Went to Fairbanks in August. It was the end of a great train trip through Denali, where we had spent some time in the park hotel. We were basically staying in Fairbanks for a day before catching the flight home. I'd made a hotel reservation for the family on the internet, almost blind. My main need had been for a pool for the kids.

When we got there, it was dark (well, as dark as it gets then), and the taxi drove us out to a modern new hotel seemingly stuck in the middle of a patch of woods. It was a nice place, obviously constructed only recently, and we liked it. Next day the kids were getting restless. Went to the desk, and asked if there was anything of interest within walking distance. He grinned like a shark, and pointed out the window to a path through the trees with a little bridge over a creek off in the distance.

"Just go across that bridge," he said.

We did, broke through the trees, and found ourselves in a marvelous place called Alaskaland. A great time was had by all, including huge steak supper and train ride. Nothing on the reservation had given me the slightest hint that I was near this place, and before then, I had never heard of it. A wonderful mix of fun things for the kids and more varied historical displays than you could shake a moose at. I think it's called Pioneer Park nowadays.