Alaska Review! Day 6--Fairbanks

This day was a very busy one.  There was no major driving, which is always a welcome respite when you're touring Alaska in a big loop.

I had a list of places which I thought might be interesting to us.  It's here if you want to take a look.

I will preface all of this by saying that we saw a lot in Fairbanks and had fun.  However, I can also see why folks say to "skip it".  I don't regret the time we spent in Fairbanks.  If you are looking for nature, there is not as much here as elsewhere, and much of Fairbanks looks like many other communities in the Lower 48.  If you want to learn more about the culture and indigenous people of Alaska, though, Fairbanks would be a great place to do so.  Remember that I have kids ages 9-13, so sometimes culture isn't what they want.

We started our day with our complimentary breakfast, and then headed to Creamer's Field, for their 10 AM hike.   There was one other mom there with her 4 year old son.  The tour guide was a teacher, obviously on summer vacation.

Creamer's Field is touted as something for bird lovers to visit.  We didn't see a ton of birds, but we did see a lot of nature, which is fine with me.

These yellow flowers caught my eye.

Wild irises

This guy posed for me.

This is an invasive species.  Sure is pretty for an invasive species.

 We walked all over.  Evidently, there are different ecosystems (seasonal wetlands and boreal forests) which support different plants and animals.

 Imp and his new friend contemplating the beauty.

So peaceful, even with our noisy little group.

Not sure what they were looking at.

This amused me.  Yes, they are sitting in the swampy wetlands here, on a bench.

 

Looks like we've moved on to the boreal forest.

 

Our tour wound up being longer than an hour...and we didn't even venture into one part of the forest.

After the tour, we went back into the building where there is a small gift shop and some displays about the history of Creamer's Field.

We finished up and head out.

We still had a lot to see today.