Fairbanks, Alaska - Days 1 and 2 (Part 1)
On Sunday, August 1, 2010 we left Phoenix’ Sky Harbor International Airport for Seattle, Washington where we changed planes and flew to Fairbanks, Alaska and landed at 9:30 PM. During our flight we met Joe and Veronica from Ireland on plane. This was the first of many wonderful encounters with them. We were met at the airport by a representative from Royal
Caribbean and boarded our motorcoach for the short ride to the Wedgewood Resort. We arrived at our lodge type hotel at about 10:30. With the exception of meeting Joe and Veronica, there was nothing sensational about this part of our trip except for one thing, the sun was still shining, brightly and the temperature was 81ยบ. Being a daylight and warm weather loving person, Yvonne just loved that! Our hotel stay included free admission to the very nearby Fountain head Antique Auto Museum which contained more than 70 U.S. automobiles built before World War II. If we had had more time I could have spent lots of it in the museum. In retrospect we wished we had arrived at least one or two days day earlier. We could also have made a trip inside the Arctic Circle to the North Pole.
Monday was a most exciting day. First we met our Tour Director, Christina and our motor-coach driver, Josh who would be with us during the entire land portion of our trip. They were there to be our tour guides, ground transportation specialists, luggage handlers and problem solvers. Luggage that we didn’t need for the land tour was taken and stored until we arrived in Anchorage. After breakfast at the lodge and a short motorcoach ride we started out
aboard the paddle wheeler Riverboat Discovery III on the Chena River. Beginning with Charles M. Binkley and the paddle wheeler Discovery, the Binkley family boasts four generations of river pilots who have run the great rivers of the north for more than one hundred years.
Early in our river boat ride we watched a Piper PA 18 Super Cub on
floats do several take offs and landings on the river. The float plane is a primary means of transporting people and materials throughout Alaska. Although more than 9,000 were built in the late 1940s and early ‘50s a great majority of the Super Cubs built still fly in Alaska. They have been adapted for operation on all terrains having skis for snow operation, floats for aquatic operation and oversize tires for operation on sandy areas.
Just down the river a bit we rounded a bend and came upon Trail Breaker Kennels which was
started and owned by Susan Butcher and her husband, David Monson. Before succumbing to an untimely death due to leukemia, Susan was a four time winner and 15 time top ten finisher of the Iditarod trail sled dog race. We learned that these dogs live to run and they are exercised regularly. When there is no snow on the ground, the dogs are hooked up to an engineless four wheeled ATV. 
David has to 
actually anchor the ATV to the ground so the dogs don’t just take off without him. The same is true with dog sleds. David is a recognized musher in his own right winning the 1,000 mile Yukon Quest dog sled race which runs from Fairbanks to Whitehorse. In addition to winning the Iditarod in 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1990, Susan also mushed her dog team to the summit of Denali (Mt. McKinley).
Leaving Trail Breaker Kennels we paddled a few miles down river passing a bush airfield, many float planes and log cabins turning around at the Tanana River to land at the Chena Village which resembles and is close to the original Chena Athabascan Indian Village of the early 1900s. Here we learned volumes about Alaskan Indians and how they thrived and lived.
We saw an authentic replica fish camp with a fish wheel, an automatic fish netter and trapper. Once caught, the Salmon are cleaned, skinned and dried on the drying rack then smoked in the smokehouse for winter sustenance. Some lower grade fish are dried for dog food. 
Additionally, we were guided past many sites of importance within the village and informed of their function and importance within the life and survival of the residents. Some of these were from the original site. Sites of importance were the ripping rack where logs were cut into boards for building construction, 
a trappers’ cabin and the original chief’s cabin.
At the end of the tour of the Athabascan Indian Village we had some free time to walk around. We met Susan and David’s daughter, Tekla, who, oddly enough, has a very close relationship with sled dogs. She is the primary handler and trainer at Trail Breaker and plans to enter the 2012 northern route
of the Iditarod. We ended up at the Post office where David was there in person to autograph copies of a children's 
book, written by his late wife Susan Butcher, about her lead dog Granite. Yvonne had him autograph one for me and one for a Christmas gift.
After three and a half hours on the Discovery III, we boarded our motorcoach and enjoyed a brief tour of downtown Fairbanks and lunch at Gambardella’s Pasta Bella, the best Italian restaurant in Fairbanks.
