Day 15 - Jun 28 - Fairbanks

Today we started out with a visit to the Diocese of Fairbanks. Keith had been in contact with them before we left MI, and had always intended on meeting the ladies he's spoke with on the phone. What a delightful group. They presented us with additional pins to commemorate our trip, and spent a long time checking out Einstein and listening too about our travels. 

Tom & Chris @ Alyeska Tire

After we left the diocese, our itinerary for the balance of the day was abruptly revised to include a trip to the auto shop to have the front tires flipped. The wear on one of the tires was significant enough that Keith decided to have both fronts taken off and turned over. The mechanics, Keith, and a call to Brent, concurred that it was probably something to do with towing and that there is no adjustment on the Smart car for the cause of the problem. So we'll add more air to the tires and try to compensate for the difficulty. All of this took 3 hours out of our day. Not a great loss; I got a lot of reading done.

36,000 yr old Muskox

After the car was "fixed", we headed to the University of Alaska Fairbanks to visit the art museum on campus. It's more of a natural history museum with lots of artifacts, but also includes fine art as well … all related to Alaska's history. Points of interest are the petrified remains of an entire 36,000 year old baby muskox killed by an American lion. Very fascinating. There were mastodon &  mammoth bones, as well. All discovered in AK. There was a large collection of various Indian tribes' daily utensils, religious artifacts, modes of dress, etc. from the late 1600's, and plenty of artifacts from the gold rush era as well. Of course, there was also plenty of modern-day art, both realistic and abstract styles. Altho we only had a few hours to see it all, it was very much worth the time.

I'm bringing this one home . . .

"Modern" Indian quilting

Again, for the you quilters - the UAF museum had an example of Indian quilting, which is included for your viewing pleasure and inspiration. It is only a small section of the entire quilt. I enjoyed this piece because it's different from most other items made by the Indians. 

And, there was some scrimshaw work that was incredibly beautiful, both large and miniature pieces. These pieces are done on whale ivory as well as animal antlers. The carving materials are all "found" items. There were carved masks made of whale bone which is very porous and lightweight, almost like a bird's bone. Oh so delicate.

Tomorrow we are planning a drive up the Chena River, maybe all the way to the Chena Hot Springs. We'll see.