It was our final day in Fairbanks and we’d end it with a bang – we hoped! This was another excursion I’d booked almost immediately after knowing we were traveling to Fairbanks – the Northern Lights and Chena Hot Springs tour.

Chena Hot Springs is an unincorporated community about 60 miles northeast of Fairbanks. The Chena Hot Springs Resort caters to the tourists by creating a winter wonderland with the hot springs at the center.

We were met by our Alaska Wildlife guide Bob and made the 1.5 hour trek from Fairbanks to the community with 12 new friends from around the world. The tour was a long one – starting at 4:30 pm and ending at 2:00 am. It was the only tour I’d booked that included searching for the Northern lights. The rest of the time we’d hunted for them on our own. So it would be interesting. Not that there’s much you can do to ensure tourists see them. Right place, right time…

Bob was gregarious and engaging – asking where we were from and what we’d done in Fairbanks. And, as seemingly always, we kept our eyes out for moose on the way there. Again, lots of moose tracks; no moose. As we drove further from Fairbanks we lost the traffic, the light pollution, and modern civilization. Apparently folks that live this far out live “off the grid” and have learned to fend for themselves in -50 degree winter. Unimaginable to this city girl.

The first item on the agenda was a tour of the Aurora Ice Museum located on the property. This is the world’s largest year-round ice environment and all of the ice and snow were harvested at the resort. Inside is the Aurora Ice Bar where tourists can purchase an appletini served in an ice glass. Per our amazing tour guide and bartender we should drink the martini and take the ice glass outside where we should make a wish and smash it! Consider it done!

At 25 degrees, this was a very cool place – pun intended! Of course the bar was my favorite part, but there were many other sculptures including an igloo, ice chandeliers, and a castle where – believe it or not – weddings are often held.

We acted silly with the bartender and other guests, I drank my lovely appletini and then we really needed to get out of there because, damn that’s cold!

The tour guide had made reservations for all of us in the resort’s restaurant but John and I’d decided to bring our own as the restaurant was IMO over-priced and had pretty average reviews. And we were much more excited for the hot springs!

The pool is nothing overly fancy but there are decent changing rooms and amenities. Once you’re changed, you’re funneled through an outdoor hallway and can walk directly into the hot springs. Let me tell you, that’s a cold walk! But once your feet touch the hot springs which hold steady at 106 degrees, you warm up quickly. And it feels absolutely amazing!

It also looks amazing! The pool is surrounded by rocks topped with this winter’s snow. Beyond the rocks are the mountains; at this time of year still covered in snow and oh so pretty. And the steam rising from the water gives it an ethereal look.

Since we were so much earlier than the rest of our party, the pool was not yet too crowded and we wandered around appreciating the hot(!) water surrounding us and the incredible scenery beyond. We also got to see the pool during daylight hours which was nice as once the sun went down it got very, very dark.

We literally soaked in those hot springs for 3 and a half hours; chatting to each other, learning about new people and of course, looking for the Aurora. It did make a brief appearance! But not nearly as spectacular as the prior night.

It was a lovely last night in Alaska, filled with great conversation with the man I love, meeting new people, learning about Chena Hot Springs and Fairbanks, pampering and of course an appletini in an ice glass at an ice bar! What more could I ask for?!?!

Well, no wonder we didn’t see the Aurora last night! We woke to a world blanketed with snow. I’d guess 4-6 inches had dropped and it was still snowing. Big, beautiful, fat snowflakes that gave this place a whole, brand new look. Candidly my happy/peaceful place looks like what Fairbanks looked like this morning. Still and quiet and peaceful and so darned white. It does make up for the lack of Aurora and I was so grateful for the fresh snow.

Today was another day to explore in and around Fairbanks. John really wanted to see reindeer so we booked a private reindeer walk with Chena Outdoor Collective. Although it was a bit of a treacherous drive, we arrived safely and even more surrounded by fresh powder.

We met Kayln, their partner and their two dogs Boon and Cartel (yes like the drug cartel). We were shown the back of their adorable yurt where Kayln told us so much about reindeer and caribou. They are the same species but reindeer have been domesticated and caribou have not. We learned how both caribou and reindeer ended up in North American – from Russia along the Bering Land Bridge when Russia and North America were connected.

