Fairbanks, Alaska

The top two pictures were made in North Pole Alaska.  It is 13 miles south of Fairbanks.  And yes, we saw Santa Claus.

John and I spent the 4th of July at the Pioneer Park Gold Rush Town.  The park had a street that consisted actual old homes and buildings that had been moved there and preserved.  John is standing in front of one of them.  And for a short time he became an eskimo.  The Alaskan Governor was there to honor the Alaskan military.  It was a very patriotic experience that reminded us that although we were 5000 miles from home we were still in America.

Of course we learned everything we could about the Alaska Pipe Line.

This is a couple we met on the way to panning for gold.  They are the Warrens from Murphysboro, TN.  The experience was a lot fun and we plan to meet up with them again on our trip back home. They were in Alaska to take a cruise.

Here we are panning for gold.  The spent the afternoon riding a train and getting the history of gold mining.

I didn't exactly hit it rich.  But John's mother load is below.  He had it put into a pendant for me.  Sweet huh.  His gold flicks are worth $37.00