Weekend Away - Part I

View from our hotel balcony

Most of our travel to the outside world (that is, away from Juneau) has been to the lower 48 to see family and friends.  Very little of our limited vacation time is earmarked for travel to other destinations for obvious reasons - we LIKE our family and friends!  However, some new friends of ours had suggested a trip to Fairbanks, Alaska, to see world-class ice carvers at the 2014 World Ice Art Championships.  I said yes even as I was thinking that they don't carve ice in the summer (do they?) and I was right - the trip would be late February when temperatures struggle to get above 0 degrees.  I know about Fairbanks only because Bill and Greg toured the flagship school in the University of Alaska system in January 2004 and it was extremely cold (frozen, actually).  When it was mentioned that we would also be going to Chena Hot Springs (spa tub, anyone?) and North Pole, I was "all in" for the trip!  The week prior to leaving, our trip mate had mentioned that it was minus 34 degrees in Fairbanks and reminded me to pack plenty of layers, but I was already prepared with Cuddleduds and wool mittens.  A trip to the local marine supply store afforded me hand and toe warmers (on sale, natch!) and I was good to go!  Our trip was to include a drive to North Pole to see Santa and the reindeer as well as Chena Hot Springs for a dip in the 120+ natural hot springs.  Fairbanks was indeed cold but not the below-zero temps that we were expecting - single digits and low teens under incredibly blue

Hot springs - rocks around it!

skies made it seem like Wisconsin in January!!  Layers were suggested but not needed for the most part - although the cold temperatures did finish off my camera batteries rather quickly.  As a bit of information, Fairbanks is the third largest city in Alaska with Anchorage first and Juneau second (yea Juneau!) but has some of the highest temperature swings in the state.  The average yearly temperature is 32 degrees - which means that the high summer temperatures in the 80's and low 90's are off-set by the severely cold temperatures October through April, often hovering well-below zero for weeks at a time.  Posts in all parking lots hold plug-ins (those who live in northern Wisconsin know what I'm talking about!) and our rental car was also

equipped with an engine block heater, if needed.  Our side-trips included a ride up into the hills around Fairbanks on icy roads but with beautiful stands of birch trees just outside the car window.  We stopped at an Alaska Pipeline viewing station and were rewarded with a view of the actual pipeline as it snakes north to south across Alaska.  The pipeline oil is actually heated so it doesn't freeze up in the cold arctic winters.  A visit to and tour of a small brewery, Silver Gulch in the even smaller town of Fox, and then we were on our way to the hot springs.  It was around 10 degrees and the hot springs were 120 degrees - steam rose from the water but snow capped the boulders that shouldered the small lake.  Water was about chest-deep and we waded and talked for about 30 minutes before it was time to take a tour of the opposite in extreme temperatures - the Ice Museum.  On the Chena Hot Springs property, the tour of the museum that was completely made of ice was an unexpected highlight of our time here.  An appletini poured into ice martini glasses while sitting on ice seats at an ice bar with an ice fireplace in the background was an opportunity not to be missed. We held onto our glasses as we left for we had planned ahead, bringing a few single-serve bottles of white wine in the car which we drank at the back of the car in freezing temperatures with the northern lights just starting to shine in the inky-black night sky.  Ahh - winter in Alaska!!

Coming soon: Weekend away Part II - can I put that ice art in my drink??