We learned that reindeer also shed their antlers – just like moose – and that their antlers are something like their “footprint”. Kayln showed us a few of their reindeer’s antlers as they age. Pretty cool as their “fingerprint” was the same; they just got larger with age.

We also learned that both male and female reindeer have antlers and that these antlers are made of bone and have blood vessels running through them. You can actually see the grooves of those blood vessels on the antler’s that have been shed. For part of the year they are covered with “velvet” which is a thin, soft layer of skin and blood vessels that get scraped off the antler over time. The process of removing the velvet gives the antlers a bloody appearance because of the blood vessels within. Check out this creepy cool video to see how this happens and what it looks like.

Once we got the lowdown from Kayln and tossed a few Santa and Rudolph jokes in, we were off for our walk. We walked with Sailor and Jonesy. Jonesy is a 1-year-old reindeer so Sailor is the big brother. Apparently this is the first day of the season that Kayln didn’t bring any of the females out to the pen as they are pregnant. Because of this, per Kayln, the boys were being boys – swatting at each other and running from them as they tried to put a leash on them. They are adorable! Their antlers are currently gone but they have soft little black nubs above their sweet eyes.

We fed them a little lichen – this is what they eat in the winter – tied them up and went out on the trail for our walk. God it was gorgeous back there! Again, big, fat, beautiful snowflakes making everything look new again. And a trail through the pine trees where the only footprints ahead of us was that of Cartel the dog.

The walk was amazing in every single way – it was just too short! Both John and I could have spent another hour traipsing along that winter trail and learning about the reindeer and Kayln. We really, really enjoyed this adventure!

Second stop – the Santa Claus House in North Pole Alaska. This is something that John was really looking forward to. We’d waited to stop until Santa was going to be there – only on weekends during the off season. I was on the fence on this place. It looked cheesy and unimpressive. But when in North Pole right?

Well, color me wrong! The outside is, in fact, cheesy but you walk into this huge area just inundated with all things Christmas. Christmas lights, Christmas music, Christmas trees, Christmas decor and so many, many Christmas gifts. Most had an Alaska theme – like the Eskimo Christmas ornament and the decorative angel made locally in Alaska. They also have personalized letters from Santa. Funny! You can choose one for a not-so-good adult or child, a dog, or even a non-believer. All are signed by Mr. Claus and post marked from the North Pole.

Santa’s workshop was also on display behind glass. His tools and a map of the world and of course his nice and naughty list. And then the big guy himself! Sitting up on a platform surrounded by a Christmas tree and fireplace and stuffed reindeer. Admittedly, he was on his phone (I’m sure doing research on nice kids!) but he was a great Santa! He had the hair and the beard and the jolly smile. We had a nice chat with him about what got him to Alaska and how it was working in the Santa Claus House and of course how Mrs. Claus was doing.

Super, super place to go to just have a good time and get some Christmasy, North Pole AK-themed gifts.

We then went for a Chinese lunch at a place that had been recommended to us by literally every single person we’d asked this week! Again, so much ethnic food but I’m here for it. Called the Pagoda, it is another of Guy Fieri’s stops when he was in Fairbanks. And again the food was delicious! We have eaten very, very well here in Alaska 🙂

So that I could write this lovely blog for all of you (11?) readers, we went to the Alaska Coffee Roasting Co for a coffee, some sweets and to just hang. The cookies were sub-par, I’ve got to say. But the chocolate, coconut, pie-crust bar thingy was sublime!

We decided to have a cocktail at the restaurant right next door to the hotel – Pike’s Landing. It was just ok. They did have a nice Chardonnay and we had some good conversation but weren’t up for the fried (very expensive!) bar food they were offering. Instead we took advantage of the boatload of leftovers in our fridge from our past meals – Thai, Chinese, Greek, pizza and had a little picnic in our hotel room while laughing like children to Jack Whitehall: Travels with my Father. Check that out – it’s hysterical!

All right, I’m saving the best for last! If you’re still reading I adore you 🙂 Tonight was the best chance to see the Aurora according to the many, many articles and apps we were using. So this time we decided to get a couple of hours rest and then set out. The alarm went off at 12:20. Although John was a bit crabby we gathered our gear and set off for an area slightly northeast of Fairbanks that we’d heard had limited light pollution and would be a good place to try to see the lights.

