Before leaving Fairbanks we had an excursion to go to. The bus brought us to the Riverboat Discovery Tour. The tour is a three hour long paddlewheel boat ride along the Chena River. It was a nice and relaxing ride and we had beautiful weather. It is very touristy but I enjoyed it. We got to watch a float plane take off, we saw Susan Butcher's (4 time Iditarod winner) home and kennels and then we visited the Chena Indian Village where we learned a little about the Athabascan Indian culture.
When we returned to the dock we got to meet Lance Mackey (another 4 time Iditarod & 4 time Yukon Quest winner) before boarding the bus again.After the boat ride the bus drove us to downtown Fairbanks where we were on our own for lunch. Thomas and I went to a place called Soapy Smith's. Yesterday we tried to have lunch here but they were closed for the July 4th holiday. But they were open today and quite busy. We didn't have that much time to eat because the bus had to leave at a certain time. Thomas ordered a turkey wrap and I had a crab sandwich (crab cake on a sandwich) - we only had about 5 minutes to eat once they got us our food so we ended up having to take it with us and eat on the way back to the bus - thankfully they were sandwiches and it wasn't difficult to eat while walking back to the bus. The food was really good we just didn't have time to sit and enjoy it. Once we were all settled on the bus we made a quick detour to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Visitors Center near Fox. Thomas and I visited this place day before yesterday but we didn't mind seeing it again. We were only here for about 15 minutes and then it was time to hit the road. We took the George Parks Highway out of Fairbanks toward Denali.
The drive was pretty scenic and lasted about three or so hours. We passed through the small towns of Nenana, Healy and Denali. We didn't make any stops along the way - it was just a nice drive with beautiful views. We did see two moose at a small pond at one point. Unfortunately we passed them so quick we weren't able to get a picture. Once we arrived at our hotel - The McKinley Village Lodge - and got our room keys and luggage, we met with the other letterboxers on the trip. We got a packet of information (from Mark & Sue) and went over a few things. By this time it was almost 6:00pm and Thomas and I were hungry. So we ate in the restaurant at the hotel. I had a small pizza with reindeer sausage and tomatoes and ham. Thomas had a burger. It was a nice dinner and we were able to relax a little while eating. I went through the information packet and found the following items . . . a welcome letter, a list of all the people on the cruise, an Alaska fun facts sheet, an Alaska terms, animals & mammals sheet, a photo scavenger hunt sheet, a lanyard and an Alaska Letterboxing Cruise patch. After dinner we walked around the hotel grounds for a little while before returning to our room to shower and read. It was a long day even though we really didn't do a whole lot - I guess sitting on a bus for three hours can wear you down. Tomorrow we spend the day in Denali National Park.
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