Ivory Jack's in Fairbanks Alaska
On a trip to Alaska in 1998, we spent an enjoyable evening with friends at Ivory Jack's, a bar located near Fairbanks Alaska. Our friends, Sarah and Mike, had lived in Alaska for many years, and we had come out to visit them and see their new home town!
After our long drive from Anchorage to Fairbanks, we were hungry, so off to dinner we all went. We drove north further another 15 minutes or so, to Ivory Jack's. It was a "roadside bar" out in the country, with solid wood construction and various sizes of chairs and tables. They did have satellite TV though!
We had a delicious dinner - Bob had a reindeer sandwich and I had the reindeer special. Quite good. We tried Alaska Amber Ale, too, also tasty.
We had a great series of discussions - Mike has a doctorate in northern cultures and had all sorts of insight to the nomadic herders and fishers up here, and what they're going through right now. The salmon fisheries, like everywhere else, have been destroyed by overfishing. Mike was going in a week for 2 months to Russia to figure out which of their Reindeer herding techniques are working. In the meantime, young natives don't want to learn about their boring elders - they watch 100 channels of cable and emulate the more intersting city people.
Sarah said, yes, you can throw a pan of water out the door in winter and have the drops freeze before they hit the ground. When they breathe, the breath condenses and falls to the ground as well. Ice fogs sit along the ground, thick enough to watch as you move your hand and body through them.
In Fairbanks, it snows in Oct, and that snow stays frozen and sanded on the ground until, after a few more snows in March (with none between), it starts to thaw. In between, dawn is at 10am, dusk 2pm, and you can't see lines on the road because of the snow/gravel. Note that, because it never melts, the snow isn't "slippery". It's gritty, like dirt!
Dogs and horses are scarce, as both are tasty "bear treats" and more likely to get you bad attention than help. Fairbanks is a cold, rugged town. And, out at the end of the US, the bar's TV showed Sosa hitting his 62nd run and the waitress took my VISA.
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