We took about 500 digital pictures on our trip and also 6 rolls of regular film, so it was hard picking a few to show you girls ... but here goes!
We went to Fairbanks, Alaska for the first part of our trip. Fairbanks is in the center of the state, in the part called the Interior. The whole state is considered a 'desert climate' - meaning it's very dry - and so the temperatures do not feel as cold as they are. When we landed, it was 5 below 0. It felt like 30 degrees in NY, honestly. No wind for the most part, and yes it's cold, but it doesn't feel THAT cold. You also do not stay outside very long and you are always bundled up. The people that live there, however, are used to it and you hardly see anyone wearing a hat or gloves. They just don't need it.
While in Fairbanks we went to a town called North Pole - which is about 10 miles from Fairbanks. It's a Christmas themed town all year long. Cute place. We also went snowmobiling and dogsledding one day - the scenery is absolutely amazing there. We also went to the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (all about Alaska's history and the native people that live there) and took a van tour to the Arctic Circle. We left our hotel at about 6:30AM and got to the arctic circle around 1 I think? It's a long drive but our guide was awesome and answered all of our questions about the area, the towns, villages, etc, and the climate. There is nothing north of fairbanks until you get to the arctic circle - there's nothing there either really, but there are two small towns north of there, then there's nothing again until you get to the north shore, which is up against the arctic sea. It's just amazing how much of the state is untouched still - it's absolutely HUGE and mostly uninhabited, and the people that do live there are subsistance living - using dogs and sleds to get around, and hunting, trapping and fishing for their food. They sell the furs they catch while trapping to people who live down south in order to make a little money to buy things they can't get in the wild. Amazing.
Some pics of those things:
snowmobiling/dog sledding
caribou (otherwise known as reindeer) at university of alaska fairbanks
drive to arctic circle
On our last night in Fairbanks, we went to Kodiak Jack's, a country bar. It's one of the only places for the young people to go, lots of line dancing but a fun place. A little roudy too - saw a guy get pulled out by a bodyguard with with his head underneath the bodyguard's arm. I don't go to clubs so it's not something I see often, and definitely something I wouldn't expect in the interior of Alaska, but I guess college kids are crazy everywhere. :) Here's a picture of me on the mechanical bull there.
Me on mechanical bull at Kodiak Jack's:
We then went to the Chena Hot Springs resort, about 60 miles east of Fairbanks (but still considered to be in Fairbanks). They have hot springs that are unbelievably hot but it doesn't feel too hot because it's outside, and the air temp was between 10 below and 10 above ... so if you kept your arms out of the water, you were ok for a while. The steam attaches to your body and then freezes, so you get all these little ice crystals - here's a pic of me with my hair and eyelashes starting to freeze. :)
Me in the Hot Springs
They also have this huge ice museum you may have seen on the travel channel - in fact, DH and I were flipping channels today and it was on :) Everything in it is made of ice. They have a huge chess set - the pieces and the board are made of ice and are all lit from below - so cool. The bar is made of ice, they have 4 bedrooms you can actually sleep in (ice beds covered in caribou hides, still friggin freezing, no way was I doing that!) - just really awesome.
Aurora Ice Museum at Chena Hot Springs
We also went to Anchorage, Alaska's biggest city, for 2 nights - but it's just a city, there wasn't much to take pictures of there. Nice, but not as nice as the northern parts we visited - scenery is not as nice and there are more people, and I just liked Fairbanks more. Plus the climate is more wet, and I was COLD there, even though it was 20-30 degrees the entire time (which is 20-30 degrees warmer than it was in Fairbanks). And, I got sick as we were leaving, so we stayed an extra day and a half ... so I don't have too many good memories regarding Anchorage :)
We were able to see the Northern Lights one night too, in Fairbanks .. we drove to this big clearing about 20 miles north of the city around 10pm and just waited. I fell asleep (the 4 hour time difference killed me for days) but DH woke me up when they got good - so amazing to see! The digital didn't pick them up and we hope my canon SLR did. If they come out I will post one!!!
That's all!!! Enjoy!
