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.
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!
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.
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!
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!
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!
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.
