We found other buildings of interest on the way to Copper Center, including a tiny shack dubbed "City Hall."  It was, in fact, an Alaskan outhouse and bore no resemblance to Allan's office at Wayzata City Hall.   Across the road, just as cute as can be, was a rather eclectic gift shop,. sort of like the Victoria Gazette office.
That second evening we had dinner at the new Copper River Princess Wilder-ness Lodge, overlooking the beautiful Wrangell Mountain Range.  For me it was our first "heavenly" scenery because of the white mountain tops floating in the white mountain clouds.  And again, a large spectrum of plants were part of the welcome at the Lodge.
After dinner (remember that the sun is shining 20 out of 24 hours and so bed-time seems far off) we visited an Alaskan "cultural bar" where the owner, Ron Simpson, displayed his elaborate mini-ature train that traversed from inside the bar to outside the bar on a rail built atop a raised platform, under a not-very-protec-tive canopy.  Mr. Simpson, a proud descendant of native Alaskans, signed a copy of his book for me.  A huge tome, it was entitled "Legacy of the Chief."
Everything was more subdued the next morning at 5:30 a.m. at the Princess Lodge.  We had to have our bags packed and outside our rooms by 6 a.m.  We didn't mind the early rising, maybe be-cause it was already 9 a.m. in Minnesota.
On our way to Fairbanks via the Alaska Highway, midst a cool and overcast day, we saw the Trans-Alaska Pipeline up close.  We learned it was one of the most difficult engineering feats of our time, and it was the only way to get crude oil from Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope of Alaska down to tankers at Valdez, the nearest ice-free port.
Oil was discovered on the North Slope in 1968, and the first piece of pipe was laid in 1975.  It came to be 800 miles long, with 380 miles of it buried.  It crosses three mountain ranges and more than 800 rivers and streams, including a 2,300-foot bridge over the Yukon River.
The pipe is 48-inches in diameter.  We touched the steel.  All of its $8 billion cost -- for material and a construction workforce totaling 70,000 people -- was privately funded by eight oil companies, six of which own and maintain it today as the "Alyeska Pipeline Service Company."  The Company employs 1,000 people in Alaska.  From Valdez the oil is shipped to the lower 48 states and some to Japan.  We continued to catch glimpses of the pipeline in the distance throughout the day.  Our engineers loved it.
Traveling through this magnificent country, I spied two moose from the motor coach, a mother and her calf, and I signaled fellow passengers as instructed:  "Moose at 3 o'clock!"  It turned into a warm and picturesque day, so I suggested a group photo that could include our new-found travel friends.  All together there were seven couples from the Midwest, plus Colleen, on that entire motor coach.  The fancy flush bathroom in back was always available. 
After another lunch of delicious homemade soups and sandwiches, this time at Rika's Roadhouse, we tried on fur jackets and vests made from authentic Alaskan animals.  I bought an authentic $52 pair of earmuffs to wear at Victoria's annual Ice Fishing Contest in February, but not the fancy hats and jackets.
We learned that pioneers once de-pended on various roadhouses as they traversed the northern frontier.  They were places to eat, drink, sleep, buy general goods, or just escape the wilderness for a few hours.  Rika's was built in 1909 by John Hajdukovitch who sold it to Rika Wallen in 1923.  The building was restored by the State in 1986.
As we boarded the motor coach, we were entertained once again by Colleen's taped music, "North to Alaska."
North to Alaska!
Go north, the rush is on!
Big Sam left Seattle
In the year of '92
With George Pratt his partner
And brother Billy too
They crossed the Yukon River
And found the bonanza gold
Below that old white mountain
Just a little southeast of Nome
At the village of North Pole, Alaska, we found Santa Claus visiting with child-ren and parents alike.  We also saw his reindeer and learned that Rudolph as well as Donner and Vixen and Blitzen and all the others were female reindeer.  Both sexes sport antlers, but males lose theirs before Christmas while females don't lose theirs until spring.  Do the math.
We arrived in Fairbanks around 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23rd, and parked our stuff at the River's Edge Resort, a delightful neighborhood of "individual homes" on "neighborhood streets." 
Each of us seven couples on the Anderson House Tour stayed in our own separate cottage.  In broad and bright daylight of the evening, we then partook of our first Outdoor Salmon Bake, which included halibut and cod, all we could eat.  There were no mosquitoes as we sat at a picnic table midst overgrown spruce trees.
Then we were steered to more live entertainment and front row seats at the excellent "Golden Heart Review" about the origins of Fairbanks.  The production was so named because of the gold rush at Fairbanks being in the heart of the state.  We were told that the people of Fairbanks were unsophisticated, and that we might guess it because their socks don't match.  But their flowers were simply gorgeous.
On Thursday, July 24th, we visited historic Gold Dredge #8 at Fairbanks where Allan and I together mined almost $10 in pure gold.  All of us found gold in "them thar hills" after learning there's a trick to panning.  Gold is heavier than anything else in the slush so it sifts down into the dip of the pan during panning.
Located in the Tanana Valley, the dredge vessel on display moved a distance of 4.5 miles as it dredged for gold during its 32 years of operation, leaving behind a trail of rock debris.  We were told it required massive amounts of water, electricity, and workers to operate successfully.
We also learned that Gold Dredge #8 is an artifact from the pre-World War II boom period in Alaska gold mining.  It was declared a National Historic Mechan-ical Engineering Landmark in 1986.  Again, our engineers loved it.
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