September 9, 2016

Our last day before head home. We had a full day of touring ahead of us. We started at the famous oil pipe line. We then got onto a small train to take us panning for gold!

It was more difficult than i thought, but it was fun! We all got to keep our small specks of gold. After touring the area and eating free cookies, we got back on the train to head back to the bus. 

Next up a river cruise on the Chena River. 

This was so relaxing. There was three decks, all with great views. We chose to sit up top. There were multiple stops on the down and back cruise. Our first stop was to see the late Susan Butcher’s sled dog camp. Butcher was the second woman to win the Iditarod and the second racer to won’t four times. She passed of leukemia way too soon.

Her husband and children run the sled dog camp now. We watched them go on a run and then they got to play in the water!

We then went a traditional native village. We were able to get off the boat to walk around, step inside homes and see how the natives lived.

Right before we got back to ghe docks we finally saw a bald eagle up close. It had caught some lunch and lounged in a tree while we took pictures. I would have thought we would have seen so many more, but this was perfect.(feature image)

I couldn’t believe how fast the past week and a half went. We had an amazing time and every place far exceeded our expectations. It felt like a different world of beauty and we can’t wait to get back!