No one likes a bus ride but that’s how you get from Denali to Fairbanks so we hopped on YAB. Then we hit a rest stop and the day got so much better! The bus stopped in a little town called Nenana. Nenana consisted of a local market with a great mural, a couple of shinier looking stores, and a railroad depot. We got some snacks at the market and purchased a well priced and very tasty lemonade from this crew of little entrepreneurs.
I later ran back to grab some custom hair clips that they were selling for $1 apiece. I selected four and gave them a five dollar bill. When one of them questioned my math the oldest boy wisely said “that’s a tip”!
Holland America had to keep us amused before the hotel rooms were ready and they picked well with the Discovery Riverboat tour. We won’t mention the horrible lunch scene. The Binkley family has been running the steamboat along the Chena River for a number of generations. We docked at the Chena Village Living Museum where we saw presentations and had a chance to explore an Athabascan village replica. It was very interesting and engaging!
Those are domesticated reindeer! They have velvety antlers. We also learned about Susan Butcher and her Trail Breaker kennel. When she started training a team to compete in the Iditarod it was the usual “woman can’t do that…” baloney and she went on to win four Iditarods.
A night in Fairbanks, YAB to the airport and our Alaska portion of the trip is done! It was wonderful!