Jet Boat on the Nenana River

Yesterday we were able to take a trip on the Nenana River by jet boat. This is the river where most of the whitewater rafting happens therefore to boat on the river the engine has to be super powerful. The average depth of the river is 24 inches or 600mm but in many parts it is only 6 inches deep and the jet propulsion enables tourists like us to experience the real back country of Alaska from the river. After the trip we had some hot chocolate and Trapper Joe's Fry Bread which tasted a bit like doughnuts ( Alice got the recipe ). Trapper Joe has lived in Alaska for 25 years and had some amazing stories about how they still make a living in the off season from trapping the likes of wolves, wolverine, fox and some of the smaller species. Business seems to be booming as there is a lot of demand for these skins in China at the moment.

We tried a bit of panning for gold and Alice actually got some which she has in a small plastic bag. I on the other hand was to clumsy and found none but as Trapper joe said I at least experienced gold panning. To finish off the trip we saw a few reindeers who were not helping Santa at this time of the year but were getting ready for Christmas....

Later in the day we hiked the Oxbow trail near our hotel. It took us right down to the river bed.

We are loving Alaska.......