The rain poured down throughout the night. There were some times when I thought the canvas roof of the hostel's tent cabin might not hold.
Not to change the subject BUT
The rain on the canvas roof reminded me of a story from about 30 years ago: My mom and I were visiting her aunt in Austria. We went to see a Shakespearian comedy. (The Taming of the Shrew, I think.) It was raining and the theater had a canvas roof. The first and second act were fine, performed well and enjoyed by the audience. The third act was a little hurried – the actors were rushing their lines as the thunder clapped and the rain fell harder. By the fourth and fifth act, they were improvising a LOT, deleting non-essential scenes and dialogue. Just as they were about to conclude the play, the canvas roof gave way, drenching the actors and audience alike. Everyone roared their applause and laughed at what was an unexpected dramatic conclusion to the night.
now back to Fairbanks, 2010
Our tent roof did hold up but I was awake most of the night. I tried to be productive by updating the blog and catching up on e-mail, etc. Finally I did get some sleep, but I was not ready to check out at 10:30 when Peggy came in to tidy up. I decided to pay for another day, wait for the weather to clear and set off for Coldfoot, Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay on Friday.
I’m now sure that the weather gods are screwing with me. This afternoon, the skies were mostly clear and any rain we did get was light. Ah, well. I needed a day off anyway...
I ran a few errands and rode around Fairbanks. It’s really not much different from every other American city. There’s a university, the usual assortment of fast food restaurants, strip malls, big box stores, etc. They even have the same supermarket chains as we have in San Diego. The bank signs declared it was 70 degrees and I saw many motorcycle riders in t-shirts, jeans and sunglasses. Most of them did not wear a helmet. I imagine they were amused or perplexed by a scooter rider in full gear.
I forgot to bring the camera on my little riding tour, too. So instead of scenic-ish pics of Fairbanks, here’s a few shots of the GoNorth hostel where I stayed the last two nights.
the office
the message center, foosball table and fully-equipped community kitchen
the central teepee and firepit
the ladies tent cabin, complete with a sturdy canvas roof
the covered bicycle storage and brand new covered motorcycle parking (that I had all to myself)
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