On the way I was looking around and finally saw a bit of wispiness in the sky. It was the Northern Lights! “John, look!” I could NOT believe we were finally seeing them! The light pollution was pretty bad while driving so I settled my heart rate and we went the rest of the way to the pullout on Old Steese Road.

We were definitely not alone in choosing this place. A half dozen or so other cars had the same idea. And as we drove in and cut the lights we got the gorgeous display of lights you see in these images below. ABSOLUTELY, AMAZINGLY STUNNING! I’m so darned grateful that I finally got to see them! We jumped in an out of the car taking photos (it was damn cold!) and basking in the awe and beauty.

Now that John had seen the lights he wanted more. We decided to stop at Creamer’s Field – where we’d been last night – to see if we could glimpse the lights from there. Again, YES! And they seemed to be doing a different dance in that location. So unique and fascinating and incredible! And – I was able to let John get back to bed by 2:15. Another long, long, long term bucket list item CHECKED!

Best. Day. Ever!

2 bucket list items checked today! Denali National Park and seeing – not 1, but 2 – moose!

Denali National Park has been on my bucket list for only a few years now – since I started learning more about the national parks and all of the goodness in them.

Denali National Park is 6 million(!) acres of wilderness. It’s location gives it a uniqueness compared to other national parks. Although that might have more to do with me being there in the wintertime. To me it represents a happy, peaceful, still place – the forest is covered with pristine blankets of snow as far as the eye can see. It is also the home of North America’s highest peak – Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley) – which means “Great One” and stands at a whopping 20,310 feet.

We took North Alaska Tour Company’s Denali Winter Drive Adventure as driving to and through the park is pretty treacherous this time of year. If you don’t have the proper vehicle you may run into problems.

Us and 6 new friends started off from Fairbanks and headed the 80 miles towards the park. We made a couple of pit stops – the towns of Nenana and Healy.

Nenana is a rural community that sits right on the banks of the Tanana River. It feels like you’ve stepped back in time a bit when entering this city. Of course a few bars and lodges for travelers but also just 1 general store for the tiny 300+ residents. This town is well known in this region, however, for the Nenana Ice Classic. Sounds impressive doesn’t it?

The Nenana Ice Classic started in 1917 when railroad engineers decided to place a bet on when the ice in the Tanana River would break. Well, 106 years later the tradition still exists. A “tripod” is erected every year and placed 300 feet from the shore of the river. The tripod is connected to a clock which marks the exact moment the ice of the river breaks. It’s a big event! In 2014 – 9 years ago – the jackpot was over $350,000! Part of the money goes to the individual(s) that guess the correct, date, hour and minute and part goes charities around the region.

We loaded up on provisions and headed toward Healy – considered the gateway to Denali.

Along the way the mountains become more “in your face” – craggy, dense, huge, close. It was a beautiful drive. And all along the way, Mike, our guide, gave us tidbits of Alaskan history and his own experience with this area and the reasons he loves Alaska.

Finally we arrived to the national park. In winter very little of the park road – there’s only one – is plowed. Visitors can only go a few miles in until spring. And unfortunately for us since the weather was so cloudy we couldn’t see the “Great One” – Denali. It was sitting elusively in the distance behind the clouds. The darned clouds on this trip are messing with me! But I appreciated the grandeur and beauty of this place regardless.

We had a little lunch and watched a little movie about the history of people, plant life and wildlife located there. Then a few of us donned snowshoes – you didn’t need them – and set off on a boreal forest walk.

We’d been in a boreal forest already but this was completely different. Many more spruce and pine trees; very few birch trees. And of course the pristine whiteness of a winter with very limited human contact.

We saw a lot of tracks – red squirrel, snowshoe hare and of course – moose! But so many moose tracks and so little moose. Regardless it was a lovely little walk. We got back to the van and all of us got in when Mike said, “nope, we’re going back out – moose sighting”. Needless to say we all quickly got out of that van and got back on the trail. We finally found the two moose just hanging out about 20-25 feet from the trail. They were both just laying there chilling, eating some vegetation, not paying any attention to us. It was incredible!

