A Day on the MACS Transit in Fairbanks ~Alaska Trip Day 19

In one of our many tour books from the visitor centers, I read about the public transit buses that traverse Fairbanks and the area. We purchased day passes from the driver near the Wal-Mart bus stop and away we rode. (Fahrah got the senior discount, so they paid $0.)

Our first stop on the blue route was Creamers Field, an old cow dairy, now refuge to hundreds of migratory birds. So many miles from home, we saw and heard Sandhill Cranes overhead in formation, though much nearer than they fly above us in Kansas. Most of us enjoyed a leisurely stroll in the birch woods on a wooden boardwalk. (Caroline was distressed after realizing her $40 trip money had disappeared from her pocket while she rode the bus and Annie decided she did not want to walk anymore, so she took Meg and turned around before the interesting part of the trail.)

strange, cloudy, orange, stagnant water made me think of Yellowstone & it's unique colors in the ground

Next stop: University of Alaska Museum of the North. We ate a snack lunch outside, checked it out, and decided we'd all enjoy the bus ride, people watching, and outdoor sights rather than the laborious reading in a museum, though it is highly recommended.

We did make one last stop at the Botanical Gardens where there were promised reindeer babies to see. It was a wild sort of gardens that covered a sizable amount of land, so it was understandable to see some parts overgrown. There were many, many berries the girls wanted to sample, but were unrecognizable to me. We finally found a worker pulling weeds who said they were mostly choke cherries and crab apples and they were welcome to taste them!

a nifty living tunnel

the first-time mama reindeer from an experimental farm across the road

4-7 month old babies

another bus stop

Back at Wal-Mart, look who showed up!

Since we had already eaten, Jackie fixed and brought over their supper while Don chatted and chatted and entertained us all. They gave us great tips and recommendations about the area of Alaska we are headed to.

our 3 houses on wheels parked for the night