Alaska Cruise, Page 5

Cruise to Alaska
June 30 to July 10, 2000
Page 5, Ride the Discovery III

Sights along the Chena and Tanana Rivers from the Discovery III

Where the two rivers meet is called the Nuchalawoya in Athabascan, or the "wedding of the rivers." The effect of the mixing waters looks like cream in coffee and is caused by the heavily silted Tanana mixing with the clear, spring-fed Chena. The very fine silt is known as "rock flour." The Tanana River is the world's greatest glacial river and carries tons of glacial silt past this point daily as it flows to meet the Yukon River.

Home Sweet Home Hmmm, looks like a good site for a WalMart!
Modern and older houses along the Tanana. Note the smokehouse on stilts.

A traditional Athabascan Indian fish camp.
We're having fish for dinner AGAIN?????

Fish camps were the summer homes of the Interior Athabascan Indians. The machine in the river is a fish wheel which, turned by the current, scoops up salmon as they swim upstream. The fish are then cleaned, dried (notice the racks), smoked, and stored so that they can be used to feed both people and sled dogs during the long winter months. It was also here that the elders of the Athabascans worked with the younger generations and passed down their history and culture. The food storage huts were always up on stilts to keep them safe from the marauding bears.

Waddya mean 'Dixie' isn't an old Athabascan name?
A demonstration of cleaning fish was done by Dixie Alexander. (See more about Dixie on the next page.)

Susan Butcher's sled dogs.
Sled dog training demonstration

Do what I say or you're going to that big dog house in the sky!

The Trail Breaker Kennels along the banks of the Chena. This is the home of four time Iditarod champion Susan Butcher and the kennels and training yard of her champion sled dogs.

See Spike? Pullin' a sled ain't bad, except from back here, the view never changes!
Sled dogs
(Photo by Marianne)

Alaskan rednecks???
Sod roofs were common among the native Alaskans. They retained the heat from the fire on a cold day, and kept the house cooler on a hot day. (They also let the rain through!)