Oh Alaska, I have been so happy to keep writing about this beautiful place. I have loved every minute of it. Let’s see what I can come up with today.
Another favorite place of mine that my sister, Dad, and I would always go to was: Alaska Land [now it’s called Pioneer Park – not sure why they changed the name]. We used to go over there at least once a month or so. Back then it was the coolest place ever, besides Santa Claus’s House, which I’ll share more about later. Alaska Land had a putt putt course that was really neat. There were little shops that had, you guessed it, ICE CREAM! We obviously always had some ice cream and that made the day even more great! But the best part of Alaska Land was the . . . TRAIN! There was a little train station with a museum in it that told about this train and how influential it used to be for the community. After you went through the museum you could get onto the train and it would take you all around Alaska Land. At one point it takes you up, to the top of the sign that you go under when you enter Alaska Land. You can see all around the area. I loved going up there with my sister and dad. Going back with my husband a couple years ago made me realize how much your childhood viewpoint makes everything seem amazing – but the train was still great. I’m not sure if over the years that I had not been there it had just become run down, but Alaska Land did not have the grandeur that I remembered it to have when I lived there. It still made a lasting impression on me that I will never forget.
Now onto Santa Claus’s house. Earlier I stated that I lived in Fairbanks but that’s not 100 percent true. We actually lived in North Pole, Alaska. Yes, it’s true. Talk about a child’s dream! To live in the same town as Santa Claus! Now I knew that the Santa Claus that came to our school was my dad (I could tell by his dirty, flight line hands and his voice that is was most certainly my dad) but I just knew that the REAL Santa Claus lived in his house. So every time we were able to go to Santa Claus’s house we loved to go talk to Santa about how good we had been and those things that we most desired for Christmas. Sometimes Santa wasn’t there and our dad would just tell us that he was busy getting ready for Christmas. We truly loved the experience and just knew that Santa was real. We even got to see his Reindeer! That’s right! The owners of Santa Claus’s house have reindeer that are out for everyone to see and you could even feed them! Around Christmas time they made sure that the kids knew who they were, you know Dasher, Dancer, etc. And, another one of my favorite things, they used to have a train that went around Santa Claus’s house and near the river that was found behind his house. I guess we just loved trains back then. Although if you know anything about Alaska, trains are a big part of the Alaskan experience as they helped pave the way for civilization in the “Last Frontier”. They still have a train that goes from Seward all the way up to Fairbanks. That is truly an amazing experience, too. Needless to say, trains are a way of life up there and every kid loves them.
Speaking of trains, I think this is a great place to talk about gold panning! There is a mine train in Fairbanks called El Dorado Mine Train that was even there when I was a little girl. It is a pretty neat place where they take you back in time to the time in our history when Alaska was being settled and pioneers were panning for gold. You see the tools that gold panners used to use and how they have changed over the years. Then they take you to a slew where they show you how to pan for gold. Then you get a bag of dirt and jump into your own tub of water and start panning for gold. When we were little Amanda and I had so much fun trying to find gold. We would even pretend to gold mine when we went camping with our dad, using a butter bowl, some dirt, and some water. It is such a way of life up there. Alaskans are very proud of their gold mining heritage.
One thing that is a little controversial, depending on who you talk to about it, is the Transatlantic Pipeline that stretches across Alaska, carrying oil across the terrain. Alaska is known for their oil, especially when things go wrong such as what happened during the Valdez Oil Spill. However, this pipeline is very important to the economy of Alaska and is truly a sight to behold. There are several points where you can see it from the road but the majority of it is out in the depths of Alaska. There is one point, as you are entering Eielson AFB where you cross over a bridge that goes over a mini-valley. In this mini-valley there is part of the pipe line. Another thing neat about this mini-valley is that twice a year the caribou migrate through in hundreds! They are beautiful to behold and so powerful and majestic. This is something that I used to look forward to all the time as a kid and absolutely loved watching.
Mmm . . . I love me some Alaska.
