Day 12: Fairbanks to Denali

Our hotel in Fairbanks had a white board in the lobby that showed sunset was at 12:28 am and sunrise was at 3:24 am - it really never gets dark here this time of year. We had planned to spend 2 nights in Fairbanks, then drive straight back to Anchorage on Friday. Patty and Bill suggested that we change our plans and go back to Denali, so that we'd break up the 8 hour drive. We jumped at the chance to get back to Denali, as we wanted another opportunity to ride in the beautiful national park!

But there were several things we wanted to see in Fairbanks. After breakfast we set out for the Creamers Bird Refuge, hoping to see some sandhill cranes. We arrived just in time for the guided nature walk, and spent the next two hours learning about all the different birds that nest there in the summer. We saw a few "teenager" sandhill cranes and learned that the mature birds were nesting so weren't visible. The landscape was beautiful and filled with blooming irises.

Next we headed to lunch, based on the suggestion of our nature walk guide. We were not disappointed with the Pumphouse Restaurant. We sat outside on the deck overlooking the river, and relished our bbq ribs with coleslaw, elk burgers and salad.

After lunch we went to the University of Alaska Museum of the North to check out the building and exhibits. It is a beautiful building, which is described as a whale's tale as it deep dives, a curvy facade in white that is very attractive. We enjoyed the natural history exhibits that explained the dinosaurs of Alaska, displayed bones and tusks of wooly mammoths and mastedons, and included an amazing mummified blue ox. We also saw a movie on the aurora borealis, northern lights, which explained how they occur and was also beautiful.


I really liked some of the contemporary art; this one is a pleasing mix of older Eskimo imagery and new convoluted shapes. It was carved out of cedar and then painted.

Since we'd agreed we wanted to go back to Denali for the night, we piled in the van and drove for two and a half hours. When we arrived, Patty worked some magic and got our rooms upgraded to have a river view; the sound of the water was wonderful so we kept the windows open all night. Pete and I were eager to ride the next day, so we went to bed early.