Tour Time: Modern Day Gold Mining

When they think of gold mining, almost everyone thinks of a miner along a wilderness stream with his goldpan. That does still happen, but even during the gold rush, the reality was usually much different than that. The gold rush hit Fairbanks in 1902 and there has been mining in the area since then. While there are still many small independent miners in Alaska, most of the gold is recovered by large scale industrial mining. In 2002 we toured the Fort Knox Gold Mine which is located 26 miles NE of Fairbanks. Below is one of the bars of gold that the mine produces.The mine is an open pit mine.

The gold-bearing rock is scooped out of the ground by large equipment.

It is dumped into trucks that carry a load of 150 tons.

The trucks carry the rock into the mill and dump the rock to be crushed. Large rock crushers break the rock down into fine pieces.

This is a washing solution that is used to separate the gold.

The gold is melted and poured into bars. The first bar at Fort Knox was poured in December of 1996. The mine produces about 333,000 ounces of gold annually. It employs around 400 people in two shifts, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The early miners left behind abandoned machinery and huge areas of rock piles. When Fort Knox is done mining in the area they will be required to do land reclamation. They did fish studies in the area prior to mine construction and they have built a fresh water reservoir that will eventually support fish and game and be operated as a recreational area.

Tour Time: Bees Love Onions

I found one of the beds at the Georgeson Botanical Garden very interesting. There was a lovely patch of blooming Chives and blooming Altai Onions. Many of the plants growing in the garden have been collected on trips to China, Russia and Iceland. The Altai Onion grows wild on dry rocks in the mountains of Siberia and Mongolia. They were about 3 to 4 feet tall.I have grown Chives in pots for years to use in my kitchen. I did not know until this year that they will overwinter in Fairbanks. So now I am working on plans for a raised bed near the kitchen.

I found the Altai Onions particularly interesting. They were covered with bees. From what I've read the bees are very fond of this plant, and after seeing the number of bees on them I would say that is very true.

Fortunately I had my 70-300 mm lens along so I didn't have to get too close to the bees for a closeup. They were much too interested in the onion blossoms to pay any attention to me anyway.

There were bees throughout the garden, but by far the greatest concentration was on these onions. I wonder what onion honey would taste like.

Even without the bees the Altai Onions were beautiful and made for an interesting photographic study.

Tour Time: Irises at the Garden

Last week we walked among the wildflowers on the hillside. At that time, everywhere you went you saw wild roses and bluebells. Now as the season progresses the blooms on the roses are forming into rosehips and the bluebells are almost done. Now the flower you see most along the roadway is the wild iris. Their bloom lasts only a fleeting few weeks. Throughout the Georgeson Botanical Garden you can see many drifts of irises blooming. The wild iris is just one of the many plants in the garden that are ideally suited to the climate in Interior Alaska. Many of the plants in the garden have been collected on trips to China, Russia, and Iceland, and are being tested here. The wild iris is not as showy as the domesticated bearded iris, but they have beauty in their simplicity.

They bloom well in wetlands and sunny meadows.

White is one variation of the irises. Their color can vary from deep velvety purple to pale lavender or rose and occasionally white. Plants from seed will be a mixture of colors. The only reliable method of getting a specfic color is by division of the plant. Several years ago I bought some of the white irises at the spring sale at the garden, and I have enjoyed them in my garden since then. I also purchased some of the blue iris. When we moved, the irises were among the plants I transplanted in my new garden. They are blooming happily right now, and new seedlings are coming up from last year's crop. They take a few years before they bloom, but they multiply and grow vigorously.

These are one of my favorite flowers, even though their bloom time is a few short weeks.

The wild iris is beautiful in large drifts of color, and after their bloom provide a nice green background for later blooming flowers. Fireweed is beginning to bloom and will soon be the dominant wildflower.

Tour Time: Georgeson Botanical Garden

Today we're heading up to the University of Alaska campus to visit the Georgeson Botanical Garden. In 1905 an agricultural experiment station was established to determine which crops would grow best in the harsh climate of Interior Alaska. In the 1970s a demonstration flower garden was added. In 1991, the demonstration flower garden became the Georgeson Botanical Garden. The garden is dedicated to the study and conservation of northern plant species that can survive the Interior Alaska winter. It is being expanded to function as a center for education and research in subarctic horticulture. Each year more than 30,000 visitors explore the garden.

This sculpture is titled "Inflorescence" and was created in 1992 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the University of Alaska.

Every year new varieties of plants are tested. Here you see the section devoted to vegetables.

There is a pond and wetlands section featuring many native plants that grow in Alaska. Right now the wild iris are blooming and are a lovely sight.

One of the favorite wildflowers here is the Common Fireweed. It has just started blooming and will bloom throughout the rest of the summer.

Many benches and rest areas are provided throughout the garden to allow for quiet contemplation. In the background you see some of the test fields of the Agriculture Department of the University of Alaska. Plant varieties are well labeled. I like to visit the garden to see what they are growing and get ideas for my own garden. Each spring there is a plant sale at the garden and I have gotten many of the plants that I grow from the sale.

