Rollin' on the River

It's Thursday, August 22nd and we are almost ready to board the Discovery III steamboat located on the Chena River in Fairbanks.  We got here early enough so we were ahead of the 6 or 7 tour buses full of people.  Believe me, all 8 in our group were thankful for blue skies and sun!  The forecast for most of this week has been cloudy and rainy with a 50 to 60 % chance of showers.

Right after we left the dock and turned around to head down the river, we viewed a demonstration of how Alaska bush pilots take off and land on rivers.  We had been told by different people to sit on the port side of the boat to get a better view, which was great advice.  The plane took off and headed to the left of us.

I got a good shot of him as he flew past us.

Farther down the river we were able to learn about sled dogs and how they are trained.  The property is owned by the husband of  the late Susan Butchard, winner of the 1986/87/88 and 90 Iditarods.

Once they started getting the dogs ready for the demonstration, they leaped and strained at their harnesses.  The other dogs left behind in the kennels were also going crazy, barking and running around their individual kennels.  It was noisy!

After the run, the dogs enjoyed a dip in the chilly Chena River.

This is what the water looks like when the Chena River meets up with the Tenana.  The green is the Chena, and the gray, cloudy water comes from the Tanana.

We got off the boat to walk around the Chena Village and learn about the Athabascan way of Indian life up here.  Below was a young lady showing us how they cut up salmon for the sled dogs.  Chum is given for the dogs and the better salmon, like Kings and Coho are smoked and used by the people.

Another young lady modeled a beautiful coat made out of various types of pelts.  It is worth between $15,000 and $30,000!

Gary, Sherry , Sandy and Jerry are having a good time as we wait for the boat to depart from the village and head back.  

The statue of  Granite, the greatest lead dog of Iditarod history, sits in front of the post office.

We arrive back at camp to a fully cooked meal of chili.  It had been cooking in the crock pot while we were out gallivanting around.  All we had to do is make the cornbread and enjoy the meal.