Slippery Rock, PA.........where spring hasn't exactly sprung!

Springtime in Pennsylvania?

 

Last Thursday (March 24), we flew from Florida to Pittsburgh.  Spring was in full swing in Florida.  The beaches were packed with both families and drunken college students.  Thankfully, although it's more popular than ever, Anna Maria Island is mainly families, and the antics of the younger crowd is more or less isolated to the east coast beaches of the Sunshine State.  Baseball's billionaire owners and millionaire players came to an agreement and spring training baseball is underway.  The theme parks and roads are crowded...........I think you get the picture.  Spring has sprung in Florida.

Before leaving Florida, I did get to one Pirate's spring training game at LECOM Park in Bradenton.

The guy signing autographs is Zack Hample.  If you're not familiar with his story, it's an interesting one.  He's collected more balls at baseball games than any person on the planet (over 11,000).  He caught Mike Trout's first homerun, Alex Rodriquez's 3,000 hit (a homerun) and two homerun balls in a Red Sox/Ray's playoff game.  I talked to him for a few minutes.  He was a really nice guy, and he even made a short video shoutout for Ben, who was enjoying a typically frosty day in Western Pennsylvania.

Zack Hample

In western Pennsylvania..............not quite yet!  When Ben picked us up at the airport Thursday evening, it was a bit chilly (around 50).  Since then, the weather has been mostly on a downward spiral.  It snowed several inches over the weekend, which was followed by repeating rounds of snow, sleet, and sunshine and a very cold wind all day Monday.  Yesterday the sun was out, but the temperature never reached the forties.  This morning there was a little freezing rain, but by this afternoon the temperatures are supposed to be in the fifties............maybe spring is springing...........at least until Friday when there is more snow in the forecast!

Ben's backyard on Sunday afternoon.

Don't be fooled by the blue skies!  It was only 38 degrees at the time Slippery Rock University's baseball team had a game going on.  In spite of being a big baseball fan, I had no desire to sit out in the cold and although I didn't ask her, I don't think Beth did either!

Other than keeping us entertained, the weather has really not been an issue.  Our only plans for the week were to enjoy time with Ben (and his dog Allie), before the campground opens and he gets really busy.  We only left the house for a few minutes over the weekend, while we binged on basketball and Netflix.

We had driven the Silver Bullet from Sarah's house in California to Ben's house in Pennsylvania in February.  We'll slowly start making our way back to Florida on Friday.  If all goes according to plan, she'll arrive back in Florida about a year after leaving.  The Bullet's tires have touched the roads in way over half of the states in the continental United States.  I guess we meet the criteria for being Roadtrippers?  

A bunch of miles, a bunch of memories.  We're grateful that so many of them have been made with family!  

Fairbanks Adventure, Part 4....................wrapping it up

We had a wonderful mix of snow, sun, cold and moderate (a relative term) temperatures during our Alaskan adventure.  

The suitcases are on the bed and we're starting to fill them.  One is going to be packed fully with our heavy winter gear that came in very handy over the past sixteen days.  We'll store it away for the time being, with hopes of using it again somewhere down the line on another winter adventure.  We were curious as to what winter up here is like. We now know, and we love it!

Because we had checked off everything on our "to do" list, yesterday was a pretty low-key day.  We actually spent the better part of the afternoon at the movie.  When I say the better part of the afternoon, I mean it.  We saw "The Batman" which was close to three hours long.  I guess it was well done, but it wasn't exactly our type of movie.  We were quite pleased when the credits rolled.

After the movie we did enjoy some bbq at Big Daddy's, which claims to be the "Northern Most Southern BBQ"!  Not only is it the northern most, it's also really good.  It, along with two other (Pagoda in North Pole and The Cookie Jar in Fairbanks) places we as ate had been featured on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive In's and Dives.

If you've going to eat.........

it might as well be good bbq!

Guy tested, Guy approved!

