Another accident!

As I start writing this post, it is 9:30 in the morning. It is raining like crazy. We are still in bed reading the news and other stuff on our laptops and sipping our coffee and juice.  Life is good! 

We had planned on taking the Discovery Paddle Boat trip today, but have postponed it.  We have done at Glacier boat trip, a raft float, and a jet boat ride. I heard the Discovery was a good tour, but I really don't mind missing it.

One of my "must see" things in Fairbanks was the Museum of the North on the University of Alaska Campus. We went there Saturday, and enjoyed it very much. 

There were many good educational dioramas and an excellent Native Arts and artifacts gallery. 

To give it scale, Craig stood next to this huge jade boulder which has been split and polished.










Raven (the creator of the world) is the subject of this petroglyph rock.   

Native Alaskans make many masks.  It struck us how facial masks were shared with ancient greeks, Africans, and so many other cultures around the world.

If this image looks a little funny, it's because these masks were in a transparent cabinet that let other artworks intrude on our image.  So we resorted to Photoshop to blur the background artworks away.





Hot water heater update: we called an RV service here in Fairbanks, but the soonest they can check it out is almost two weeks from now. We made an appointment for when we will be coming back through on our way home. 

But it may not need to be fixed. Craig turned it off, let everything cool down, and turned it back on. It hasn't leaked, and we have hot water. The water dump may have been a pressure release from the check valve. Per a suggestion on the Alfa Yahoo group, he has drained the tank, rinsed it, and refilled it this afternoon. Hopefully it might last another ten years.  🙂

Another accident: unfortunately, an incoming RV hit our parked Jeep and crunched the right rear fender. Ouch! 

You see, River's View RV park has several different types of spaces for several different prices. When reserving space, the size and type of rig is always discussed. Since we were only going to be here for three days, we didn't need a sewer hook up, we can use the in-park dump station on the way out to drain our tanks, so "water and electric" is fine.  Our site was a little tight, but because it has trees on both sides it feels very private. But the parking for the Jeep was also tight and we put it at the road's edge in front of the Alfa.

We were just getting ready to cook out when Craig commented on a large rig slowly making its way down our park road. As it made its turn into the pull-thru on the other side of the road, we heard a crunching noise. We both went out to see what had happened. His rear end had swung out and hit our Jeep. The driver's wife was in a car behind him so she saw the impact as well. 

We were understanding, he was apologetic, and his insurance company was contacted by phone. We have a claim number from State Farm and are comfortable that it will be covered. Getting the Jeep fixed is just another bothersome task ahead. 

Monday morning we will be heading out to Chena Hot Springs for a few days. It is located about sixty miles northeast of Fairbanks on a spur road. They have designated RV spots, but none have hook ups of any kind, so we will be dry camping. I am looking forward to the hot springs and the ice palace located there.

Check back for news of the hot springs!