Fairbanks

How does the old adage go—it’s not where you’re going, but how you get there? Well, this wasn’t more poignantly demonstrated than on a recent visit to Alaska Tails of the Trail with Mary Shields. I got lost in her stories as she took me down the trails of her Alaska journey. How lucky we are that she parked her sled in Fairbanks, Alaska.

The day started with a scenic 30-minute drive from downtown Fairbanks through boreal forest to the Goldstream Valley. With the sun streaming through wispy clouds, the lush valley was filled with light and the temperature high. Winding down Jones Road north towards the hills, I was overwhelmed with anticipation. Huskies! I’ll admit it, I had puppy on the brain. Not just any puppies—Alaska mushing puppies. I pulled into the driveway and Mary was there to greet my arrival.

She guided me towards the garden fence and offered up a choice of mosquito spray in preparation for our hour outside. Proceeding to the enclosed (to keep the moose from noshing on the veggies) garden we toured her raised beds bursting with color and variety—herbs and new perennials in this box, cabbages and other veggies in that. Slowly turning 360 degrees in the round garden, Mary’s lilting voice identified the pops of color with ease.

Making sure to close the gate behind us, we left the garden and headed toward the kennel. Well-trained and obedient to Mary’s calls, the huskies hopped atop their houses for hugs and kisses. They nuzzled right in for rubs behind the ears and strokes along their backs. What amazing creatures! After greeting each at their house, I was guided to an outside-the-fence platform. Mary let the dogs off their chains and I got to watch the magic of them playing and interacting with one another. Mary sat atop one of the houses and told me about the training, feeding, breeding and upkeep required for these magnificent athletes. When playtime was over, each chose a different house and Mary treated them for their good behavior.

Moving across the well-kept lawn from the kennel to Mary’s home I gazed up at the cabin roof. Before going through the doorway I asked Mary about her roof. “That’s a sod roof—with fireweed and raspberries. I use a ladder to pick the raspberries!” Inside the house, Mary had prepared fresh baked goods, hot coffee and iced limeade—treats provided to every visitor! The interior of the house was just as quintessential Alaskan, as the exterior. The woodwork was incredible. I was instantly at ease as Mary led me through the kitchen to a large round table around which we sat for the second hour of the tour. And here’s where the stories gave me chills—coming to Alaska and living in an abandoned cabin with Denali as a backdrop, running the Ididarod, taking springtime trips to a remote cabin to write books and “get away from it all,” living in the sub-arctic with ingenuity and passion. Her love of this country, this Interior Alaska country, is not doubted and her love of sharing it with others was on full display.

Mary’s tales are genuine and authentic. Her graceful and unassuming manner draws the listener in. Her stories are those all-too-often found only in books. Her life is real and I’m glad one of my trails led to Mary’s door.

-Elisabeth Dabney