Fairbanks Ak Real Estate News & Info

Hope Alaska: A Jewel in Alaska's Recreational Crown
                    Camping & Outdoor Recreation

Literally at the end of the road on the beautiful southern shore of Turnagain Arm lies Hope, Alaska.  Founded in the late 1890's after gold was discovered on nearby Resurrection Creek, Hope is a charming window to the past and a favorite playground for Alaskans.

There are no WalMart's, no 7-11's and no Golden Arches.  What they do have an abundance of, however, is natural beauty. The 17 mile Hope Highway winds through towering spruce and stands of birch and aspen giving visitors spectacular views of the Chugach Mountains and the blueish gray waters of Turnagain Arm.

Pull-outs are plentiful and believe me you'll want to stop at every one.  It took us more than an hour and a half to make the drive to Hope from the Seward Highway cutoff. 

Although a large portion of the nearby community of Sunrise was destroyed by the 1964 Good Friday earthquake, several buildings original to Hope City remain.  Built in 1902, the Social Hall remains the heart of the community.  The first day we arrived a town potluck was in full swing with locals and visitors alike joining in the festivities.  The original 1938 school house is now the town museum and should be one of your first stops.

Where to stay

No hotels means you're probably staying in an RV or tent.  A small campground (parking lot) can be found at the end of Main Street.  For those looking for full hookups this is your only option.  If you're in a tent or don't need hookups, Porcupine State Campground can be found a mile past Hope proper.  While Porcupine is a primitive campground (i.e. no hookups) it is a breathtaking slice of paradise.  Sites 1 through 11 offer unobstructed views of Turnagain Arm.  Porcupine is even big rig friendly with most spaces able to accommodate up to a 40' coach and several allowing room for a 45' coach plus your toad. Site #2 is our favorite (140' pull through with amazing views) Advance reservations are highly recommended as it fills up fast in the summer.

What to see and do

Fishing:  The Hope Pink Salmon Derby runs from mid July to Mid August. Sixmile and Resurrection creeks are both great spots for trying your hand at landing pink, silver and chum salmon.  

Hiking/Mountain Biking:  Gull Rock and Hope Point trails both begin at Porcupine Campground.  Gull Rock is a relatively easy 5 mile trail that follows Turnagain Arm.  Hope Point, at 2.5 miles, is a serious workout. It's been said you'll need to be part mountain goat to make it to the top of Mt. Hope (3,900') and I wholeheartedly agree with that.  For those looking for a multiple day hike, Resurrection Creek Trail is a 38 mile hike through forested hills and alpine meadows over the mountain to Cooper Landing on the Sterling Highway. 

Whitewater Rafting:  Billed as one of the best whitewater rafting trips in the North America, NOVA River Runners offers 3 hour Class IV and a 4.5 hour Class V rafting trips. There are three steep canyons with narrow routes, steep drops, beautiful pools, and hang-onto-your-shorts rapids all in a gorgeous semi-rain forest.  Operating under a permit from the US Forest Service, NOVA has been running these rapids for more than 25 years. 

Gold Mining:  It put Hope on the map, and as they say, there's gold in them thar hills. Records indicate that between the late 1880's and 1906 more than $1,000,000 in gold was mined from the area.  Bring your gold pans or suction dredges (up to 4" with a permit from AK Fish & Game) and try your hand at mining.

Wildlife Viewing: In the few days we were there this year, we saw a handful of moose, several black bears, fox, ptarmigan and loads of ground squirrels.  Just a reminder:  Moose look slow and dumb, but they are agile and can run faster than you can.  Porcupine Campground has been home to several black bears who are not the least bit afraid of you.  Please use caution.

Photography: Granted, I consider all of Alaska a photographers paradise but it's hard to take a bad picture here (and yet thanks to a sensor that needed cleaning I managed to do just that). 

Hope Alaska in Photo's

Downtown Hope, Alaska

Views of Turnagain Arm from Porcupine Campground

Discovery Cafe & Turnagain Arm @ Low Tide

The next time you're looking for a gorgeous area to explore or just somwhere peaceful to rejuvenate mind, body and soul, consider a trip to Hope, Alaska.  It's certainly on our 'favorite places' list. 

