Monday, Day 20, 8/20/2007

I woke up, had breakfast, and went to the University of Alaska. It was outstanding. The pictures, figures, movies everything was great. We saw a film how Aroras were created. It was fascinating. Next, we had lunch and went to a park called, Pioneer Park. I played miniature golf, went into a boat, saw the thrusters and model scenes. With that, we had a drink. I ran around and went to sleep after playing 5 rounds of Casino, one of which we tied.

After that we went to an exhibit of the cultures of the early Alaskans -- both the various Indian tribes and also the Russians and Europeans and the Chinese and Japanese.

We also went to the "sit and listen" room, which connected sounds and colors of light to sensors for daylight, rain, snow, wind, solar wind, auroras (even those you can't see during the day), temperatures, earthquakes, and seasons of the year. It was the ultimate in minimalism while we were there, since the day was clear and there was no earth movement.

Then we went to an arts exhibit, which was generally not as successful as the natural history and cultural part of the museum.

Off to lunch at the Sourdough Cafe, where I had sourdough pancakes that were spongy and chewy, and so sour, they tasted of beer. Natan had a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, and Arthur had a very nice cream of broccoli soup with sourdough bread.

We went over to the TransAlaskan Pipeline, which comes near Fairbanks. The pipeline is fascinating. It is constructed off the ground, because if it were on the ground the warmer oil would melt the permafrost and cause the pipe to break. Even the pressure of the stanchions on which the pipe rests can melt the permafrost, so they are filled with a special heat-absorbing liquid and they dissipate the heat through baffles on each of the stanchions. The pipeline is also full of zigs and zags. The earth is continually moving as the permafrost shifts during the day and the seasons, so the zags are in the pipe in order to give some leeway for the earth movement. Devices called "Pigs" improve the flow of oil through the pipeline, and monitor the condition of the pipeline. Pigs are launched and retrieved at stations and flow through the pipeline with the oil. Some Pigs clean and measure the flow of oil through the pipe. Others use magnetic fields and ultrasonic signals to detect small changes in the pipe wall's thickness and shape.

Off to dinner at the Family Restaurant where Arthur and Natan shared a beer and where we ate too much and returned home to our train quite bloated.

Tomorrow morning we fly to Anchorage and then go the next day to Denali.

Tuesday, Day 21, 8/21/2007

I woke up, had French toast on apple pie, then, packed to go to Anchorage, and drove to the airport. We then flew to Ancorage. We took a tram to an Ulu factory. Ulus are knives carved differently then other knives. I bought one for Dad. Next, we went to a dogsled show. It had two finalist Iditarods. They were amazing. The whole pack of 16 dogs carried a ten ton truck. After it was finished, I held dogs. We went to the hotel and checked in.

Tuesday, 8/21/2007

Terrific breakfast this morning at the Aurora Express dining car! We had a light fluffy frittata of eggs, a little broccoli, and some cheese, and French Toast baked on top of candied apple slices. Natan said it was like apple pie.

We took off for the Fairbanks airport and flew to Anchorage.

We arrived at 1pm, but couldn't check into the Westmark Hotel until after 3pm, so we went out for a quick lunch, and took a shuttle "trolley car" to the Ulu knife factory, where we bought a knife for Ben.