Heading North- Council and Lunch at the Ophir 15 Dredge

Five days prior, we had left Wasilla in our Cessna 185 and stopped in Delta Junction and Fairbanks. Now, we were heading West for Council, a small community 72 miles East of Nome. We were excited to visit our friends the Stangs, who split their summers between Nome and Council.

Woodsen and I met Daniel Stang in 2014 or 2015 through Will and Goldie Vacendek. Woodsen had worked with Will Vacendek, but as we got to know them and realized a mutual love of aviation, Goldie’s fantastic cooking, and the fact that they lived just up the road from us, we found their company more then enjoyable and always looked forward to visits. On one of those visits, we met Daniel, one of their long time friends from their many years living in Nome.

We had kept in touch with Daniel over the years and early in the spring, when Woodsen flew the Iditarod, he had stayed with Daniel, his wife Stephane, and their two young kids James and Scarlett. During that time, Daniel had invited us to visit them at their cabin in Council during the summer. So here we were, flying west for over three hours and eventually arriving in sunny Council.

Anyone who drives to Council faces a river crossing to enter the community, but since we arrived by plane, we skipped that introduction; instead, James, Daniel and Stephanie’s five-year-old son came driving up on his four-wheeler with his dad as his passenger. Stephanie and Scarlett were right behind them in the side-by-side.

It was a short drive to their cabin, where the kids quickly found the sandbox and the same Paw Patrol toys that had been the highlight of Yukla’s Iditarod trip this spring.

Daniel’s cabin was next door to his dad Dan’s cabin, so during our stay we fell into a sweet rhythm of waking up with the youngest kids and heading over to Dan’s to let the kids play while the older kids slept in. We chatted over coffee, old picture books from the Council gold rush were pulled out, and plenty of time and conversation was filled pouring over them.

Later in the day, once all the kids were awake and fed, we found some sort of adventure.

On the first full day in Council, we decided to head out on the trails along the Ophir River where most of the gold was found in the area. Our first stop was at a little pond to check the minnow traps Daniel and James had set.

After checking and baiting the minnow traps, we continued along the trail by the Ophir River.

We crossed the Ophir river and drove 8 miles to get to the first dredge named for the mile it is found at, Ophir 8.

As we continued down the trail, piles of tailings covered the ground surrounding the river. It was impressive to see the amount of tailings still visible all along the river from when the area was initially mined over 125 years ago.

Later, I looked at Google Earth, and the images were equally impressive.

Images from the old photo books came to mind, and I couldn’t help but imagine what it would have looked like when Council was a tent city, with a population of over 15,000, and mining in full swing.

Our next stop was the Ophir 15 dredge, the old dredge created a historic background as the kids painted rocks and splashed in a small pond by the river.

The adults busied themselves watching kids, cooking musk ox hotdogs, and searching for treasures around the crumbling dredge. We enjoyed lunch on a conveniently located picnic table.

While our friends enjoy multiple trips to the Ophir 15 during the summer, chatting with Stephanie made me realize what a unique oppertunity it was that we were standing out in historic part of Alaskan wilderness. Council has a small community of people with rigs and equipment on the side of the river to access the Ophir river and dredges, and of those who can, few make the trip to enjoy it. I savored those last minutes before we packed up, and and tried to convey to my kids just how special this afternoon adventure really was.

After our fill of sun, exploring the dredge, and playing in the water, we jumped back in the side-by-sides and headed back to Council. Along with tailings, the trail passed many old relics.

For the evening activities the Stangs introduced our kids to Doctor Dolphin, their blow up water park. It was complete with warm water from the spigot thanks to their off grid solar set up and plenty of sun to power it.

Kids and adults alike collapsed into bed worn out from the sun and a fun day exploring.