  After eating we drove a few miles out of town to get a glimpse of the Alyeska Pipeline.   The 800 mile pipeline runs from Prudhoe Bay above the Artic Circle to Valdez.  It crosses three mountain ranges and more than 500 rivers and streams.  At peak production in 1988 it was pumping over 2,000,000 barrels of crude oil per day.  It's estimated that over 40 billion gallons of crude oil remain on the north slope and offshore.

There's a lot of potential domestic oil that can flow through that pipeline behind me........just saying!

Growden Park isn't quite ready for baseball yet. There's a lot of snow on the field, bleachers and in the parking lot.  It's the summer home of the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks, a summer team made up of top college players.  The alumni list of who has played for the Goldpanners includes Tom Seaver, Dave Winfield, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemmons.  Since 1906 they have played the Midnight Sun Classic on June 21 (the summer solstice).  The game starts at 10:30 PM and is played without artificial lighting.  Baseball America has ranked the Midnight Sun Classic as one of the top ten baseball experiences.  

It's time to close the books on this adventure.  We're eternally grateful for all of our travel opportunities, and new memories of the great time we had experiencing Alaska in the winter! 

Fairbanks Adventures, Part 3...........Sinking to a new low and ice fishing without the fish

A new low for us.  The record low temperature ever recorded in Fairbanks was -65.9 on January 14. 1934!

It was a little hard to get out from under the covers Monday morning.  Especially after checking the phone, which was next to the bed and seeing that the temperature was a balmy -17!   We've been in the negative numbers a few times already on this adventure, as well as on some previous travels, but at -17, we had sunk to a new low.  No doubt, we're getting the Alaska winter experience that we were looking for, and we're loving it!  We've learned that the hearty souls that call Alaska home don't hibernate in the winter.  They bundle up, head out and embrace it with gusto.  A great example of this was Sunday night when we went back to the World Ice Art Championships to see the displays after the sun went down.  The gates were open until 10:00 and there were probably twice as many people there at night than were there on our first visit in the afternoon, even though the temperature was -3.  We're doing our best to bundle up and enjoy Fairbanks in all its winter glory right along with them.

The surfaces of the rivers and lakes in the Fairbanks area are, for the most part, frozen solid.  So, if you're going to fish around here in the winter, you're going to be ice fishing.  We had never tried ice fishing before, it looked like a fun adventure, so we booked a four-hour trip with one of the local guide services.  We enjoyed the thirty-minute drive out to Chena Lake Recreation Area with visions of King Salmon (the "fresh water" King Salmon are much smaller than those that migrate to the ocean) and trout dancing in our heads.  We were joined by several other groups of folks, all anxious and looking forward to hauling in whatever was lurking below the frozen ice covering Chena Lake. 

Our ice fishing shelters.  They are typically able to use them until mid-April.

Ready to catch the big ones!

Beth saw some movement on the ice near our fishing shelters.  We believe the small dark animal in the middle of the picture is a wolverine or possibly a fox.  Clarence, our guide said wolverines are very illusive, and he was impressed with the sighting.

 

Chena Lake Recreation Area

We were divided into two groups and taken into the two heated shelters that looked to be about 25 yards out on the ice.  After making sure we all had the proper license, Clarence, our friendly and helpful guide gave us a few instructions.  He then pulled the ice covers off the holes in the floor and we were staring down into holes about 12 inches in diameter that had been cut through around 25 inches of solid ice.  There were numerous fish swimming around the crystal-clear water, and we assumed they were waiting anxiously for our bait to be dangled in front of their mouths.

It was warm (almost toasty) inside the carpeted fishing shelter.  The round black circles on the floor are removable covers.  If you notice, the rods are a little small.  These are typical 21 inch ice fishing rods.  We were confident hungry fish were just below.

For the next three and a half hours we (there were 12 in our shelter) peered down into these windows to the water and watched as fish after fish swam around totally ignoring the bait that was just inches from their mouths.  Occasionally there would be a nibble on somebody's line.  Beth had it happen twice, while I never felt the slightest bite.  For our collective efforts, our gang of 12 ended up with three fish.  In spite of the measly haul, we caught more fish than the folks in the other shelter. Last we heard they were completely shut out!  It was hardly the kind of day that would make for a great fishing show, unless you enjoyed watching a bunch of people sit on wooden benches, crouched over and staring down into a hole in the ice.  I commented that the guide service should also offer chiropractic adjustments at the end of the day.

