Just Passing Through

Fairbanks is a big, sprawling aged town with decaying infrastructures and not much in the plus column when deciding on vacation destinations in Alaska. The nearby military posts help keep it afloat and make up a large portion of the 320,000 people. I didn't have a chance to visit personally, but from what I hear, the University of Alaska at Fairbanks is the highlight. Apparently they hire the highest-quality professors and offer a first-rate education. Points of interest at the UAF include research into growing gigantic vegetables, like 50-pound cabbage (short growing season, but it’s daylight 20 to 24 hours per day here in season) and a premier, world-class super computer related to geophysical studies.

Highlights for me, such as they were, included Pioneer Park and the Outdoor Recreation Center at Fort Wainwright. Birch Lake Recreation Area is another military recreation facility about 50 miles east of town. It’s maintained by the other base in the vicinity—Eielson AFB. It’s not bad. The lake is nice and there are several small cabins from which to choose, ranging from to per night. They also have RV and tent sites for rent. The beach area has a small playground and rents tacky big wheel-looking paddleboats. Contact Eielson AFB Outdoor Rec for more info at 907/377-1328.

Quick Tips:

Military discounts are offered at most of the area's activities. Early in the spring season or during winter are the cheapest times to travel here. When I was there, it never truly got dark. The Northern Lights are only visible in winter. It may be true that there is more to do in Fairbanks than the dog-sled racing and ice sculpture festival. No, it’s not worth the over 90°F to -60°F temperature swings. The locals say that "it doesn't feel as cold as zero in the lower 48" because, they go on to say, "it’s a dry cold" -- bologna!

Given enough time and money, I would take the Alaska Air flight to Barrow. It’s the northernmost point in the US. There, tourists can pretend to see how the Eskimos live and then stick our toes in the Artic Ocean. The downside is the cost. Chena Hot Springs is about 60 miles outside of town and highlighted in most of the tourist literature. No one I spoke with, though, felt that it was worth the drive.

Best Way To Get Around:

Rental cars work well, but if you want to drive the more remote highways (like to the Artic Circle), you'll have to shop around, because most agencies won't allow it. Hertz wanted to charge a one-way drop fee and .25 per mile just to drive off-highway. I couldn't afford it, so that’s when my eagerness to go to Fairbanks really started to wane.

Lucky for me, the AK RR starts here. It’s a great transportation option for heading south. I recommend that you go south promptly by train, plane, or whatever other means you can afford. I took a taxi to the train station. It was convenient enough, but Fairbanks' sprawling nature makes even this option a little pricey.

My driver was a pleasure to talk with, though. In most lower 48 cities, one can't even communicate with them. Here, mine had just completed a book entitled "Last Call." He had traveled to every berg in Alaska interviewing bartenders and recording their funniest stories. Watch for it in stores fall of 2005. "All Aboard!" Next stop, Talkeetna.

Normally the reverse is true, but the nicest thing about Fairbanks was its attached Military Base, Fort Wainwright. In sharp contrast to the run-down lodging on Fort Greeley and run-down Fairbanks, the Northern Lights Inn on post here was fantastic.

It is less than 1 year old and offers suites, distinguished visitors quarters, continental-plus breakfast, high-speed Internet in-room and in the business center, laundry facilities on each floor, kitchenettes in each room, and much more. The whole facility was immaculately maintained.

Additionally, the base shuttle runs by frequently and can take you to the post office, gym, pool, outdoor recreation, etc. Guests are within walking distance to the Post Exchange and Commissary. The front desk staff was fairly helpful with making dinner and entertainment suggestions. They have large tabbed binders that guests can leaf through to pick activities or satisfy their tastes. I used them to confirm some interest items from my Lonely Planet Guide: "Is the salmon bake at Pioneer Park really good or just a tourist trap?"-type questions.

My room was $49 per night. Prices are based on room type and rank. One must have a military ID to stay here. If you do, though, this is the best deal in town.

http://www.wainwright.army.mil/mwr/lodging.htm

Sure, tourists come here by the scores, but so do the locals. Why? Because the food at the Alaska Salmon Bake is wonderful, and the atmosphere is just fine. The park’s large parking lot stays pretty full with RVs, cars, pick-up trucks, and tour buses. Shuttles even run to Pioneer Park from the major hotels in town.