For future writings: bush planes, earthquakes, northern lights, glaciers, and our Alaskan honeymoon.
Another favorite place of mine that my sister, Dad, and I would always go to was: Alaska Land [now it’s called Pioneer Park – not sure why they changed the name]. We used to go over there at least once a month or so. Back then it was the coolest place ever, besides Santa Claus’s House, which I’ll share more about later. Alaska Land had a putt putt course that was really neat. There were little shops that had, you guessed it, ICE CREAM! We obviously always had some ice cream and that made the day even more great! But the best part of Alaska Land was the . . . TRAIN! There was a little train station with a museum in it that told about this train and how influential it used to be for the community. After you went through the museum you could get onto the train and it would take you all around Alaska Land. At one point it takes you up, to the top of the sign that you go under when you enter Alaska Land. You can see all around the area. I loved going up there with my sister and dad. Going back with my husband a couple years ago made me realize how much your childhood viewpoint makes everything seem amazing – but the train was still great. I’m not sure if over the years that I had not been there it had just become run down, but Alaska Land did not have the grandeur that I remembered it to have when I lived there. It still made a lasting impression on me that I will never forget.
Now onto Santa Claus’s house. Earlier I stated that I lived in Fairbanks but that’s not 100 percent true. We actually lived in North Pole, Alaska. Yes, it’s true. Talk about a child’s dream! To live in the same town as Santa Claus! Now I knew that the Santa Claus that came to our school was my dad (I could tell by his dirty, flight line hands and his voice that is was most certainly my dad) but I just knew that the REAL Santa Claus lived in his house. So every time we were able to go to Santa Claus’s house we loved to go talk to Santa about how good we had been and those things that we most desired for Christmas. Sometimes Santa wasn’t there and our dad would just tell us that he was busy getting ready for Christmas. We truly loved the experience and just knew that Santa was real. We even got to see his Reindeer! That’s right! The owners of Santa Claus’s house have reindeer that are out for everyone to see and you could even feed them! Around Christmas time they made sure that the kids knew who they were, you know Dasher, Dancer, etc. And, another one of my favorite things, they used to have a train that went around Santa Claus’s house and near the river that was found behind his house. I guess we just loved trains back then. Although if you know anything about Alaska, trains are a big part of the Alaskan experience as they helped pave the way for civilization in the “Last Frontier”. They still have a train that goes from Seward all the way up to Fairbanks. That is truly an amazing experience, too. Needless to say, trains are a way of life up there and every kid loves them.
Speaking of trains, I think this is a great place to talk about gold panning! There is a mine train in Fairbanks called El Dorado Mine Train that was even there when I was a little girl. It is a pretty neat place where they take you back in time to the time in our history when Alaska was being settled and pioneers were panning for gold. You see the tools that gold panners used to use and how they have changed over the years. Then they take you to a slew where they show you how to pan for gold. Then you get a bag of dirt and jump into your own tub of water and start panning for gold. When we were little Amanda and I had so much fun trying to find gold. We would even pretend to gold mine when we went camping with our dad, using a butter bowl, some dirt, and some water. It is such a way of life up there. Alaskans are very proud of their gold mining heritage.
One thing that is a little controversial, depending on who you talk to about it, is the Transatlantic Pipeline that stretches across Alaska, carrying oil across the terrain. Alaska is known for their oil, especially when things go wrong such as what happened during the Valdez Oil Spill. However, this pipeline is very important to the economy of Alaska and is truly a sight to behold. There are several points where you can see it from the road but the majority of it is out in the depths of Alaska. There is one point, as you are entering Eielson AFB where you cross over a bridge that goes over a mini-valley. In this mini-valley there is part of the pipe line. Another thing neat about this mini-valley is that twice a year the caribou migrate through in hundreds! They are beautiful to behold and so powerful and majestic. This is something that I used to look forward to all the time as a kid and absolutely loved watching.
Mmm . . . I love me some Alaska.
For future writings: bush planes, earthquakes, northern lights, glaciers, and our Alaskan honeymoon.
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