Alaska: Fairbanks

Alaska: DAY TWO THROUGH FOUR

The drive to Fairbanks took pretty much all day. Mostly because we had frequent stops with the kids and we ran into several different road construction sites. It continued to rain off and on as we drove. Train tracks paralleled Parks Highway. You could also see wildfires in the distance that they let burn out naturally.



This was our first glimpse of blue sky. It was an additional treat to see the rainbow :)

Well, after another long day of travel - we got to our destination: The University of Alaska Fairbanks. This would be our home for the next week while Bryan attended the Isotopes Conference. He was scheduled to do his presentation in the beginning of the week (Monday).

We stayed in a dorm room on the university campus. Cozy :)

lol

It was cheaper than a motel.

While Bryan attended the conference, I found things to do with the kids. There was a playground nearby that I would take them. On the first floor of the dorm building there was a shared entertainment room that had a pool table, ice hockey table, and television. Bryan would leave me his computer so Ava could watch movies and I could occassionally check my e-mail. Ava and Isaac must have felt jet-lagged or worn out from traveling because they took good naps during our stay in the dorm. I wish I could tell you they napped at the same time - but that rarely happened. So, after all that time spent in the little room - I was eager to have Bryan return so we could go - somewhere; anywhere!
lol

Look at the size of that cabbage! The university, and Alaska in general, had the biggest vegetables and flowers I've ever seen. We noticed all their beds were lined with black plastic to capture the heat.

One of the days, Travis Smith, our Park Ranger cohort & good friend (who now works in Denali) was in Fairbanks to do his grocery run for the month. He met up with us on campus and we (Travis, myself, Isaac and Ava) walked down to the botanical garden for the morning.



I guess you could say it was a botanical garden/raindeer farm.

What is the difference between raindeer and caribou you ask? Raindeer pull Santa's sleigh. Ho ho ho ho ho ho.

lol

No- Ha ha - raindeer are domesticated caribou.



The botanical garden was absolutely beautiful :)

These photos were taken in the "children's garden." In the middle of all the gorgeous flowers there was a cute little play cabin. The rest of the day, we went grocery shopping with Travis. It was so great to see him again. He had a 5 hour drive back to his seasonal residence in Denali National Park. Soon, we would make that same trip to his cabin. But not yet ;)

Quick story:

Our second day staying in the dorm room - sneaky, curious Ava pulled the fire alarm which signaled LOUD high-pitched peeps. This, of course, caused everyone to quickly leave their rooms and congregate outside. I could hear people asking "Is this for real?" I didn't want to tell them it was our two year old that caused all the commotion. One of the firemen in town had to come with a key to turn the alarm off. He was very forgiving. The noise scared Ava so bad that everytime we walked passed a fire alarm switch she'd point to it and say "Don't pull that OK?!!"

LOL

:D