Fairbanks Official Visitors Guide 2008

“I have been roaming the world as a travel writer for more than 50 years – and loving it when strangers ask, ‘Where are you from?’ ‘Fairbanks, Alaska,’ I reply. ‘Alaska?’ they exclaim. ‘It must be very cold there.’ ‘Not really . . . well, not all of the time. In fact, there are summer days when temperatures reach 80 and 90 degrees.’ And that is my opening to brag about my home town in Alaska’s heartland. Fairbanks, I tell them, is a friendly little city founded by a gold rush early in the 20th century. It is tucked into a valley in the interior of Alaska. To the north, and not far away, is the Arctic. Indian and Eskimo villages are scattered from the Yukon River north to the Arctic Ocean. ‘What do visitors do in Fairbanks?’ They take sternwheeler riverboat cruises. They tour a topflight museum at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. They pan for gold, the real thing. And, in winter, they gather to watch sled-dog races.’ ‘You sound homesick,’ says an overseas friend. Always.” Stanton H. Patty, travel writer Gold rush boomtown to thriving city. Before the construction of the Alaska Highway, the establishment of military bases and Alaska joining the Union as the 49th state, Fairbanks was a bustling mining town in the middle of the largest territory in the United States. Felix Pedro, an Italian immigrant, is credited with the initial discovery of gold in 1902. As luck would have it, Captain E.T. Barnette’s goal of building a trading post on the banks of the Chena River coincided with key gold strikes north of town. Subsequently, Fairbanks was incorporated by a 75% ma• Rivers and streams serve as both transportation and recreational corridors throughout Interior Alaska, linking cities and rural communities. jority vote in 1903. Over one hundred years later, the small boomtown has a diversified economy, with oil, gas, gold and coal mining, military, tourism and the University of Alaska as key components. Fairbanks continues in its role as the services hub and gateway to Alaska’s Interior and Arctic. With a population of close to 31,000, Fairbanks’ citizenry swells to nearly 97,000 when including the surrounding Fairbanks North Star Borough. • Alaska’s ravens use 30 unique vocalizations to communicate. • The government built the 1,523mile Alaska Highway through © Patrick Endres Canada into Alaska and into Fairbanks in just eight months as a World War II supply route. Troy Wayrynen, The Columbian (Vancouver, WA) 3 5

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Fairbanks Official Visitors Guide 2008

Contents Fairbanks Native Culture Gold Last Frontier Winter Lifestyles Tours Gateway to the Interior & the Arctic Art Around Town Itineraries Family Fun Calendar of Events Fairbanks Denali Neighbors Interior Neighbors "Into the Wild" Alaskan Neighbors Arctic Neighbors Travel Tips Mapping It Out Business Index Who To Call

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