Again, showing my ignorance here but I didn’t realize that moose lose their antlers…on a yearly basis. There was a lot I learned about moose. I was expecting those huge, super-impressive antlers. But right now they’re simply not there. See this super cool short video of a moose losing it’s antlers. The moose were so fun to see! It made up for NOT seeing Denali in all it’s glory.

On the way out of the park we stopped to see the Denali Sled Dogs. Denali is the only national park with a kennel of sled dogs and they serve as the rangers in the park. There are no vehicles allowed on the trails in Denali so the dogs help with the trails, with rescues, with carrying supplies…they serve as a mode of transportation and are extremely important to the upkeep of the park.

Most of them were sleeping but oh so cute. We got to pet the ones that were interested. Topo, with his ice blue eyes, melted my heart.

The road back to Fairbanks was uneventful and quick. On the way I made a reservation to another ethnic restaurant here – this time Greek. My husband, being Greek, knows what he likes when it comes to Greek food so the bar was high.

Bobby’s Restaurant (right?!?! Bobby’s???) was incredible. It’s my new favorite in Fairbanks. The atmosphere was fun and festive, the service spot on and the food, DAMN….Traditional Greek food that is hard to find elsewhere – Greed salad, Moussaka, Gyro, Baklava. Oh so good! And everyone in there treated you like family.

Of course, in our quest to see the Northern Lights, we loaded up the car at 9 and this time sat in the parking lot of Creamer’s Field searching for the lights for hours. A couple of times we thought we might be seeing them but on reflection I really don’t think so. Darned clouds!!!! We’ll keep looking….

The day started out as a bit of a downer but quickly got turned around. I’d been wanting to go see the ice sculptures from the World Ice Art Championships which had just completed on 3/17. The park was to remain open with the sculptures on display through the end of the month – tomorrow. Well, we got there and, first, they didn’t open until noon. I know what you’re thinking, “Google could have told you that!”. But even though we knew that we thought we’d go anyway as it was in a park and can they really keep you out of a public park? So, yes, we got there and, second, all of the ice was melting and just looked….sad. Like the sculpture of the man and woman dancing. She no longer had a face – melted off 🙁 And the sculpture of a plane…or was it a shark…hard to tell.

Off to the next fun place – the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum. We’d heard about this place from multiple locals who said it was a must see. Again….closed. This time until the weekend!

Ok, time to put the big girl panties on and deal. What could we do? We’d also heard about the Museum of the North on the University of Alaska campus. Score! Finally – they were open. Well, here’s where our luck started to change. What a super cool museum! The first thing you see as you enter the museum if the skeleton of a Bowhead Whale suspended from the ceiling. Absolutely incredible and massive at 43 feet long. A Bowhead Whale is local to Arctic and subarctic waters and uses it’s humongous triangular skull to break through ice.

The rest of the museum was just as cool. Tons of information about Alaska and it’s culture – including whaling, the eskimos, the Aurora Borealis, the Gold Rush and the freakishly beautiful animals found only in this area – both pre-historic and modern. And the view of the Alaska Range from this high point in the city was spectacular!

Off to lunch at a local coffee shop that I’d read about called the Little Owl Cafe. As I posted yesterday, I was disappointed in Fairbanks and frankly, some of the food options. Well this sweet cafe started to change my mind. Adorable and kitschy with friendly staff and unique food and treats, it’s a place I’d recommend anyone to try. Take a book and relax in it’s cool, hipster atmosphere.

Back to the hotel to gear up for something that’s been on my bucket list for many, many years – dog sledding!

We were greeted by our driver, Jake, from 1st Alaska Tours. Another burly, articulate guy but not nearly as engaging as Tony was yesterday. We picked up another couple and off we went towards the Murphy Dome – one of the best places to see the northern lights due to it’s location on the top of a mountain.

We arrived to the sound of many happy dogs barking in the background. We met two of the mushers and one of their dogs – a gorgeous husky mix named Betty. No time was wasted as they took us from the yurt to meet the dogs.

There were about 20 of them – all Siberian Husky mixes – hanging out in the huge field on top of this snow-covered mountain. They each have their own “house” with their name on it. We were given free reign to go meet and greet any dog we wanted. They were so sweet! All of them were friendly and very excited to see the people and even more excited to realize they were going to pull a sled soon.