Our view for the better part of 3.5 hours!  Slushy ice would occasionally start to form on top of the water and would have to be scooped out.  That created some added excitement.

Please make no mistake about it, this wasn't Clarence's fault.  He did everything within his power, including suggestions to change baits, depth we were fishing and techniques.  He even opened a few holes outside the shelter for us to fish outside.  Several of us, including Beth and I, tried the outdoor fishing for a while, but had no success with it either.  It certainly wasn't the fault of the people holding the rods.  We all gave it our best shots.  The blame for our lack of action lies exclusively on the fish, who all seemed to be on a hunger strike!  

We even tried outside for a while...............

Although it was sunny, we didn't last too long outside.  It was 12 degrees, and we hadn't dressed for outside fishing.

Would it have been a better experience if we would have caught fish?  Absolutely!  Do we regret that we did it?  No way!  We created another memory and have a story, not about the big ones that got away, but about the ones that never took the bait! 

Beth made friends with the ice bear that was outside our hotel.

Standing in the middle of the Chena River.  It's about 150 yards wide.  During the summer it is popular with boaters.  During the winter it's popular for snowmobiling, snow shoeing, cross country skiing and walking.  

Fairbanks Adventures Part 2................A little light, a big moose, mushing along the trail, art frozen in time, old cars and clothes, all in a single day!

Beth took this just before sunrise

Our Sunday in Fairbanks started early.  I checked the aroura app on my phone around 6:00 AM and it indicated that we might have a chance to view it.  When I told Beth, she grabbed her phone (camera) and was out the door in only her night gown and slippers.  She was rewarded for her bravery in facing the -3 degrees with a nice but brief show.  By the time I put on my 27 layers of clothing and joined her the show was over.  We both retreated back into the cozy confines and enjoyed a hot beverage while watching the sunrise.

She got a couple of more shots before frostbite had time to set in!

After a while Beth realized we weren't alone.  We had been joined by a moose who was scrounging for breakfast in a small cluster of trees no more than 15 yards outside our window.  We enjoyed watching it for about five minutes before the lodge owners dog chased it further down the field and into a larger group of trees.  Northern Lights and a visiting moose, and it wasn't 8:00 yet!  It was shaping up to be a super Sunday!

High fiber/low fat breakfast

After breakfast we checked out of the lodge and made the very short drive to Paws for Adventure for our dog sledding tour.  Our suitcases were now quite light because we had on practically every item of clothing we brought.  We had heard that "layering was the key" and we were certainly layered up.  We both resembled Ralphie's little brother Randy from the classic movie The Christmas Story.  We did so good, that when we checked in for our ride the hostess looked us over and proclaimed, "you guys look like you're ready to go"!  Paws for Adventure provides warm clothing if needed, but we were good to go.

Paws for Adventure

We were ready, our musher Jeremy, and his team of 10 dogs were ready, and soon we were off on the trail.  Jeremy was an absolute blast to have as our mushing guide.  He shared with us that he is originally from Idaho and that he came to Alaska 14 years ago to attend the University of Alaska-Juneau, majoring in math.  He took a part time job at a kennel and soon his passion for mushing and caring for the dogs became his full-time occupation.  We loved learning about his dogs as well as his experience competing in the 2021 Iditarod.  Sledding along for a few miles behind his team of dogs was an amazing experience.  I think I'm a little too old to learn to be a musher and compete in the Iditarod.  If only I had discovered mushing a few decades back, who knows what would have happened!

These pups Beth and I are playing with had the day off..........

They love to run!  According to Jeremy, during the Iditarod the dogs will burn between 10,000-14,000 calories per day.  Their diet is a combination of high protein/high fat dried dog food, meat and fish.