As with most everywhere else in Alaska, the dress code is come-as-you-are. You enter the park, then follow the signs to the Salmon Bake. It’s set up as a pioneer town with log cabins and proverbial-themed gift shops. After a quick wait in line, you choose your options and pay the cashier. My partner and I choose the standard dinner with an extra entrée plus up.

There are four food areas to choose from at this point. First, I went to the side item/salad bar, where you load up on soups, bread, potato salad, and the like. The main course area was a gigantic half-circular grill operated feverishly by at least three chiefs: each grilling fresh salmon, thick beef steaks, or large, deep-fried halibut chunks. I had the salmon and halibut. My buddy had the beef. All were fresh, healthily large portions and very delicious.

Seating is festival- or family-style. There are large picnic tables at various spots throughout the dining area. There are indoor options as well, in a heated shelter. We sat next to a couple from Las Vegas who had retired six months previously. They got in their new RV the next day and hadn’t been home since. They had traveled all over the Southwest during the winter and now (springtime) were touring the Northwest, including Canada and Alaska. Next year, they casually discussed doing the East. No schedule, no restrictions, no worries: sounds like a great retirement.

Beer, wine, soda, and other drinks were served out of a separate kiosk. The desert and coffee cabin was a popular place as well. I don’t mind paying the caloric price for a good dessert, but these didn’t look that tempting, so I just had coffee. I always prefer local favorites to tourist traps, but at the Alaska Salmon Bake, you find both.

http://www.akvisit.com/salmon.html

The Golden Heart Review at the Palace Theater and Saloon is great entertainment. It’s a comedic look at Fairbanks’ history performed as a musical by quality local actors with outstanding live piano accompaniment. The entire staff is dressed in period costumes. The support personnel (ticket collectors, ushers, sound tech), however, seemed to augment their regalia with assorted tattoos and weird piercings which challenged the show’s authenticity a bit. I guess real pioneer saloon girls are hard to find these days.

The show presented the history of the area and how the locals see themselves. From the city’s founding father, who took great pains to promote his interests during the Gold Strike, to the use of duct tape as the most common repair tool for ripped parkas or coveralls today, the show covers a lot of ground. A favorite scene for most attendees was entitled "Ladies Night at the Bath," with its great set and hilarious performers.

A disappointment for us, though, was that beginning this season, it is only called the Palace Theater—no longer a saloon. Oh well, sometimes it might be good for me to lay off the drink for an hour or so... The show is worth a look, especially if you are already at Pioneer Park for the Salmon Bake. The theater was a saloon (circa 1902) and assorted other things throughout its history. After a flood, many of the buildings shown in the Frontier Town photo below were disassembled and moved to Pioneer Park, where a version of the town has been recreated. Open mid-May through mid-September, as are most things, is the Alaska interior.

907-456-7274
http://www.akvisit.com/palace.html

For military personnel, the Outdoor Recreation Center on Fort Wainwright is your gateway to adventure and/or family fun if you find yourself in Fairbanks. It’s a brand-new facility and easy to find. Just take your first left after entering through the main security gate, and you can’t miss it.

They offer a huge selection of gear for rent at moderate cost: tents, packs, coolers, grills, lanterns, fishing equipment, sleeping bags, water skis, 16-foot camping trailers, kayaks, canoes, powerboats, trailers, and bicycles, just to name a few.

An excellent campground is directly across the street form the center. It has comfortable, wooded sites for every type of camping from primitive tent to RV with full hookups. The quality of the shower and laundry rooms available is a big campground discriminator for me. The facilities here are among the best I’ve seen anywhere. The showers depicted below are individual occupancy, with the toilet and sink integrated into the same room—much better than the standard split type you find at a lot of campgrounds. There were four of these; all were super clean, well heated, and the showers instantly produced hot water.

