September 14, 2018
After the gold dredge we took a short bus ride to the banks of the Chena River and the Riverboat Discovery landing.
 |
| Discovery III tied up at the Athabascan village |
First stop was the communal dining room where were sat down to a "miners' lunch" of salad, beef stew, sauteed veggies and a brownie for dessert.
After a shopping opportunity, we boarded the riverboat and set off down the river to the first attraction, a float plane taking off and landing on the river next to us. We listened in on the two way communication via radio between the pilot and our captain.
We admired riverside properties and stopped to watch the dogs at Trail Breaker Kennels, owned by the late Susan Butcher and her husband Dan Monson. Susan won four of the races in 1986, 87, 88 and 90.
 |
| Enjoying a beautiful day on the Chena River |
 |
| Typical Alaskan commuter. One out of 76 Alaskans have private pilot's licenses |
 |
| Dog team starting a practice run |
 |
| Back from their run the dogs are waiting to be released so they can take a swim |
On down the river we came to the confluence of the Chena and Tanana Rivers before tuning back up the river to stop at the Athabascan village. The village consists of replicas of Indian buildings from the steamboat age when there were many such villages along the river.
 |
| Typical dwelling and cache |
 |
| Replica smokehouse |
 |
| Ceremonial robe weighs 23 pounds |
 |
| Chugging back up the river on a real sternwheeler |
Back at our hotel by 1700 we were a tired group after the day's interesting activities.
No comments:
Post a Comment