Fairbanks, Alaska

Fairbanks, Alaska

This part of the story is what made Alaska so magical to me! Every part of this journey was life changing, as cliché as that may sound. Ever since I saw a photo of the mystical Aurora Borealis also known as the northern lights I had always yearned to see and experience it’s beauty and I heard Alaska is a pretty good place to view them from.

We head to the train station for our 8:30 am departure north to Fairbanks on the Aurora Winter Train. The winter train travels from Anchorage through the Matanuska-Susitna Valley and continues onwards to the wilderness of Denali National Park. The early hours of the train journey was snowing heavily which made for fantastic photos and frozen faces as we leant out of the train window to take in the views. As the journey went on the weather kept getting better which was perfect as we were able to have a great view of Denali, also known as Mount McKinley in the distance. The train would slow down along the way so we could see and take photos of the wildlife such as moose and eagles. Unfortunately the bears were still asleep this time of year.

After lunch on board, excitement struck again as the train guard advised we were being filmed by The Discovery Channel who were doing a documentary on Alaska & the railway train. It’s safe to say that Fairbanks was the most coldest place I have ever visited as we exited the train and entered the taxi that drove past a service station sign reading -30′ F. We stayed at the Springhill Suites by Marriott & chose to have dinner onsite at Lavelle’s Bistro – Delicious! We enjoyed Atlantic Salmon and this amazing baked brie with cranberry sauce & puff pastry and the most amazing wine! We decided to have an early night so we could make the most of our trip tomorrow.

In the morning we attempted to go for a walk in the streets of Fairbanks, it was more like a skate as we slipped around the icy roads. We had a warm soup for brunch awaiting our tour pick-up at 1:00 pm for our drive to the Arctic Circle! We firstly visited a section of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, built between 1974 and 1977 which conveyed oil from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. We travelled north on the famous Dalton Highway, stopping along the way to enjoy the stunning winter landscape that Alaska has to offer.

We stopped at the mighty Yukon River Bridge right on sunset and as our guide drove onto the ‘ice’ road, or as we saw it the snow road, it offered us perfect photograph opportunities. We continued heading north and I sat in excitement hoping lady Aurora would dance her way across the night sky!

We crossed the Arctic Circle just before midnight & enjoyed a hot chocolate and the photo stop in front of the Arctic Circle sign. It was also very interesting trying to use the drop box in the darkness & the freeze. Unfortunately there was a lot of cloud cover and our chances of seeing the aurora were dwindling. We stopped at a few places on the way back south, hoping her appearance would peep through the clouds but reaching Fairbanks at 4:00 am we had missed our chance.

3 more nights to hope.

Today, we awaited our transfer for what we have both been so eager to do……… Dog Mushing!!

The company was Just Short of Magic – and the name is not lying about the experience. We met the lovely owner, Eleanor who took us on the most amazing ride through the snow, shouting commands to the dog sled team who would turn left or right as she instructed. They were the friendliest dogs and very photogenic. This was the highlight of my trip to Alaska and I really recommend this company for anyone visiting Fairbanks: – http://justshortofmagic.com/

As we were driving along the snow covered road, passing a giant moose and her baby calf, our driver was explaining how many cars end up in the embankment due to bad driving conditions. Soon enough, a school bus up ahead was pulling over to let passengers out. Our driver hit the breaks, resulting in the car locking up and sliding along the road, heading towards the back end of the bus. Luckily we weren’t driving much faster than 40km/h and the driver was able to land the car swiftly into the embankment – stuck! We couldn’t believe it happened!! A few cars past us and soon enough someone stopped to pull us out and we were back on the road! The road conditions are crazy and many times you’d see cars stuck and abandoned on the side of the road.

We spent the next morning sleeping in most of the day. We were picked up in the afternoon by shuttle to Chena Hot Springs Resort – so beautiful! We went to the Aurora Ice Museum which features hand carved ice sculptures, chandeliers and an ice bar. We enjoyed an Alaskan meal for dinner before getting in our swimmers to enjoy the hot springs. The natural outdoor setting of the rock lake was absolutely perfect. -40’F outside and a nice +30’C inside the pool, we laughed as our hair turned to a grey frost. We walked around the resort then headed to the Activity Centre where they pointed out vantage points for viewing the northern lights. We trekked up a snow ‘mountain’ towards a viewing hut where you could keep warm inside, while looking for the aurora through the glass roof. Unfortunately, we had no luck once again with cloud cover and got back to our hotel at 4:00 am – 2 more nights to hope!

Back at the hotel we awaited our transfer to Chandler Ranch for our ‘last’ chance of catching the northern lights… or so we thought! Chandler Ranch was a perfect location. Such a beautiful lodge in the middle of what felt like the wilderness. There was plenty of snow covering the ground and the cold weather matched it perfectly. We head outside to find ourselves a good viewing spot with new friends Michael, Beth and Zowie who we met on the transfer. No sooner than later were we jumping for joy as the lights danced across the night sky – WOW !! We finally were able to see the aurora which made our trip feel worth it!

We took some fantastic photos and just stared at the sky in amazement, as the view was more magical than the photos make out to be. The air cold and the moon was glowing brightly, Beth was nice enough to give us some feet and hand warmers which sit in your pockets… I wish we found out about these earlier. We decided to head back to the ranch as the weather was getting colder. Wade & I found an old rusted out tractor and decided to stop for some photos before we heard the howls of a pack of wolves that didn’t sound very far away!! We both looked at each other and ran the distance back to the warmth of the lodge. We spent the next half of the night closer to the lodge, walking around whilst staring at the sky in amazement. The night ended with a cultural show by Ben Boyd, an Alaska mountain man and oldest hoop dancer in the world. I really recommend Chandler Ranch as a top location for viewing the northern lights!

Check out was at 10 am so we were up, dressed and had our bags packed ready for the front desk to collect and hold as our flight wasn’t until midnight tonight. The lovely family we met on our tour last night had arranged to pick us up and take us to Fairbanks University / Museum for the day. We went out for an early dinner at The Pump House and enjoyed their famous seafood chowder, and main meals such as Reindeer tenderloin which is something you don’t see on the menu every day. We were dropped back to our hotel after dinner which was super lovely of these kind people.

Above: The Pump House with Michael, Beth, Zowie, myself & Wade / Fairbanks Museum

It was still early in the night before our transfer to the airport so we caught the free shuttle arranged by the hotel to the Ice Sculpture Carving / World Ice Art championship which is held in Fairbanks each year. It was so much fun walking around the park, sliding away on giant ice slides and toboggans. We jumped on the transfer to the airport for our 1:30 am flight out of Fairbanks headed to Vancouver via Seattle. Once again, we waited till last to board the plane and were sat on the wing, a seat away from the window and a row behind each other. As the plane took off, I looked over the sleeping man taking up the window and stared in amazement at what I was seeing. Right in front of our eyes was the Aurora Borealis bouncing and dancing along the nights sky – all while the man next to me didn’t even know! The sight is something I will never forget and if I ever return to the region, I’ll be sure to book a flight at midnight along with a window seat.