Fairbanks, Alaska - The city that almost wasn't

The late fall sun offered little warmth to the riverboat passengers standing on the well worn wooden decks. For most, there was little to do on the ardous journey up the Yukon and Tanana Rivers except watch the river slowly roll by.  That the landscape was changing from the verdant greens of summer to the brilliant golds of fall was a fact lost on precious few on board.  With an abundance of caution, Captain Charles Adams navigated the ship up the muddy Tanana River toward a destination some were sure they would never reach.

For one passenger in particular, expectations and indeed frustrations were high.  A sizable fortune had been gambled on a dream almost as big as the territory of Alaska. Fueled by gold fever, and despite several failed attempts to reach his destination, 37 year old Elbridge Truman (E.T.) Barnette was not going to be easily discouraged.  That mettle would come to serve him well in the coming years. 

Then, as now, the Tanana River was a fickle mistress.  With an ever changing channel, even experienced skippers found it difficult to navigate.  Deckhands would have been sounding the river so as to help the Captain keep the low riding ship from running aground.  Around midday the captain of the 150' steamer Lavelle Young announced that the water had become too shallow for the heavy laden vessel to continue.

This was not welcome news as Barnette was still hundreds of miles from his intended destination of Tanacross.  Barnette convinced the skeptical Captain to turn back and try navigating the Chena River in hopes of bypassing the shallow rapids of the Tanana.  Barnette was optimistic as the Lavelle Young labored up the Chena River approximately 20 miles until Captain Adams realized the shallow water would make continuing impossible.

Barnette was undeterred.  He instructed the Captain to take him back to the confluence of the Chena and Tanana Rivers. From there he surmised he could continue his journey by a shallow-draft barge when the river ice melted the following May.  Captain Adams was unwilling to risk grounding the loaded ship going downriver.  Doing so would have made dislodging the ship against the current a herculean task.

Despite protests from Barnette and his sobbing wife, the Captain reminded him their contract stated Barnette, his wife, crew and 130 tons of supplies were to be unloaded at the farthest point the Lavelle Young could reach... and they were there.

At 4PM on August 26, 1901, on a heavily wooded cut bank of a narrow river deep in Alaska's Interior, Fairbanks was born. 

Barnette's dream of continuing to Tanacross was permanently shelved the following summer when Felix Pedro discovered gold on a small unnamed creek just 13 miles north of Barnette's trading post. In 1903, US District Judge James Wickersham moved his judicial seat to Fairbanks from Eagle, further cementing the future of the fledgling community.

Few would have imagined that Barnette's Landing would eventually grow into one of the largest cities in Alaska.

Winter Preparedness for your Fairbanks Alaska home - A fall homeowners checklist

Although it's been a glorious fall, that lovely white stuff will soon start falling.  If you're like me, you've been out enjoying the great weather and not paying all that much attention to your winter preparedness to-do list.  I finished the last of my list today and thought I would share what I do to get us ready for the long winter.

Have a licensed technician clean and service your boiler or furnace.  This should be done once a year and now is a great time as the tech will need to take the system offline for a couple of hours. Doing it at -40 can leave you with a cold house. An added benefit is you'll ensure your boiler is operating at peak efficiency.

Hire a chimney sweep (or buy a brush) and clean your boiler/wood-stove/fireplace chimney.  I have our boiler stack cleaned once a year.  If you're burning wood as a source of heat, make sure to only burn seasoned wood to reduce the amount of creosote building in the stack. No one wants a chimney fire in the dead of winter (or ever).

Change your smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector batteries.  Many homes have hardwired systems, but will have a battery backup. This is a great time to vacuum each detector to eliminate any dust bunnies or dirt that might interfere with the operation.  And, while you're at it, review (or create) an emergency escape plan.

Clean out your septic tank.  Admittedly, this is one job I leave to the professionals. I have ours pumped every year even though we could probably get by with doing it every other year.  Regular cleaning will also prolong the life of your system.

If so equipped, check and clean the filter on your Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) unit.  Don't forget to check the exhaust and intake vents to make sure no little critters have moved in.

Clean out your gutters and downspouts. You would be surprised to see how much stuff can accumulate in one season.  You'll thank yourself in the spring the water is running down, and not over, your gutters.

Turn off all exterior spigots, blow (or drain) the lines and cover them with a frost proof cover.  Roll up your garden hoses and store them with your sprinklers and hose nozzles.

Cover and/or store patio furniture, grill and outdoor accessories.  Unless, of course, you plan to have a cookout at -20. 

