I woke up refreshed and ready to hit REI for some supplies. I needed to pick up stove fuel, bear spray and chain oil (expecting lots of rain). However, I noticed the night before that I underestimated the temperatures up here. I thought I would be able to layer a technical long sleeve tee, my smart wool long sleeve (bought before I turned vegan) and my showers pass rain coat. Well, that just wasn’t working for me. I had everything zipped up and I was still cold! I looked like a total tourist as some of the natives were wearing shorts and t-shirts! I guess I’m just a weak Chicago boy from the lower 48! So, I decided to add a insulated jacket to my list of items.

I believe I arrived just after they opened cause I had the place all to myself. I quickly grabbed the original items and then meandered over to the sales rack full of jackets. As luck would have I found a poly filled packable into it’s own pocket jacket! The best part is it only weighs like 13oz! I managed to grab the last large in blue they had too. It was fate 🙂. By the time I finished up the place was booming with people. I gotta say… REI is like toys-r-us for adults with an outdoor fetish. It’s nearly impossible to pry oneself away…

The night before I was watching the Alaska channel on the television and they were airing a segment about the Alaska pipeline. Apparently there is a public viewing area not far from fairbanks so I decided to head there immediately after REI (and Starbucks) 🙂. The pipeline is impressive but the pipe cleaner plug stole the show for me! This thing is pushed through the pipe by the oil’s flow force and untimely cleans the sludge from the pipe inner walls. Awesome engineering!

While there I met a young couple. His female companion was heading back to Virginia while he stayed back here for work. I shot a photo for them and they returned the favor. Nice people.

I had to return the car back to the airport by 4pm so I tooled around town visiting sites like the Alaska University. It looks like a nice campus. I then visited the co-op grocery store. This place had a bunch of premade ready to eat vegan sandwiches! I knew if be back here tomorrow morning….

The time has come to return the car and catch a Lyft back to the airport. I caught a ride with a young Alaska University student named Nisha. She had only been here 6 months but had given some really good options for food and sites to see. The real standout was the Cultural Center.

After freshening up at the hotel I walked the 6 blocks to the cultural center and was impressed by it’s size and newness. I headed over to the ranger desk and 2 ranger ladies helped answer all my Denali camping questions… Like, where to pick up my reservation? His to reserve igloo and sanctuary campgrounds and will the bus driver pick me up if I’m stranded? Very helpful bunch. They even helped me pick out a restaurant! They called like 3 restaurants asking about vegan options. Wonderful experience.

I finished up with the rangers and walked through an exhibit showing glaciers then (100 years ago) and now. This photographer made it his mission to find the exact locations of the original photos to make a better comparison. It truly tells the story of how global warming is impacting the environment. Superb exhibit.

I decided to check out their free movie ‘Aurora: Fire in the Sky’. It essentially described the science behind these magical light shows and how it impacted cultures across the globe. As you can imagine, many treated these lights like gods… Not to be messed with. It was an interesting and educational film.

I fished up the my 2.5 hour cultural center visit by walking through the museum. They had various wildlife like bears and moose and pretty much showed the history of Alaska including the a short video on building the Alaska pipeline. It too was well done and very interesting

Stomach pain let me over to the Jazz Bistro for dinner. While walking through the cultural center parking lot I stumbled upon fairbanks bike rental. I had seen people from afar riding them but this is my first up close view. They appear very touristy but well made. The giant antler Arch also caught my eye.

While making my way though the park a clearly intoxicated gentleman approached me and introduced himself as ‘thunder cloud’. He shoot my hand and asked where I was from. He then asked if I would like a photo of him so naturally I couldn’t pass that up! He again shook my hand and wished me well on me journey. He walked on to pedestrian bridge while talking to himself about the fast current of the river below..

I finished my evening with an exceptional vegan meal at the Jazz Bistro. Here I was able to enjoy not 1 but 2 varieties of Alaskan beer! (Amber and white) Both were cold, delicious and satisfying. A perfect ending to a really packed day off Fairbanks fun!