PIONEER PARK IN FAIRBANKS, ALASKA

Last night we parked in Walmart along with many other RVers.  It was a party-like atmosphere there with people walking their dogs, talking and sitting around having snacks at 11:00 p.m. with the sun shining like it was 2:00 in the afternoon.  That takes some getting used to.  We met a couple from California that's taking the same Alaska trip as us only in the opposite direction.  

Entrance to the park - the flowers were lovely

This morning we drove the coach a few miles away to Pioneer Park.  They have a huge parking lot with RV spaces for overnight parking for a fee of $15.  I'm hoping it will be quieter here than it was a Walmart last night.  

Pioneer Park is a must-see for anyone visiting Fairbanks.  Admission is free into the park and it has much to offer.  It's a 44-acre historic park created in 1967 as the Alaska Centennial Park to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the U.S. territorial status and provide a taste of Alaska history.  We walked through Gold Rush Town. The town is a narrow, winding street of authentic old buildings that once graced downtown Fairbanks.  

All the building were moved here from old downtown Fairbanks - each had a plaque with information

Part of the Gold Rush Town

The park is home to the renovated SS Nenana, a historic landmark known as the "Last Lady of the River.  It's the largest stern-wheeler ever built west of the Mississippi and the second largest wooden vessel in existence.  We've seen stern-wheelers before but this one was different because inside was a 300-foot diorama depicting life along the Tanana and Yukon rivers in the early 1900's.  I've never seen anything like this and was fascinated by the detail and workmanship that went into making the miniature life-like settings.

I'm amazed they were able to keep this in one piece during the move

Look at the detail of this diorama

This is just one small part of the diorama

We toured the Mining Valley at the rear of the park with displays of gold mining equipment.  There was a wonderful gift store with most items 50% off and we bought a couple of t-shirts and a hoodie. We were very tempted to partake in the Alaska all-you-can-eat Salmon Bake but I had already defrosted an Alaska Salmon for dinner and figured we'd save ourselves the $60.

This steam operated shovel helped build the Panama Canal, worked in Hawaii and sections of Davidson Gulch

We visited the Pioneer Air Museum, Judge Wickersham's house, the First Presbyterian Church, the Pioneers of Alaska Museum and all the gift shops in between.  It was a long day with plenty of walking and we didn't see everything.  We missed the Tanana Valley Railroad Museum, the train ride and the Palace Theatre & Saloon musical comedy review.  Maybe tomorrow.

Pilot Carl "Ben" Eielson Hamilton has an interesting history - look him up on the Internet

Before leaving for the day, we stopped at the Centennial Centre for the Arts

That's all folks!  Thanks for stopping in.