebrate Golden Days in Fairbanks. Saturday morning there was a parade downtown.Of course, the dog mushers had a prominent place in the parade.
We arrived a bit after the start, but enjoyed what we saw. Later in the afternoon there was a duck race. People 'purchased' rubber duckies to support Golden Days. The ducks are poured into Chena River at one bridge and everyone cheers for their duck to win. The ducks finishing first earn money for those who purchased them. We wanted a duck, but they were sold out prior to the start of the parade.
The announce said the parade was over and we didn't see any other floats or participants coming down the street so we headed over to the Cultural and Visitor Center. Connie and I enjoyed the flowers outside the log cabin.
After walking through the visitor center we headed back to the street fair. But wait, what could this be? The parade was still marching by! Evidently, the announcer was kidding and somewhere along the line one of the entrants had difficulty staying with the rest of the parade! We got back in time to see the antique tractors rolling down the street.
For lunch we had street fair food. I had the reindeer sausage, tasty with a bit of spice and everyone else had hot dogs.
Saturday was a busy day. After walking around the street fair, we headed to the airport to see the airplanes that were on the Lend -Lease program. The planes were leased to Russia in 1941 to help them fight World War II. There was to be a ceremony at the airport to commemorate the historic program. Two C-47s would fly from Great Falls, Montana, to Alaska and then on to Siberia, Russia.
When we got to the airport there was no sign of a ceremony, but the
C-47s were on the tarmac having some last minute maintenance as crews
loaded cargo for the flight from Fairbanks to Nome before the last leg
to Siberia.
Both planes were well stocked with these special purple boxes!
Bob and Larry were allowed to board one of the planes. Bob thought the cockpit was small by today's standards.
As Bob and Larry looked at the planes, the crew continued loading the planes....
and completing the maintenance. This engine was leaking oil. There were towels on the tarmac to catch the leaks.
The nose plate on the engines were shined and reflected everything that came near.
Now, you might think this was a full day, but it wasn't! We had two more stops before returning to our rigs. We wanted to see the musk oxen at the Large Animal Research Station at the University of Fairbanks.
At the station we learned that musk oxen are not native to Alaska. They were introduced to northern Alaska since the climate was similar to the areas they are found in northeastern Canada and Greenland. Their fur is very soft and very expensive since there are not a lot of them in Alaska. There were also caribou at the station, but they were in the far fields. The difference between caribou and reindeer slight. Reindeer are just domesticated caribou.
From the research station we stayed on the university's campus. It was time to see the gardens.
A lot of the flowers were past their prime, but it was still a beautiful place to end our afternoon of sightseeing.
Sunday morning it was time for more of the Golden Days celebration. Sunday was the last Red Green Regatta on the Chena River. Due to funding cuts, the event will not be held next year. Now some of you might not know Red Green aka Steve Smith (an actor). He was the star of a Canadian television program set in Possum Lodge, Canada. Red Green was a handyman that fixed everything with duct tape. For a boat to qualify to enter the regatta, there had to be a lot of duct tape involved in its construction. Red Green was even present to judge the entries. He is the bearded gentleman on the judges boat.
These were some of our favorites.....
Tardis from Dr.Who
Possum Lodge meets Wizard of Oz
USS Possum
Sour Milk and Jolly Jugs II
Characters from District 12 of
Hunger Games
Gilligan and The Skipper.....
... rescuing the castaways.
Red Green's office
Larry and Connie saved us a seat on the river rock for the start of the regatta.
After the start, Bob, Connie and I decided to walk the route on the path following the river. The finish line was at Pioneer Park. As we walked through downtown, we spotted this Lend Lease statue. The flowers were from the previous day at the airport.
As we walked, many boats passed us, but many were still behind!
We were glad we got to see Red Green Farewell Regatta. Bob and I even got the T-shirts!
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