The Olson's Retirement RV Adventures travel blog

German tour bus.

Sleeps 20 some. I don't think so.

Discovery III paddlewheel riverboat.

Chena River.

River resident with airplane in the drive.

Another resident with all the toys.

Another resident taking off.

Doing tricks for the tourists.

Talking to the crowd over the radio.

More tricks.

Discovery II.

Sled dog training school.

Sled dogs hook to a summer sled. Quad with no engine.

Whoa, claims to get up to 30 mph.

After the run.

Chena River meets the Tanana River..

Fish Wheel. No waiting, just go pick them up

Smoking the catch.

Chena Indian Raindeer/Caribou herd.

So they can make this with their hides.

Losing thier winter coat.

60" antlers are trophy size. This guy measures 72".

Caribou - Moose - Grizzly

When it won't float, park it by the river and live in...

Chena Indian girl with homemade parka..

With hood. Beautiful!

Couple of river residents.

A look down the river with Fairbanks skyline.

Built with only hand tools. No power.

Another resident.

On the river Bar.

Home and wife of Captain Brinkley, the man who brought the riverboat...

Old snowmobile.


Check out the German tour bus that came into our campground. Sleeps over 20 people and has it's own kitchen. Very organized tour to handle all that. You better get along with your fellow tourist.

Again, it rained all morning. We booked the 2:00 Riverboat cruise and hoped the weather would break. It was still drizzling when we arrived at the dock. It stopped just in time for the cruise.

We cruised the Chena and Tanana Rivers with third and fourth generation Alaskan captains. It was a guided tour through an authentic Chena (Athabascan) Indian Village. They explained their culture and way of surviving thousnds of years ago (they say 10,000 or more). Members of the tribe actually gave demonstrations of drying fish, building huts from animal hides, the parkas and clothing made from the land and different animal hides.

The boat also stopped at the home of a 4 time Iditaron Champion for a sled dog demonstration.

An Alaskan bush pilot gave a demonstration.

The tour was a highlight and we would recommend it to anyone visiting Fairbanks. Remember to use the coupon book!

Oh.. almost forgot. We got off the boat and into the very large gift shop and restaurant and it started pouring!!! Thank you mother nature for giving us a break on the cruise.

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