Fairbanks expects a dry climate, and since I arrived here exactly a week ago, I have been blessed with some very dry days. Today, the Fairbanks' population woke up to the pitter patter of raindrops. I thought perhaps after my morning shower, (pun intended!!) it would clear up, but my theory was wrong, and so I dressed for what would be an annoyingly consistently wet day. Despite the weather, I still made my trip down to the cafe and had what I thought were the best stack of pancakes since I arrived last Wednesday.
Billie's Hostel lies on the northern part of Westwood Way, and since I flew into Fairbanks, I haven't found the opportunity to explore the southern stretch. Trying to make the best out of the miserable day, I thought I would investigate. The road extends for a reasonable distance, with wooden huts-some two storey wooden apartments- and a school occupies the final portion of Westwood Way, opposite a photography shop. From there there is a woodland trail, and with time to spare, I went down it. The small woodland was clearly once part of the Boreal Forest that covered most of Fairbanks; you could tell just by looking at the vegetation. There they were, the typical spruce, the typical white birch, the typical fir. I must admit, the trail wasn't managed as the one I had walked yesterday; it was much narrower and occasionally, I had to duck under branches. Once again, tree roots uprooted through the humus, and the reason is most certainly attributed to permafrost.
At the end of the trail, was what locals call a slough. Hydrologists call these pond-like features 'sloughs'. They're alkaline, and support a variety of flora and fauna, although grasses were the only species living here. This slough's water volume is controlled by the local Chena river. When the Chena is full, some water overspills into areas such as this. Last night's (and today's) wet weather clearly affected the Chena's volume and turned this -what was, yesterday, a dry habitat- into a fully functional slough.
I headed into downtown in the early afternoon, and took full advantage of the 'Free Visitor Centre Documentaries'. What better way to get dry, than to learn while you're doing it?! The film I watched was called 'Aurora Explained', and basically enlightened me about the science of what I saw a couple of night's ago. Whilst the information was very good, it was an old video made in 1992, and camera footage of the aurora wasn't as clear as some I've seen (particularly that film I watched a few weeks ago, in Anchorage.) The calming music that accompanied footage of the aurora sent one man to sleep at the back of the theatre and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a state trooper come in and send him out. I was then very careful not to fall asleep myself, as you can imagine!
Billie's hostel, by the way, offers complimentary hot chocolate but it's all gone, and I hate to admit, largely because of my over indulgence these days! My quest for some more in Fairbanks, you would have thought, would have been easy. The CBD typically has these convenience stores at the end of streets; scattered here and there for the public and the visiting tourists. But not Fairbank's, and I returned to the hostel without the mix. Having said that, Chris -a friendly hosteller and medical school student- has bought some tonight, and we now have a supply. It might just last for the rest of this week!
My unsuccessful search for hot chocolate wasn't all that much of a fail. I didn't have the packet to take back to the hostel, but I did treat myself to a 'grande'. Believe me, it was quite large, but well worth the couple of dollars I put towards it.
I was quite looking forward to the late afternoon, today. A lecture - in fact, my first lecture - on permafrost. Specifically, it was about methane trapped by permafrost. Basically, and trust me this is a very simplified version, methane gas is trapped in taliks (unfrozen zone of the permafrost) and when they come into contact with water, in lakes for example, they form gas hydrates, which are then released into the atmosphere through bubbles. (For 'Permafrost-specialists' who might be reading this, I have left out the complicated terminology.) Dr Katey Walker Anthony gave a very informative talk about it, and I must admit, I have learned an awful much! She was asking for willing volunteers to go out 'in the field' as it were to study this face up, and my name is on the list! You never know!
I must just close this post with a little News Flash, on one of the hosteller's latest projects. Joe is building a tipi outside in the garden, and he hopes to move in, on Sunday. I must say I have trepidations about how he is going to survive the winter in it, but he assures us that it is going to work out brilliantly. Here it is, with work very much in progress!
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