July 17, 2018
Spent most of the day at the Information Center. This particular one is very unique in that they have State Park Information Desk and Local Information desk. They also have a type of interpretive museum and a First Nations section for information about history and cultural shows. There is quite a bit to do here.
In the later part of the afternoon, I headed over to the Pioneer Park. This was very unique where they have taken all the old buildings that were in the area and put them in this park.
The first site was an old railway car that was used by President Harding on his journey visiting various States and in pounding in the Golden Spike to commemorate the completion of the Alaskan railway.
They had plaques on each of the log buildings that give information about who lived in them. Presently, they are using these buildings as shops that you can walk through ... from photography to crafts.
They had an old train station and inside they had an old locomotive that was originally from the Yukon. Most of it is original and they operate it about 3 times a year. The engineer indicated that it takes a great deal of coal to get it going, but once going does not take much.
They have an old sternwheeler that is boarded up. The sad thing is that not only can you not get onto it to take photo's, but that it has deteriated to the point that they are planning on demolishing it. Apparently it is too costly to repair and unsafe to go onto. A shame to see another iconic item from such an interesting past disappear.
The Pioneer Park is free admittance and I must say there is a great deal to see and do. Certainly a worthwhile visit.