Per our guides, all of their dogs are Siberian Husky but mixed with other breeds to give them the best mushing dogs – hounds, shepherds. I thought it was interesting that they weren’t 100% husky and it was fascinating to learn why.

After a short amount of time visiting, our sled was ready to go. 12 dogs, 4 tourists and a musher. Sounds like the start of a joke doesn’t it? We were covered in a blanket and before I realized it we were off!

Boy do those dogs love to run and pull! We traversed 6 miles of mostly open, snow-covered, well-maintained trails that the dogs really seemed to know. We stopped a couple of times to give them a break and take some pictures. It was adorable watching them roll around in the snow during the breaks. And learning about the dogs was fascinating – how and when they begin training, how long they run, what the positions are, which dogs had raced, why they were placed where they were, etc. Two of the dogs had actually competed in the Iditarod – arguably the most famous dog sled race in the world.

It was another wonderful tour – beautiful views along with sweet happy dogs – what more could you ask for?!

The tour ended with some more learning about Alaska and dog mushing along with some nice warm drinks in a yurt at the top of the mountain. Then back into the van with Jake who was clearly in a better mood and had many recommendations for us – including a place to seek out the aurora tonight. More to come on that!

Off to dinner at another local restaurant. The lady on our tour put it very succinctly, “this is not a foodie town” 🙂 Well, I think that’s true but we did manage to find a GREAT restaurant…again. Maybe we’re becoming less picky 🙂 John had done some research and found a Moldovan restaurant called Soba. I am showing my complete ignorance here but I wasn’t aware of a country called Moldova let alone the cuisine associated with it. I’ll bet my beautiful friend Sophie knows all about the country as it’s just across the Black Sea from George. South of Ukraine.

Well the food was delicious. And the decor was also delicious. It’s one of the Fairbanks restaurants that gets typical 5-star reviews and we could definitely see why.

We’d decided during the dog sledding tour that, although the chances of seeing the northern lights was Average, we’d give it a try. Become our own aurora chasers. We got into our jammies and loaded up the car with provisions – for John downloaded episodes of 1899 and for me, downloaded episodes of Wellmania. Damn, I love me some Celeste Barber!

Based on Jake’s recommendation, we headed about 20 miles north to North Pole to a road called Nordale road. There are multiple turnouts on that road that – if they’re out – have a great view of northern lights. Well, we were unlucky. We managed to consult multiple Aurora tracker apps and watch a few of our episodes but the excitement of the night was John helping some friends whose car got stuck in the snow. We gave up at about 12:45 am and headed home with a little less hope. We’ll keep trying!

I’m so happy I get to put my “Adventure Traveling Wife” persona back on! It has been way too long – over 18 months – but life happens and I’m grateful to be where I am —- Fairbanks, Alaska!

Back in 2021 – smack dab in the middle of the pandemic – our “epic” trip to the Finnish Lapland was cancelled due to Covid. I swear it would have been epic too – I’m not just making it bigger than it was because we couldn’t go. Ok, maybe I am, but it was complete with igloo stays, a visit to Santa’s home town, dog sledding and northern lights sightings every single night (SURE…) But, like others, the trip was cancelled. So now that we live so much further from Europe we decided to try going the opposite direction. And here we are in Fairbanks, Alaska – a place documented to have the best chances of seeing the aurora borealis in the world because of it’s unique position in the aurora oval. Aurora viewing is also allegedly enhanced right around the spring equinox which was just last week. Seeing the northern lights has been a bucket list item for me for years. But as psyched as I am to hopefully see them, I’m keeping my expectations LOW.

We arrived late last night to our hotel – Pike’s Waterfront Lodge. To be honest, I really wanted to try to rent another igloo hotel here but wasn’t able to do so and some of the fancier hotels were exorbitantly expensive. And this one just got so many favorable reviews that I couldn’t ignore it. I’m very glad that I didn’t! From the moment you see the hotel – and it’s huge arched sign – it’s simply over the top fun. You cannot help but smile. In fact I believe I saw a sign in the lobby boasting the most fun hotel in all of Alaska. Like I said, over the top. A stuffed bear – of course – neon lights, tiffany ceiling lamps every 10 feet, lots of wood and heads of wildlife everywhere you look. And to top it all off, a Siberian Husky behind the reception desk! We checked in and got on the list to be called if the northern lights were spotted in the area. To be honest this was another selling point of this sweet hotel.

