HAPPY FOURTH OF JULYThomas and I both got a good night's sleep and we were both up and ready to go early this morning. Only the weather wanted to be obstinate. It had rained during the night and it continued to drizzle on and off while we got ready and even as we took off for our last full day in Fairbanks. We checked out of the Alpine Lodge and loaded the car with our bags. We made our first stop for a box at Pike's Waterfront Lodge (the hotel we will stay at tonight and where we will meet the rest of our group). This box - Humongous Humpback - was just placed yesterday by Grumpy Grinch. I wrote the clues down last night and wanted to get it first thing this morning. It is a great little carving and it was pretty easy to find. I stamped in, placed the box back in its hiding spot and we were ready to move on to our next stop.
From Pike's we got on Airport Way and turned left on to George Parks Highway to the Old Nenana Highway. We were going to Ester and more specific the Ester Gold Camp to look for Blow Off. We arrived pretty early and the place was deserted. We followed the clues and were able to get all the landmarks but there was no box. The hiding spot was empty. The camp was pretty run down but it looked like there was a bar/restaurant thingy and a gift shop but both were closed when we were there. So we left empty handed and returned to Fairbanks. Did I mention that it was still drizzling on and off. I had mapped things out last night and the next stop was the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. The place was pretty quiet - we only saw two or three people milling around and they looked like workers. We parked and started following the clues for a series of six boxes. The rain was still going but very light. We had rain jackets with hoods and umbrellas so we went on our search. The first three boxes eluded us - there was suppose to be one at the visitors center that we couldn't find (and if you want to know the honest truth we weren't even sure if we actually looked at the visitors center - we never found a sign - we just assumed), and then we found the paddock for the reindeer (saw two) and followed the clues to a choke cherry tree and again no box.
The third one we looked for was suppose to be in the Ohlsen Family Food Garden in the Georgeson Botanical Garden and we found all the landmarks except the last one (a black pot) where the box was hidden. With the constant drizzle and not finding any boxes we almost decided to leave. But Thomas wanted to walk around the gardens anyway so we kept looking. For the last three boxes our luck changed. The rain pretty much stopped and we found all three of the last boxes. We found Babula near the entrance to the Babula Children's Garden, then we found Drew near the James V. and Marilyn Drew Amphitheatre and finally we found Calypso at a trailhead at the top of the garden. This series is called GBG, Tundra Joe, Giant Cabbage, Babula, Drew, Calypso and was placed by akgoldenheart. Even with both of us and my clue sheets being very damp and not finding three of the six boxes we still had a great time. I do wish it had been a little less rainy so we could have really enjoyed the place. Before leaving the UAF Campus we headed over to the Patty Building to find Eskimo Kisses. I was glad today was a holiday because the box was hidden in a planter right at the steps leading up to the building - on a very busy school day I think that it would have been almost impossible to find. Right near the hiding spot was a small statue of a very cute polar bear. Anyway, I found it and took it back to the car to stamp in since the rain had started again. When I was done I made a quick dash to rehide the box and then back to the car.Leaving the campus we drove to Creamers Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge. We parked and found the starting point for Dragonfly Days (a series of two boxes by deniserows) and Dance of the Sandhill Crane (by Sahalie). But, the rain started again - so we decided to go check out three other boxes first that weren't as long of a walk and we could avoid getting soaked. So we left this area and drove down the road just a little ways in hopes of finding BOTM: Our Celtic Hound and City Girls. Both of these were suppose to be at The Food Factory. When we arrived it looked like the place was closed. Not closed for the holiday but like closed down. There was a banner hanging from the top of the building that stated they were under new management but to us it looked to be shut down. So we left this place and went in search of another box - Thanks. The clues told you to find the DMV on Cowles. Last night I googled it to find the exact address and guess what - no DMV on Cowles. So I found the DMV in Fairbanks on a different road and we checked out Cowles first, just in case - nothing. So we headed over to the other address and viola. The other part of the clue stated that from the DMV you needed to look for a colorful and fun place to visit. Well that place jumped out at you - so we were happy that we found the spot - then we were sad - the place was closed for the Fourth of July. At this point the rain had stopped so we went back to Creamers Field.
We started on the nature trail and then connected with the Boreal Trail. We followed the clues and found all three boxes mentioned earlier.
Now, when we were at UAF earlier there were some mosquitoes but it wasn't too bad, but at Creamers Field they were out in full force - kind of like kamikaze blood suckers. The minute we stopped walking they would be all over us and they were huge. And of course we forgot the Deet in the car. So lets just say it didn't take us too long to find three boxes on a mile loop trail. Oh, we also looked for another box - Musk Ox. It was driving us crazy - some of the clues made sense and then they just didn't work, and finally we gave up because of the mosquitoes. We made our way back to the car and on the way we saw a few sandhill cranes hanging out in a field - they were the only birds we saw today. Once back at the car and safe from attack I read the clues again, thinking if I could figure them out I could put on some Deet and go back out and look one more time. I realized that we never really found the actual starting point. We checked all the buildings near the parking area and nothing matched. Looking at a map I realized that Creamers Field covered a lot of area. So we left that area and drove down the road a bit and things started falling in place and we found the real starting point no where near the place we were at. So I told Thomas once we were parked that we should put on Deet and take one more try. We parked gathered our things and headed out - Deetless (some people never learn). We found the box without any problems (imagine that - if you actually follow the clues correctly you can find the letterbox) and while stamping in, the attacks started again. 
While I stamped Thomas was flinging his arms around himself and around me to ward off some of the pests. We didn't dawdle, I stamped fast and while Thomas put the box back in place I put my things away and we all but ran back to the car. This 'mosquito incident' reminded me of another letterboxing trip that had the same theme - read about that one at From a Natural State to Graceland. Once back at the car I checked all my clues for Fairbanks and concluded that we had either found or attempted all the boxes I had clues for. Now I have to admit something - Thomas and I were still damp from the morning rains and our clothes were a little dirty (some dirt and mud and leaves - also a couple of blood spots from squished mosquitoes). But it was still too early to check into our next hotel so we decided it was time for lunch. So we drove downtown and parked. The first three places that we wanted to eat at were closed for the holiday. Finally we found the Fudge Pot open and no we did not have fudge for lunch (dessert - yes, lunch - no), they have soup and sandwiches as well. We took turns in the bathroom scrubbing our arms, hands and faces as well as cleaning off our pants and jackets as best we could. As we sat eating (Thomas had a tuna sandwich with fruit and I had a ham and swiss with vegetable beef soup) the sun came out and the skies (for the first time since we arrived) were blue with speckles of clouds. It was beautiful. So after we ate we walked along the river for a little while and then went to a cafe and had some coffee until we could check into the hotel. Thomas read and I worked on the internet - I logged in the finds from this morning and started this post.At about 3:30pm we arrived at the hotel and went to check in. The front desk sent us to meet our tour directors in the breakfast room since they had all our information and room keys. Our tour director is Debbie and she explained everything and gave us our itinerary for tomorrow and instructions for being ready for an early morning so we can start the land tour portion of our trip. We got our things out of the car and up to our room. Then Thomas and I headed to the airport to turn in our rental car. That went quickly and we decided to walk back to the hotel (it was less than half a mile) but in the few minutes we were in the terminal returning the car the sun disappeared and it started raining again. So we got a taxi for the three minute ride to the hotel.
We are ready for tomorrow. The bags are organized and everything is situated for the trip. I think we will be able to get to bed at a decent hour so that we can be up early - we leave the hotel at 7:45am for a full day of tours and traveling.
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