The Discovery is a big paddle wheel boat sitting on the river outside the big set of shops and a restaurant where we’ll be having lunch.

Once on board we were offered coffee and blueberry donuts. They were delicious. Dunked into the coffee it made a good breakfast.

The boat started along the Chena river past some lovely homes. It’s green and lovely and hard to imagine it in winter when it can be 40 below ! The trees are all budding so it looks beautiful.

Our narrator is clear and offers great insight into life in Alaska and living in Fairbanks. He also plays trombone but not today!

We heard about some of the houses we were passing some all timber others concrete or brick. Painted.

We stopped at the home of mushing and heard about Susan Douglas. A local woman who won 4 Iditarod races. Amazing story made so sad as she first of cancer at 52. They showed us mushing – and told us it’s the number 1 sport in Alaska. I love that they are keeping this tradition going. In the era of electronic’ everything’ it’s good to see mushing is still popular.

We landed at a village where some of the young native Alaskan met us to direct us around the village and talk about life there. They were lively young people, so confident talking about some of the customs of their culture. Most were either in high school or heading off to college.

Dylan talked about the Caribou and how they adapt. They change coat colour. Antlers on male & female and they drop them after they reproduce.There’s around 7500 in 52 herds in Alaska . They were brought from Siberia. Around 1800’s

We saw the skins of lynx, wolverines, fox pelts red, silver cross fox. All from same litter. White coats. Used to trim clothing. Beaver pelt is water resistant.

Snow shoes are made from winter hide & string , Bedding from spruce branches topped with moose hide. The skin are used for huts. And lean to huts for when they are nomadic. But how they survived in these harsh conditions is amazing. Birch batch is pliable so used for canoes and for baskets.

Beadwork on belts. Flowers embroidered were the bluebell and forget me not. Animal tracks trimmed with fur buttons made from moose antlers.

Women’s winter parker. Traditionally beaver fur trimmed river otter. Wolverines fur put around face waterproofing and warm. Bead works passed on. Traditional rose pattern. 23. Lb $35,000 now. Resourceful people.

We had a salmon filleting and smoking demonstration

Leaving the river we had lunch in the large eating all. All very slickly done. Hearty stew, vegetables. Salad and pecan pie.

The afternoon saw us on a little train into a gold digging expedition. Dexter , a local character explained how gold dredging was carried out. Then it was our turn to pan. We were directed to seating with a pan set up for everyone in front of a trough. We panned and got to keep the gold flecks we found. They were weighed …..I got $5 worth so they sent me back for another go. Old.l Dexter helped me! Success. I got around $16 worth. Steve got $26 with. In the end we had around $40 worth and here’s the smart part.. you could have your flecks put into a charm or locket which of course you had to pay for.

Drinks and dinner tonight to farewell our travelling buddies. Leanne and Darren from Sydney and Matthew and Maureen from the Blue Mountains. Great fun meeting them.

Tomorrow an early start for our Seattle adventure with Lisa and John.