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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
