Gold Dredge Number 8 – Fairbanks, Alaska

I’ve been telling my wife for ages that I want to go panning for gold somewhere up in the Pacific Northwest and it looks like I found just the place. Down in the Goldstream Valley back in 1928, old Number 8 dredged 7.5 million ounces of gold before it was shut down in the 1950s. Holland America Line bought the dredge in 1996, slapped some paint on it (well maybe more than paint; the total renovation cost $700,000) and opened it to the public. If your fingers are just itching at the thought of all that gold you’re going to find, bring along $29.50 and along with all that gold, you’ll also get a “Miner’s Buffet” and a tour of the operations. Check out Number 8’s website at http://www.golddredgeno8.com/