Fairbanks, Alaska: University Of Alaska Fairbanks & Blog Milestone: 10,000 Visits & 300 Posts

Wow - This is the 300th blog entry for Dale & Mary Lynn's Travels and this week we achieved the milestone of 10,000 visits to our blog. Thanks everyone for following along on our adventures!

It's great to know others are able to enjoy some of the incredible sights and experiences Mary Lynn and I have been able to see in the last 18 months. We visited 23 states, three Canadian provinces, and in the process, put 19,000 miles on the RV plus at least another 5000 miles on the toad and Harley.

Along the way we have met an incredible variety of interesting people, many of whom are fellow RV'ers who have been travelling full time/almost full time for 7 or more years. Everywhere we go we find people who are funny, articulate, and willing to share their thoughts, opinions and ideas about where too go and what to do when you get there.

In addition to citizens of the US and Canada, we have met fellow travelers from England, Germany, Australia, Mexico, South Africa, even from the Netherlands. I'm sure there are a few I've forgotten or misidentified in the first place but whatever the country of origin, whether they have been travelling for a few years or a few days, most people who travel are people you would like to get to know better, to have as friends.

Sure there are a few exceptions, like the young man from another country, who loudly told his friends he wasn't impressed by Arches National Park. And then, again loudly, went on to say he wasn't impressed by the Grand Canyon, it was just a big hole in the ground. Chalk that up to him wanting to impress his friends with his own worldliness.

Or the guy (why is it always a guy? gives the rest of us guys a bad name...) who loudly told a park ranger at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitors Center in Juneau that global warming was fabricated by the government; that the evidence didn't support global warming as being a man-made problem. Probably worked for one of the fossil fuel companies.

How many species have to disappear before people realize global warming is real and is already having catastophic impacts?

The overwhelming majority of people we meet are friendly,, courteous, and worth the time it takes to get to know them. Sure -- some of them are loud but that's mostly an age related phenomenon -- some of them are hard of hearing.

As far as the country we have been able to explore so far, it's nothing short of fabulous. And not just the national parks and monuments; North America has spectacular scenery and interesting towns & cities everywhere you go.

Again, thanks for following along -- and get out there yourself and see the world, or at least your corner of the world. Buy, rent, beg or borrow an RV if you can -- it makes the trip even more enjoyable.

Today we went to the Alaska Museum that's part of the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. What a great museum. Just opened in 2005, the museum occupies a beautiful modern building built to represent the inside of a crevasse -- not your everyday architectural goal by any means. Whether it accomplishes its architectural goal or not is a matter of personal opinion.

The exhibits are all first rate and the gift shop met with MLA's approval (and you all know how important is is to keep momma happy!). In addition to the Alaska exhibits and a special exhibit on Polar Bears (sorry Claire no pictures allowed in that exhibit), upstairs contained a large collection of native and local Alaskan Art. (OK I'm back -- had to kill a large mosquito trying to steal our supper).

The exhibits included a 1250 pound Grizzly that stood 8 feet 9 inches tall; his head is the size of a beach ball. They have the largest collection of GOLD on display anywhere in Alaska: Lots of large nuggets including a 21 ounce beauty, all kinds of smaller nuggets, and flakes/grains of gold the size of sunflower seeds all the way down to gold so small it looked like gold powder. Lot of native Alaskan display, including kayaks and whaling canoes plus a boulder of solid Jade that would make a heck of a ring!

There's a lot more to see at the University of Alaska - Fairbanks: super computing center showcasing virtual reality, a Large Animal Research Center, botanical gardens and a geophysical institute. Plus lots more to do in Fairbanks.

See Ya!