Adjacent to the outdoor recreation building is the boat launch you see pictured below. You can rent many types of boats here, and they’ll put them in the water for you. The catch, as is typical with many military activities, is that you have to have a boater’s safety card in order to do so. They offer the class required to get one of these every Saturday at 1pm May through September. The launch is on the Chena River, which is a very popular canoeing destination for Fairbanks residents.

I rented a mountain bike for $10 a day and set out exploring. I found a post-managed multi-use wilderness area. Once one obtains the ubiquitous required permit, this area can be used for all sorts of activities ranging from four-wheeling on ATVs or jeeps to big-game hunting. Brochures are available at outdoor rec.

There is also a ski area on post for winter fun. The recreation center also offers discounted tickets to a variety of area attractions. I turned in my bike right before closing. The kid behind the counter said, "No worries, man". If you were late, you could just leave it out back." Overall, the Outdoor Recreation Center here is an excellent facility and a great benefit to the soldiers stationed here or those like me who are just passing through.

Building 4050, Ft. Wainwright
907-353-6349

I don’t believe that anyone ever chooses to go to Delta Junction, AK, or nearby Fort Greeley. Sometimes, though, an unfortunate series of events leads one there. Military business brought me during the spring of this year. Fortunately, this opened Alaska’s door for me and was only the beginning of my trip. One night here was definitely enough to experience the area’s flavor.

The Buffalo Center Diner was reported to have the best food in town. We ate two meals there (I’m a slow learner). The dinner special was a chunked and formed barbeque chicken patty with fake grill lines and a couple of sides for $13. I had prearranged a business meeting over breakfast at the same place and had no choice but to return. Breakfast was better, but the three hotcakes, two eggs, and side of reindeer sausage was over $12. The place’s only salvation was its nice waitress. She was a young brunette whose family moved up here years ago to run an elk ranch outside of the town limits. She met a private from Nebraska stationed at Fort Greeley, and they eventually became engaged. As their big day approached, they spent most of their time planning how they could move back to Nebraska as quickly as possible.

I can’t blame them. There really is nothing in Delta Junction. The town was formed during pipeline construction in the 1970s. Just outside of town on the road to Fairbanks is one of the best places to see the pipeline. It crosses a river here, and there is a nice informational placard as well. Lower 48 recruits come to Greeley expecting some cold weather but great hunting and fishing. That they do find, but usually by the first winter, they tire of it: "There’s nothing here." Conversely, native Alaskans recruited from the more remote regions of the north are impressed: "Wow, this is great." They tend to move their entire family here with them and will stay as long as possible. "There is a grocery store and roads." And, of course, they like the bars. It really is true that natives don’t synthesize alcohol, but that’s another story.

Alcohol and drug problems are frequent with troops there. There are six bars in town normally. One burnt down last winter, so now the remaining ones are overcrowded. "Hard to get a stool most nights," I was told. It’s dark 6 months per year here. Winters are severe. Drinking is the way most folks here combat the associated gloom. Housing on base was substandard, and there isn’t much in town to go around. What is there is being bought up by Lockheed Martin and its employees who have the primary contract for the technical development underway at Fort Greeley. Most of the other facilities on post are dilapidated as well: Post Exchange, gym, commissary, etc. The military’s temporary lodging was very dated and overpriced. One bright shining spot of hope for the soldiers stationed there was the bowling alley--under renovation.

The scenery was beautiful, though with mountains in the background and light green/yellow-leafed Aspens in the foreground, all framed by a clear, deep-blue sky and punctuated with white clouds and green underbrush. Vast burned areas and blackened trees from the widespread fires last year provide even more visual contrast. Moose are commonly seen on post, wondering around eating the bushes. We rounded a corner and saw one close up in the front yard of the Post Exchange.

The "Drive In" is the new hot spot in town. We stopped on our way back to Fairbanks. It was also staffed with cute waitresses and offered the much-hyped local specialty—ice cream. Apparently the locals believe that their local cows somehow lactate better than those in the lower 48. How this started, I don’t know. I ordered a twist farm fresh from the Northern Lights Dairy Ice Cream Company. It tasted like a cone from Dairy Queen anywhere in the US to me.