Sunday morning after breakfast, I decided to walk on the other side of the Chena River. I left with a backpack for a water bottle to keep hydrated. It was a beautiful day. The sun was bright, and the temperature was getting up in the seventies.
I saw a sign for the HooDoo Brewery and decided to go visit. The brewery is in an industrial area. I ordered a stout and took it outside to sit in the sun. There was a Thai food truck there, so I ordered lunch. Fried rice with chicken. I brought half of it back for the next day.
I started walking back and realized it was almost one. I increased my pace so I could get back to the fifth wheel to get the truck and leave for the riverboat.
There is a sternwheeler named the Discovery III Riverboat. It is a popular attraction, and it was such a beautiful day to be on the water. I have friends from Pennsylvania who said it was a great tour. They were right.
The boat leaves at two o’clock and since it is not far, I made it in plenty of time. There was a long line to board the boat. Discovery III has four decks. It was a beautiful day and extremely warm, mid-eighties.
The tour has a float plane demo and makes two stops, one at the Susan Butcher Dog park for a demonstration of the dogs and another at the Athabascan Village. Several of the workers on the boat are in high school or college and they share their native heritage with us at the village.
The float plane takes off right next to the boat, circles around, then lands and takes off again.
The stop by the Susan Butcher dog park was interesting. One of the trainers is holding a small puppy. They explain how the dogs start training before they open their eyes. At a very young age, they teach them to jump over logs that are taller than them. The trainers help them over the logs to build confidence and to teach them that they will never ask them to do anything they are unable to do.
The bigger dogs have been barking since we got here because they want to run. They are hooked to an ATV without a motor and when given the command, away they go. They go around the back of the dog park and then come back into view to stop right in front of us.
The boat goes to the end of the Chena River where the river turns and runs into the Tanana River then stops at the village. The village has several spots for demonstrations to learn about Native Culture and a spot to meet some of the dogs and learn about dog sled racing.
The village has three distinct areas. One is a typical fish camp complete with tents, dog houses, a large hanging rack and a large smoke house. There was a demonstration of how the fish are cleaned, cut and smoked. Another was the typical cabin and cache. The cache is a small building up on stilts used to store food and furs so the animals couldn’t get into them.
The other area was an explanation of how the native clothing was made and the meaning of the different patterns and materials. There was also a life size mount of two bull moose whose antlers became locked during a fight.
Soon it was time to get back on the Discovery III for the short ride back to the dock. A beautiful afternoon on the river.
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