A great ride!

A great musher!

In addition to the Iditarod there are numerous other winter events and competitions going on around Alaska this month, including the World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks.  More than 100 sculptors from over 30 countries are competing in different categories.  Their works of art are on display outdoors at the Tanana Valley State Fairgrounds.  They are frozen in time (literally) from February 14 through March 31, assuming there isn't a warm front that pushes through the area.  There was no warm front today, the high only reached around 12 degrees, so we didn't see a single drip off any of the amazing works of art.  The display is open from noon until 10:00 daily and the admission is good for the entire day, so we went back at night.  They were even more spectacular under the lights and at 2 degrees there was still no evidence of melting!

You could relax and play a game of checkers.............

or test your skills on the ice golf hole (As usual, I three putted).  There was also table hockey and ping pong available.

Gator Nation was represented in the Ice Art!

The salmon were running

It's hard to see in the picture but Mama Bear is pregnant!  The unborn cub was carved with the same detail as mom and the cub.

It's hard to tell in the picture, but Sasquatch was at least 20 feet tall.

As nice as it was during the day, the displays were even better at night....

Nice King and Queens Thrones in front of the sledding hill.............

and the coolest couch ever!

World Ice Art Championships

Something we hadn't planned on doing, until we kept hearing people talk about it being so good, was the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum.  Neither of us could remotely be considered auto enthusiasts.  We own a 2005 Honda Accord with over 252,000 miles on it and of course the 2016 Honda Accord CRV known affectionally as "The Silver Bullet".  I guess the 2005 is somewhat close to being an antique, but that probably doesn't count.  In spite of our lack of passion for cars, the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum was very interesting and entertaining.  All of the 60+ cars on display had interesting stories accompanying them.  Also, throughout the museum there were displays of original clothing from the same time period.  We learned from a very informative volunteer that all but three of the cars still run.  As he put it, they are taken out and exercised several times a year.   He was also proud to let me know that the crown jewel of the cars was the 1931 Model J Duesenberg that the museum owner purchased for just over 1.2 million dollars!

The museum was very interesting and informative.

The Stanley Steamer.  It burned kerosene to produce steam.

The 1931 Duesenberg.  The phrase "it's a doozy" originally referred to the cars.

Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

We packed a lot into our Sunday in Fairbanks, but there's more to come.  Ice fishing is on tomorrow's agenda and the northern light forecast is looking promising.  We'll be layering up again tomorrow.  The morning low is forecast to be around -12 and the high around 18.  I guess the ice carvings are safe a while longer.

Sunset on the frozen Chena River taken from our hotel room.

Yep!

Fairbanks Adventures, Part 1.......................Trains, Hot Springs and South to North Pole!

 

Howdy from North Pole, Alaska!

Our train from Talkeetna to Fairbanks was scheduled to leave Thursday morning at 11:30. Sometimes things don't go as they're planned, and we were about three hours late leaving.  In the grand scheme of things, this was no big deal.  The only negative was that it shortened the time we were on the train during daylight by a couple of hours.  As with the train ride from Anchorage to Talkeetna a few days earlier, the views along the way were amazing.  We saw at least a dozen more moose as we made our way north.  The engineer even had to slow the train to a crawl for about a mile while a female moose and her calf walked along the tracks.

Talkeetna Train Station

Northward to Fairbanks!

About an hour before reaching Fairbanks the train host announced excitedly that the Northern Lights were putting on a show.  For a minute or so the train crew was kind enough to turn off all the lights on the train, and we got a glimpse of the dancing night sky.  The train was filled with ohhs and ahhs from all of us passengers from the "lower 48", probably much to the amusement of the local passengers.

Beth and I can now say that with the exception of a small spur route from Girdwood to Whitter that we've ridden the entire length of the Alaska Railroad.  What we would have trouble putting into words is the incredible scenery along the way.  Although I wouldn't recommend it, you could come to Alaska and do nothing but ride the train and leave having had a great adventure.  You'll enjoy it a whole lot more by getting out and exploring, but if you have a chance to build a ride on the Alaska Railroad in, you'll be glad you did!

