My Feet Dream of Wandering: A weekend for the dogs: A drive to Nenana, Alaska with my dog followed by live music at the Howling Dog bar in Fox

My family and I celebrated summer solstice by giving my dog, Tara, something to wag her tail about: A drive to Nenana, Alaska, place of the legendary annual Nenana Ice Classic, stopping at all the scenic pull outs along the way to let her frolic as much as an aged dog can!

She needs a bit of a boost nowadays since her hind legs give out on her but once she's in she's a happy camper!

The interior of Alaska can be a smokey place in the summer and this weekend in Fairbanks was no exception. Driving by we saw the reason for all the smoke, yet another forest fire.

This couch has been on the side of the road ever since I can remember. I would love to know who put it there. It's been moved around a bit and redecorated over the years. It's always been a fun thing to keep a look out for on your way to Nenana.

Yes, people in Alaska are weird.

At last, after about an hour's journey, we arrived in Nenana. The scenic drive to Nenana has been a Beraza/Jones family tradition since I was a little one. Back in the day this gas station was a small, wooden A-Frame and it was the only place in the interior where my mom could get her favorite candy bar, the Zagnut. Now it's a sizable general store.

Nenana is famous for an annual event called the Nenana Ice Classic. Early every spring a tripod is placed on the frozen Nenana river. The tripod is wired so when the ice breaks the tripod tips over, sending signals to a sensor. Residents purchase tickets to place bets on when exactly the ice will break and whoever wins gets what is generally a rather sizable sum, especially if there is only one winner. If people correctly guess the exact same time the money is evenly divided. If no one guesses the correct time exactly the closest guess wins. Neither I nor any member of my family has ever won despite having entered for at least the past 20 years. Clearly this event is rigged.

This is a small replica of the tripod that is used.

On our drive out of town we spotted a few teenagers playing guitar and singing a fine tune. I love Alaska!

After a ride back into town and dinner at Silver Gulch, America's northern most brewery, I headed over to the Howling Dog Saloon to check out Foodstock, an annual event centering around live local bands with proceeds, in the form of $5 or 5 cans of food, going to the Fairbanks Rescue Mission.
Prepare yourself. You wouldn't want to bring your grandma here for a cup of tea, unless she rides a Harley, curses like a sailor, and smokes like a chimney.
The Howling Dog is a quintessentially Alaskan biker's bar.