Alas, no northern lights call so we got a good nights sleep and woke excited about our snow-machining trip. I’d booked ages ago and didn’t really know what to expect but all expectations were significantly exceeded. We went on the Fairbanks Snowmobile Adventure from North Pole with Alaska Wildlife Guide LLC. Yes we traveled to North Pole, Alaska for this trip. More to come on North Pole. We were met by our guide, Tony, a burly, articulate man whose snow-machining season was to come to an end in just 2 days.

I talk – and write – so much about connection and the people that make travel so wonderful and memorable. Well, Tony was no exception. He treated us like old friends. We stood around for a good 20 minutes talking about what got him to snow-machining in North Pole. He set out early in life to tackle “dangerous” jobs – including logging and commercial fishing. Now, I’ve never seen Deadliest Catch but the stories he told could have easily been highlighted on the show. Unfortunately a lot of loss of friends in that line of work. He also told us an incredible (in a bad way) story of how when he was 20 he went into “one of the most dangerous bars in America”, where he was “shanghaied”. I did not have a clue what that was. You may not either – google it! It literally means to “force (someone) to join a ship lacking a full crew by drugging them or using other underhanded means”. This happened to him and he woke up on a ship in the Bering Sea without remembering how he got there. A testament to his character, he stayed and did the work; even as his mom worried and wanted to buy him a ticket home.

The stories were amazing and enlightening and sad as well. But it was super cool getting to know him!

Then we were off! A brief intro to the snow-machine and we hit the trail. Well, first a road. What a fantastic experience! The trip lasted about an hour and we traveled through some trees and trails and some wide open spaces. We eventually ended up on the Chena Lake. Tony asked if we’d like to go out into the middle of it. “Is it dangerous” I asked. Nope – there are 3 feet of ice on that lake at this time of year. It’s where the ice fishermen go and you could see their huts. John and I said at the same time, “Let’s go for it”.

It was exhilarating and fast and so awesome. I smiled the whole damn time! And Tony was amazing the whole damn time. He’d stop us to take our pictures. He even laid down in the snow to get some that you see on this post. Thumbs up and high fives; we still felt like old friends.

I highly, highly recommend doing this tour with Tony – he made it GREAT!

We’d been in Fairbanks for 12 hours and had already realized how expensive it was to get transportation so after renting a car back and the airport we headed to downtown Fairbanks for some lunch and a look around.

We’d heard from both our drivers that there was a great Thai restaurant downtown so – contrary to me wanting “Alaskan” fare – off we went. The Thai House – and the food was incredible. Definitely worth a stop.

So regarding downtown Fairbanks….My mom has said many times that if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all. So should I stop here? Perhaps so but I’m not going to on account of I want to remember and also tell you readers (all 10 of you!) so you’re aware. It just seems a bit rundown and depressed. It was a bit of a downer to even walk around.

We did stop at the Morrison Cultural and Visitors Center and that was pretty cool. A nice young man helped us with our many questions – best spots to drive to see the northern lights, where I can get a reindeer sausage, where to see the wicked ice sculptures, traditional “Alaskan” dessert (P.S. there isn’t one). And we wandered through the museum and learned about Fairbanks history.

We hit the Antler’s Arch on our way back to the car to check it off the list. As I said, disappointing. But I will do my research and make my way back there with more information in my back pocket. Hopefully that will change my mind.

We finished the day with a nap and a trip to the daily ice cream social in the Pike’s lounge. It’s 30 degrees – why not have ice cream right?! Then off to the Pump House for dinner – yep we had dessert before dinner – as all should. I have been wanting to try “local” Alaskan meat – specifically reindeer – since I’d learned we would be coming here. The Pump House was our spot to do so.

The decor of the Pump House was representative of the 1890’s Gold Rush area. Very ornate and over the top. Carved furniture and fringe lamps. And – they had both reindeer and elk on their menu. John and I split reindeer medallions and they were – delicious! I was expecting gamey and similar to venison but was pleasantly surprised. Another positive.

So the chance to the the aurora tonight is Low. And, unfortunately, the change is Below Average for the next 3 nights. But although I’m keeping expectations Low I’m keeping hopes Above Average 🙂