The garden offers tourists a glimpse at many of the hardy flowers and vegetables that are up to the challenge of thriving in our harsh climate. Not only must they be up to the cold winters, but our long days of intense sunlight are also a challenge for many plants. Many vegetable varieties will bolt due to the long sunlight hours so care has to be taken in choosing a variety that is bolt resistant. Annual flowers do extremely well here and around town you will see lots of flower boxes and hanging baskets. The season is short, but things grow very fast, and gardeners work hard to squeeze every last bit of time out of their gardens.

We'll look closer at some of the collections over the next few days.

Tattered Butterfly

This butterfly visited my flowers today and spent quite a lot of time sampling various ones. After awhile I noticed that the wings were quite beat up. It didn't seem to affect his flying ability at all. If I hadn't been photographing him, I'm sure I wouldn't have noticed the damage.

As he flitted from flower to flower, all you really saw was his beauty.

Tour Time: Midnight Sun Festival

Sunday evening we went to the Midnight Sun Festival, a street fair that was held downtown from noon to midnight. The streets are closed off and the fair covers about nine city blocks. There were more than 150 booths, 3 stages with live entertainment, pony rides, a 3-on-3 basketball competition, and many other activities. Below are some scenes from the fair.

This weekend there were numerous Midnight Sun activities around town to choose from. There was the Midnight Sun Run on Saturday night that began at 10:00 p.m. This race is in its 27th year and attracts runners from all over the country. This year about 3600 people participated. Along with the serious racers, there are many people who walk the course and many who wear costumes. This year there were storm troopers, a mermaid, a runaway bride (male) and lots of other fun costumes. There was the Yukon 800 riverboat race which is a high speed race for 800 miles on the Chena, Tanana, and Yukon Rivers. There was the Midnight Sun Baseball Classic which has been played in some form since 1906. It begins at 10:30 p.m. and is played without artificial lights. There was a Harley Motorcycle Rally. There was the Great Alaskan Foodstock, which is a fundraiser for the Rescue Mission and featured 32 bands. There was a car show on Sunday. There was Dragonfly Days and Summer Solstice Walk at Creamer’s Field on Saturday. There was an Archery Shoot. There were many other music and athletic events. There was a bit of rain, but everything still went on as scheduled.

Squirrel Training

I have had a squirrel visiting my yard since January. I have posted several times about their visits, and you can check those out under Squirrels in my Label section on the sidebar. For a while in the spring I saw two squirrels at a time, but mostly it has been one. During the winter the visits were to my deck to clean up the sunflower seeds under my bird feeders. Access to the deck was via a tunnel under the snow up to the deck. This spring I took the feeders down, and I dumped all the mess of seeds at the edge of the trees in my side yard. The squirrel that has been visiting has been very clear that those seeds belong to him--or her, whichever it may be. This evening as I was sitting on the deck I saw two squirrels, so I went and grabbed my camera. As soon as I came near, they scampered up into the trees. It looks very much to me like it is mama squirrel and her young one that she is teaching the ropes to. The bigger of the two squirrels went up quicker and higher in the tree, and then turned around as if to say, "Climb higher!"

The smaller of the two sat for quite a while perched in this one spot on the way up the tree.

"Hurry up!"

Finally they both made it out on a branch. The smaller squirrel cuddled up to the bigger one. The color isn't very good on this picture as it is an overcast evening and I had to do an Auto Smart Fix in Elements.

After I got my photos I went back to the deck and they continued scolding for a while, but then came back down to the ground to eat more seeds. So what do you think, mom and baby being taught to forage? Remember you can click on the photos to enlarge them.

Father's Day Car Show

Today was the longest day of the year. We had 21 hours and 50 minutes between sunrise and sunset, and the sun just dips below the horizon so it does not get dark. This morning started out with rain, but it cleared up around noon and there were only a few occasional showers the rest of the day. There were lots of activities to choose from this weekend. Today we went to a car show, a Father's Day BBQ at my stepdaughter's house, and the street fair. Below are some of the sights at the car show, which was a very informal show and shine affair.

Marty is checking out the interior of this pickup for ideas on the old pickup sitting in our yard. Yesterday he went to an auction and picked up a few items to help in his project.

One of the cars from the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum was at the show.

There was a wide variety of vehicles, a diverse group of viewers, and a lot of car talk.

Tour Time: Farmers Market

Saturdays during the summer is my day to go to the Farmers Market and I usually go with one or both of my daughters and my baby granddaughter. Today was a beautiful sunny morning, although it turned to thundershowers in the late afternoon, pretty typical weather for this time of year. The market was started in the mid 70s and has grown quite a bit since then. There are lots of products available, including fresh baked goods, honey, meats and sausage, pottery, artwork, jewelry, clothing, bedding plants, trees and shrubs, flowers, and of course fresh produce in season. There are also a large variety of food vendors.

All items have to have been made or grown in Alaska.

It is a great place to visit with friends because you almost always run into people you know. It is a favorite for tourists also, and a great place to pick up gifts to take back home that you are assured are Made in Alaska.

Fresh produce is finally available, and today there was a supply of the one I have been waiting for, tomatoes. The locally grown tomatoes are absolutely the best! Throughout the winter the grocery stores have pale imitations, and I get to the point that I don't buy tomotoes. I am sure it is an entirely different fruit that they sell here in the winter and it is just disguised as a tomato. The locally grown tomatoes are yummy! This was my haul today. Mmmmm! Along with the leaf lettuce, green onions, and radishes that I got today, I am all set for the next few days.