Spent today off the road in Fairbanks. It feels kind of good to be off the road.
High today in the mid-60’s, scatter clouds, and no humidity. Nice.
Fairbanks is a nice small town. Like a lot of small towns, it seems really livable. It’s large enough to have most of the retail stores we recognize. (However, the closest Costco is in Anchorage. But there is a BJ’s).
I’ve been listening to books on CD while I’m on the road. I brought four with me from Charlotte, and I’m almost done with those. I went to a Barnes and Noble here in Fairbanks looking to see what their selection was like. They had the best selection of books on tape I’ve seen anywhere. I bought three more. I guess I’m not the first person to think of audio books as a way to pass the time on Alaska roads.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks is on the edge of town, up an a ridge from which you can see Mt. McKinley (on some days). It’s a nice looking campus. The Universitiy of Alaska Museum of the North is on the campus. It’s a great museum. I spent about four hours there.
From there I went to the U of A Large Animal Research Station, a few miles off campus. At LARS, they are studying musk ox and caribou. Here are some factoids about each:
Musk ox have been around since before the Mastodon – and they look like something from the ice age.
Musk ox are native to arctic Alaska, but were wiped out by hunting in the late nineteenth century. They were re introduced with Musk ox from Greenland in the 1930’s. The re introduction has been successful.
As a defensive mechanism, the adults in a musk ox herd will form a circle around their calves. Both male and female have large horns, and facing outward, this creates a pretty effective defense against predators like bears and wolves. Against men with weapons, not so much.
Muskox wool, called qiviut, is extremely soft and a great insulator – several times warmer than other wools. (The musk ox is comfortable in the Artctic at 40 below). Qiviut yarn goes for around $80 per ounce. LARS sends the qiviut from their animals to a place in Seattle that creates the yarn. Then they send the yarn to Eskimo villages where they create items out of the yarn. A small scarf made of qiviut costs over $400. Nobody I know is getting any gifts made of qiviut.
High today in the mid-60’s, scatter clouds, and no humidity. Nice.
Fairbanks is a nice small town. Like a lot of small towns, it seems really livable. It’s large enough to have most of the retail stores we recognize. (However, the closest Costco is in Anchorage. But there is a BJ’s).
I’ve been listening to books on CD while I’m on the road. I brought four with me from Charlotte, and I’m almost done with those. I went to a Barnes and Noble here in Fairbanks looking to see what their selection was like. They had the best selection of books on tape I’ve seen anywhere. I bought three more. I guess I’m not the first person to think of audio books as a way to pass the time on Alaska roads.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks is on the edge of town, up an a ridge from which you can see Mt. McKinley (on some days). It’s a nice looking campus. The Universitiy of Alaska Museum of the North is on the campus. It’s a great museum. I spent about four hours there.
From there I went to the U of A Large Animal Research Station, a few miles off campus. At LARS, they are studying musk ox and caribou. Here are some factoids about each:
Musk ox have been around since before the Mastodon – and they look like something from the ice age.
Musk ox are native to arctic Alaska, but were wiped out by hunting in the late nineteenth century. They were re introduced with Musk ox from Greenland in the 1930’s. The re introduction has been successful.
As a defensive mechanism, the adults in a musk ox herd will form a circle around their calves. Both male and female have large horns, and facing outward, this creates a pretty effective defense against predators like bears and wolves. Against men with weapons, not so much.
Muskox wool, called qiviut, is extremely soft and a great insulator – several times warmer than other wools. (The musk ox is comfortable in the Artctic at 40 below). Qiviut yarn goes for around $80 per ounce. LARS sends the qiviut from their animals to a place in Seattle that creates the yarn. Then they send the yarn to Eskimo villages where they create items out of the yarn. A small scarf made of qiviut costs over $400. Nobody I know is getting any gifts made of qiviut.
Caribou might be the world’s best walkers. They travel in herds that might migrate several thousand miles in a year. They have long, thin legs, and hooves adapted to walking in the tundra and to digging through snow and ice to get at food.
Caribou click when they walk. There is a tendon that creates a sound with each step. One theory is that this has evolved as a form of communication among herd members in deep ice fog. Another theory is that the tendon has evolved to leverage the forward motion of the leg and make each step more efficient. Large herds of caribou can supposedly be clicking a mile away.
There will not be a test when I get back.
Tomorrow, I’m leaving Fairbanks, and heading to Dawson City, in the Yukon Territory.
Caribou click when they walk. There is a tendon that creates a sound with each step. One theory is that this has evolved as a form of communication among herd members in deep ice fog. Another theory is that the tendon has evolved to leverage the forward motion of the leg and make each step more efficient. Large herds of caribou can supposedly be clicking a mile away.
There will not be a test when I get back.
Tomorrow, I’m leaving Fairbanks, and heading to Dawson City, in the Yukon Territory.
2 comments:
Big Al,
Your pictures are really good.
Glad to hear there won't be a test when you get back - I was confused about the kiviut. Seems to cost more than gas.
Finally rained here, but not much.
Going to Costco with Benton today - I'll let you know if you lose the toss again.
Mark
Alan
The first picture is a great architecture shot. lol
Fairbanks sounds cool, but I will bet it is real cold in the winter. So no test when you get home, I am disappointed I was taking notes.
John
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