Fairbanks...My New Home.

Hello all =)

I thought I would finally post a few pictures of Fairbanks so everyone in the "Lower 48" can get an idea of what it is like here. When I went out shooting, it was another rainy overcast day, so the colors are not the greatest...but you should be able to get an idea of what the city is like.

Well, here it is - Fairbanks, AK:



Ok, maybe the intersection of University and Airport Way is not the best representation of the town...but it is a start. There are pretty much four main roads in Fairbanks that surround the town...giving it the nickname "Squarebanks." Airport Way cuts Fairbanks in half horizontally (the road pretty much runs east-west). If you go one direction, you leave town via Steese Hwy (actually it is Steese if you go North and the Richardson Hwy if you go south) the other direction on Airport way take you to, yup, you guessed it - the airport.

The Chena River also runs through the town. The Chena provides tourist attractions like river boat tours, float plane rides, and it also lends its name to about 47 small roads around town:


The picture of The Chena River was taken about 200yds from Downtown Fairbanks...which looks looks kinda this:





(Apparently, you need to be very careful in Alaska. They do not impound cars...they impound people!)

Here is a picture taken from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks parking lot. It is pretty high ground overlooking the whole city:


Speaking of UAF, there is a cool museum there where John Luther Adams has an instalation. For UWRF readers, Mr, Adams was the commissioned composer in 2006. He lives here in Fairbanks. I wrote him an e-mail and he remembers me =) We are planning on going out for coffee in a few months, after his schedule dies down a little bit. Here is the museum:


And finally, the hotels! Stephen stayed in the nice one. I believe it is called the Regency Hotel:


I stayed in the loverly College Inn:


And now I am in the Wedgewood Resort:



There is a lot more to see here in Fairbanks, but this is a start. Like I have said many times before...the people here are VERY nice. For example, last night a fellow teacher invited me over for fried Halibut. YUMMY! It was a great night full of fish and Nintendo Wii with the kids. As I was leaving, they made sure I had some moose, caribou, halibut, and Alaskan cod to take home with me. Who hands out halibut, moose, caribou, and cod to their house guests? Fairbankians do...that's who! So today I went to Fred Meyer's to buy some beens and tomatoes so I could make myself a moose chili. I get home, start defrosting the moose, cutting up onions, and I realize I do not have a can opener. I guess the moose will have to wait until tomorrow night.



OH ONE MORE THING!!
I almost forgot. I bought my plane ticket today to Minneapolis! I will officially be in MN December 22nd through January 3rd. Mark your calenders everyone because I plan on visiting a LOT of people for hugs!

Have a great week!
~Mr. Lockwood.