On Sunday, August 1, 2010 we left Phoenix’ Sky Harbor International Airport for Seattle, Washington where we changed planes and flew to Fairbanks, Alaska and landed at 9:30 PM. During our flight we met Joe and Veronica from Ireland on plane. This was the first of many wonderful encounters with them. We were met at the airport by a representative from Royal
Caribbean and boarded our motorcoach for the short ride to the Wedgewood Resort. We arrived at our lodge type hotel at about 10:30. With the exception of meeting Joe and Veronica, there was nothing sensational about this part of our trip except for one thing, the sun was still shining, brightly and the temperature was 81ยบ. Being a daylight and warm weather loving person, Yvonne just loved that! Our hotel stay included free admission to the very nearby Fountain head Antique Auto Museum which contained more than 70 U.S. automobiles built before World War II. If we had had more time I could have spent lots of it in the museum. In retrospect we wished we had arrived at least one or two days day earlier. We could also have made a trip inside the Arctic Circle to the North Pole.Monday was a most exciting day. First we met our Tour Director, Christina and our motor-coach driver, Josh who would be with us during the entire land portion of our trip. They were there to be our tour guides, ground transportation specialists, luggage handlers and problem solvers. Luggage that we didn’t need for the land tour was taken and stored until we arrived in Anchorage. After breakfast at the lodge and a short motorcoach ride we started out
aboard the paddle wheeler Riverboat Discovery III on the Chena River. Beginning with Charles M. Binkley and the paddle wheeler Discovery, the Binkley family boasts four generations of river pilots who have run the great rivers of the north for more than one hundred years.Early in our river boat ride we watched a Piper PA 18 Super Cub on
floats do several take offs and landings on the river. The float plane is a primary means of transporting people and materials throughout Alaska. Although more than 9,000 were built in the late 1940s and early ‘50s a great majority of the Super Cubs built still fly in Alaska. They have been adapted for operation on all terrains having skis for snow operation, floats for aquatic operation and oversize tires for operation on sandy areas.Just down the river a bit we rounded a bend and came upon Trail Breaker Kennels which was
started and owned by Susan Butcher and her husband, David Monson. Before succumbing to an untimely death due to leukemia, Susan was a four time winner and 15 time top ten finisher of the Iditarod trail sled dog race. We learned that these dogs live to run and they are exercised regularly. When there is no snow on the ground, the dogs are hooked up to an engineless four wheeled ATV. 
David has to 
actually anchor the ATV to the ground so the dogs don’t just take off without him. The same is true with dog sleds. David is a recognized musher in his own right winning the 1,000 mile Yukon Quest dog sled race which runs from Fairbanks to Whitehorse. In addition to winning the Iditarod in 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1990, Susan also mushed her dog team to the summit of Denali (Mt. McKinley).Leaving Trail Breaker Kennels we paddled a few miles down river passing a bush airfield, many float planes and log cabins turning around at the Tanana River to land at the Chena Village which resembles and is close to the original Chena Athabascan Indian Village of the early 1900s. Here we learned volumes about Alaskan Indians and how they thrived and lived.
We saw an authentic replica fish camp with a fish wheel, an automatic fish netter and trapper. Once caught, the Salmon are cleaned, skinned and dried on the drying rack then smoked in the smokehouse for winter sustenance. Some lower grade fish are dried for dog food. 
Additionally, we were guided past many sites of importance within the village and informed of their function and importance within the life and survival of the residents. Some of these were from the original site. Sites of importance were the ripping rack where logs were cut into boards for building construction, 
a trappers’ cabin and the original chief’s cabin.At the end of the tour of the Athabascan Indian Village we had some free time to walk around. We met Susan and David’s daughter, Tekla, who, oddly enough, has a very close relationship with sled dogs. She is the primary handler and trainer at Trail Breaker and plans to enter the 2012 northern route
of the Iditarod. We ended up at the Post office where David was there in person to autograph copies of a children's 
book, written by his late wife Susan Butcher, about her lead dog Granite. Yvonne had him autograph one for me and one for a Christmas gift.After three and a half hours on the Discovery III, we boarded our motorcoach and enjoyed a brief tour of downtown Fairbanks and lunch at Gambardella’s Pasta Bella, the best Italian restaurant in Fairbanks.
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