Fun Times at Fairbanks

One thing that we noticed in Fairbanks was that most vehicles had plug-ins to keep the vehicle warm in the cold winters.  I tried telling Tami that they were all electric cars, but she knew better.

 

Years ago, Tim's parents became friends with this couple from Fairbanks. When we contacted them to let them know we would be in Fairbanks, they invited us to their BIG salmon neighborhood/family BBQ. Amy and Mick Van Hatten have been hosting this party for 38 years.  There were over 75 people there and it was a hoot!

 

There were musicians at this party and these guys were actually very good. I swear I over heard the guy in the hat tell a story about playing with Joe Cocker back in the day. 

 Twenty-five salmon were prepared for the party. It reminded me of a Missouri whole hog roast, but with salmon.  Very tasty.

 People of all ages enjoyed the garage music.  The sax player just had triple bypass surgery less than a year ago, but he could still play a mean sax.

One traditional act Amy did when she heard that my parents passed away was to make a bouquet of Alaskan flowers and release them into the Chena River which flows near their home.  She helped us make another bouquet and Tami and I released them into the same river.  I'm glad my parents had such good Alaskan friends.  

After the party, we were still wound up....and it was very hot in the van.....so we decided to go for a little drive around Fairbanks to cool down our bedroom.  Here I am wearing sunglasses at 11:00 PM!

The next day, we headed south and actually found the North Pole (real town in Alaska) and visited the Santa Claus House. Santa was busy, so Tami sat on my lap.

We're still heading south and will soon be in Canada.