Healey Pass, just north of Denali National Park

A mom and her calf (Moose) scampering across the frozen river as seen from the train

Because of the train running late, it was a little after 11:00 when we got to our room at Pike's Waterfront Lodge.  Feeling confident because of the earlier view of the Northern Lights from the train, we dropped the bags in the room and headed outside hoping for more of a show.  We did see a little bit more, but we're still hoping for more over the next few days.

Hopefully we'll get more of the Northern Lights over the next couple of evenings

After enjoying a nice "complimentary" breakfast at the hotel, I picked up the rental car from the airport.  The employee at Budget gave me some rental car instructions that I had never received before.  She told me that if the temperature drops to -20 to plug the car into a outlet.  I assured her I would, but was thinking to myself that I might want to use that outlet to plug myself into if it gets that cold.  The good news is that so far the forecast is showing that the coldest it's going to get while we're here is -18!

Our first Fairbanks adventure was Chena Hot Springs, which as the name implies, is a hot spring that is located about 60 miles out of Fairbanks.   Rumors of warm, soothing mineral water floated amongst the gold prospectors in the early 1900's.  A pair of prospecting brothers (Robert and Thomas Swan) hit it big when after over a month of searching they discovered what is now known as Chena Hot Springs Resort.  While our journey to the hot springs wasn't as difficult as the Swan brothers, it wasn't easy either.  The snowfall this year has been very heavy, and the road was pretty icy, especially the last 20 miles or so, in which the road was a solid sheet of ice.  We made it safely and enjoyed soaking for more than two hours in the warm waters. We enjoyed talking to many travelers.  Among them were some from North Dakota, Wisconsin and Virginia who had also braved the road.  Thankfully, our drive from the hot springs was also a safe one and we arrived at our next accommodation, the Taste of Alaska Lodge, without any bumps or bruises and the rental car fully intact. 

The icy road to Chena Hot Springs................

the reward at the end of the road!

Chena Hot Springs

What started as homesteaded farmland in 1947 by Walter Eberhart evolved into a lodge in 1992, which has remained in the family for three generations.  I've enjoyed visiting with Debbie, who along with her husband David operated the lodge for years and still live on the 260-acre property  (their son and his wife manage the lodge now).  This morning at breakfast Debbie proudly shared with us a picture she had taken of a moose earlier, as it trampled through the belly deep snow just outside the main lodge.

A Taste of Alaska Lodge

After breakfast we set out for the day with an itinerary in mind.  First up was the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center in downtown Fairbanks.  Somehow we had missed this free attraction on previous visits to Fairbanks and are thankful to the couple from Colorado Springs who suggested it to us.  The center is full of outstanding displays and information on many aspects of life in Alaska both past and present.  We enjoyed spending close to an hour slowly walking through the seasons of the year displays before we headed south to reach North Pole.

The Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center

Athabaskan (Indigenous Alaskans) Culture dictates that women of childbearing years are not permitted to eat bear meat, speak about bears or even view them!

Antler Arch is located just outside the Morris Thompson Visitors Center

Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center

North Pole is not "The North Pole" but is actually a small city just a few miles south of Fairbanks.  Capitalizing on it's name, it is known for it's year round Christmas decorations that include candy cane painted street lights, Christmas themed street names (Kris Kringle Drive, Mistletoe Lane and Santa Claus Lane) and the Santa Claus House Christmas store.  We were very fortunate that today Santa happened to be home and we were able to get our picture with him as well as some of his reindeer.

Just south of Fairbanks is North Pole!

Looking rested up and starting to get ready.........only 287 days to go!

Sending Christmas greetings from North Pole!

Like Santa, the reindeer are looking good!

Santa Claus House

I assured the big man that I was trying my best to be good this year.  It's going to be a challenge to make it to Christmas.  According to the countdown clock inside the Santa Claus House, Christmas is 287 days away..........oh my!

Today's blogging window!