Fairbanks, Alaska: Mosquito City Would Be A Better Name

I know it's a cliche to talk about mosquitoes in Alaska however, as I sit here with welts and itching all over from mosquito bites, I find it difficult to think of any other topic...

Actually the mosquitoes have not been that bad until we arrived in Fairbanks, which is in the interior of Alaska. The coastal areas of Alaska had mosquitoes however the quantity and the aggressiveness did not compare to Fairbanks mosquitoes.

Yesterday, after we arrived and set up the RV, we had the windows open for a little fresh air. It was almost 90 degrees outside so we wanted to cool down a little... Well you should have seen the window screens; they were covered with mosquitoes, all trying to find a way to get inside the RV.

Every time we opened the screen door to walk the dog or have our friends Dave & Mary Anne join us for dinner, mosquitoes attacked the open portal. Some of them flew head first into the opening while others tried to be a little tricky: they would land on the person coming into the RV and try to hitch a ride unseen.

I spent a lot of time last night wandering around the RV, looking for and killing mosquitoes. I lost track of how many of the little blood sucking devils I killed. After several trips around the RV's interior I went to bed. No sooner had I turned out the light and what did I hear? A loud buzzing near my ear that spelled the end of trying to get to sleep.

Of course I had to get back up and chase the little booger down...

On the drive from Tok, Alaska to Fairbanks yesterday we saw the Alaska Oil Pipeline for the first time. It happended to be at a river crossing which is why you see the pipeline suspended in the air. We also saw the immense mountains of the Alaska range. Pretty hard to see them in the picture because they are over 100 miles away however it was pretty impressive to see in person. This is just a tease of what it will be like to see Denali, which is also a part of the Alaska range.

This morning Mary Lynn wanted to see a few of the local sights. She mostly wanted to visit the North Pole, which is just down the road from Fairbanks. She was so disappointed. I tried to explain this is the slow season for the North Pole, what with Santa off on a well deserved vacation and all of the elves playing 'hooky' while the boss is away.

We did find the North Pole Visitor Center, where two very nice ladies spent a significant amount of time explaining the few things that could be done while visiting the North Pole.

While they were explaining what was (not) happening at the North Pole, MLA noticed a mosquito land on the ear of the lady who appeared to be about 70 some years old. MLA watched to see if she would 'shoo' the mosquito away but nothing happened. Finally MLA interrupted the conversation and told the lady she had a mosquito on her ear.

Well the lady reared back and hit her ear so hard I thought she was going to knock herself out. I didn't want to laugh but she knocked her glasses about half way across the room... and of course the mosquito avoided the blow entirely. Oh well.

Afterwards we headed over to a store MLA wanted to see called The Great Alaskan Bowl Company. Now before any of you former hippies get any ideas, this company makes bowls of all shapes and sizes out of birch trees. And they had a coupon for a free 'planter' that MLA wanted to use.

Actually it was pretty cool seeing how the bowls are cut on a lathe. In addition, this company used a laser to engrave the bowls with words, logos, wildlife designs,, etc. In fact, you can give them a picture and, for a fee, they will engrave it on the inside of one of their bowls. Really quite amazing. You can see how they are made at www.woodbowl.com -- truly a unique Alaskan gift.

Tomorrow we will probably head over to the University of Alaska at Fairbanks campus. They have a world class museum there plus several other exhibits/displays, including a theater where you can experience the aurora borealis. These formations light up the Alaskan sky during the winter however the lights cannot be seen during the summer since it really never gets dark.

For instance, sunset will be at 12:30 am tonight and sunrise will be at 3:30 am. Truthfully, it never gets more than a little like what we would call dusk. Certainly no need for outside lights when you go out.

See Ya!