Pick up, clean, sharpen and store your garden and other tools.  I'm kind of an 'a place for everything and everything in its place' guy, but this will also keep you from tripping over the rake that got left out or running over an extension cord with the snowblower.  Trust me, that just makes a mess.  I usually sharpen the blades on the Deere as well as give it a wash and wax before putting it up for the winter. Don't forget to put some fuel stabilizer in as well.

Prepare for snow removal.   Fire up the snowblower and make sure it's running and the blades engage.  Don't forget to put your snow shovel(s) and ice spade where you can easily find them.

Weatherproof your home.  Now is the time to seal up those areas around entry and garage doors and windows, add additional insulation in your attic and crawlspace.  Homes with less efficient windows would benefit from a window film application.

If you park your vehicles outside, consider investing in a timer for your car(s). According to Golden Valley Electric, it costs between $30 - $75 per car to leave a car plugged in overnight.  A well maintained car should only need 2-5 hours of heating to start (more for diesels).  Over a 6-7 month winter the savings could easily be in the hundreds of dollars.  If it's not already, don't forget to winterize your vehicle as well.

That's pretty much it.  Preparing your Fairbanks home for the rigors of old man winter will help ensure you have a comfortable, hopefully trouble-free winter.

Lakewood Subdivision - Homes w/ Airstrip Access Fairbanks Alaska

With barely 14,000 miles of road in a state covering 570,000 square miles (more than twice the size of Texas), it's easy to see why Alaskans rely so heavily on air travel.  And, with 1 in 53 Alaskans holding a pilots license, we do a lot of flying.  While many folks opt to keep their planes at Fairbanks International or Metro Field, there's something to be said for stepping out your front door and into your plane.  Whether for convenience or security it's a feature most neighborhoods don't offer.

Lakewood Subdivision in North Pole is an aviation friendly community. Comprised of 54 one-acre (+/-) home sites surrounding a 150' by 1,500' gravel and grass airstrip. At 1,500' the field is large enough for a super cub, 180 or 185 to get in and out of with little effort, if not fully loaded. As of this writing there are still a few undeveloped home sites available.  View the Lakewood Subdivision plat or follow the link for directions.

Most are single family homes, but there are a couple of multi-family properties.  Several have incorporated a large hanger into the home design while others simply keep their plane parked behind/beside the house, ready to go wheels up at a moments notice. As an added bonus the home sites on the eastern subdivision boundary border Chena Lakes Recreation Area.

Below are a few of the homes in Lakewood Subdivision.
Click the photo for an enlarged view.  

If you're a pilot (or aspiring pilot) looking for a place to call home, consider Lakewood Subdivision.  It's a short 15 minute drive to Fairbanks, Fort Wainwright or Eielson Air Force Base and minutes from the city of North Pole. Lakewood Subdivision - Homes for pilots and their families!

It's October and we don't have any snow on the ground to speak of.  Can you believe it?  Normally by this time we're covered by at least a thin blanket of snow.  Yesterday we took advantage of yet another gorgeous Autumn day in Alaska and drove down to Denali Park.  From Fairbanks, Denali is a short 115 mile drive down the Parks Highway.

With some good 'ol beach music streaming from the ipod we headed down the road.  I doubt we passed more than a dozen cars; all the blue hairs have left for warmer climates. Just south of Healy we spotted a RV that somehow managed to end up on its roof.  A rough landing no doubt.  A recent two-foot plus snowfall prompted the closure of the Park Road beyond Milepost 15 (Savage River).  But, there's wildlife galore to be seen in those 15 gorgeous miles.  On this trip we didn't see any bears, but we did see several moose, including a large herd at approximately 12 mile. 

The first moose we saw was a large healthy bull in his prime.  He soon locked horns with a smaller bull nearby who was hoping to get to know one of the cows in the big boys harem.  It didn't work.  We didn't get to see it but heard them fighting and a few minutes later the smaller bull was heading in the opposite direction.  For those who haven't seen or heard them fight, it's an unmistakable sound.  When in full rut and fighting with gusto, the sound of two bulls locking antlers sounds like a lightening strike.

The photo below was captured a few minutes later when the dominate bull and his harem wandered out onto a dry river bed. Click the photo to see a larger version.

Although most Park activities ended near the middle of September, Denai Park is open all year.  Cross country skiing, showshoeing, dog sledding and snowmachining are popular winter activities. For more information, contact the Winter Visitors Center @ 907-683-2294 (daily 9-4PM).