Museum of the North

I did laundry this morning and I had quite a lot of clothes to do since it's been 10 days from the last time I did laundry. I also washed the beach towels that we used to protect the windshield & front of the Vue from dirt and rocks when we're towing it.

The laundry here at the campground has about a dozen washers and even more dryers and is very busy. There are over 170 campsites here and everyone seems to be trying to catch up on their washing. By the time I finished with my 8 loads of clothes & linens, I had spent $26.

After lunch we drove over to the University of Alaska campus to visit the Museum of the North. We paid $2 to park at the museum and $18 for 2 senior admission tickets.

From Museum of the North

The first thing we saw when we entered the Gallery of Alaska was Otto, a 8'9" tall brown bear.

From Museum of the North

We saw exhibits of some of the early animal inhabitants

From Museum of the North

including Blue Babe, a mummified steppe bison, who died 36,000 years ago near Fairbanks.

From Museum of the North

We also saw exhibits of the current animal inhabitants.

From Museum of the North

From Museum of the North

There were displays of tools used by men and women

From Museum of the North

From Museum of the North

and carvings made from tusks, antlers and teeth.

From Museum of the North

We saw examples of clothing and woven baskets

From Museum of the North

and this beaded collar.

From Museum of the North

Before leaving the museum we stopped at the Museum Cafe for some coffee and then bought postcards at the Museum Gift Shop.

We really enjoyed our visit today at the Museum of the North where we traveled from prehistoric times to today. We learned about the lives of the different Alaska Native cultures and the development of Alaska through time.

It dawned on us tonight that we still haven't taken any photos here at the campground! Tomorrow for sure we will take photos.