It's 2:25 am, we are standing outside in the cold, holding each other in our arms. I look up as tears begin to form in my eyes. I try to blink them away, but they freeze on my eyelashes. I've been waiting for this moment my entire life, and I can't believe it's finally happening! I gaze into Marshall's eyes, see the glum exhaustion in his face, and I realize that he clearly does not share the sentiment, and might have preferred to be left sleeping in bed. But I was not going to miss this, the reason I traveled over a thousand miles to stand in subzero temperatures in the middle of the night, looking up at the faint olive green blur stretching across like a murky cloud. No, I wanted to see the Northern Lights so badly that I arranged the wake up call for when they appeared, no matter the time. And now I am groggily looking up at the sky, and where some might be disappointed in the lackluster appearance of the night, I can't keep my excitement in.
Five minutes after this scene, Marshall and I went back inside and fell asleep, although I'm sure Marshall would have been content sleeping the whole time. Then again, we came to Fairbanks to spend some time together, relax in a hot spring, and see the Northern Lights. And I did it.
Fairbanks warmed up for us quite a bit on Thursday February 12. It was a whopping 23 degrees! However that warmth lasted about two hours, and the temperature rapidly dropped back to the negatives by nightfall. We arrived at our hotel, Chena Hot Springs Resort, after an hour drive from the airport and downtown Fairbanks, near 3:30 pm. The drive was fairly easy for most of the roads being covered in a thick layer of ice. Not having any experience with cold weather driving, I left the daunting task to Marshall, and he handled it with ease.
We checked in and went to our room, which was very close to the entrance to our building, 101. The resort has several small buildings that each contain 4-6 hotel rooms or suites. Our building was right in the middle of the resort, which was nice because we didn't have to walk too far in the cold to get anywhere.
The hot springs themselves were fantastic. There was an indoor pool and a few hot tubs, which were standard, and outside there was a very large hot tub which would have been great if we had visited that first. But the real catch is the rock lake, fed directly by the hot spring. We walked in the darkness down an ice lined covered walkway, under the faint light and heat provided by overhead heat lamps, and hung our towels on a couple of hooks. The walkway turned to the right and then descended and an incline, and suddenly we were immersed in the water of the rock lake. The sky open above us, a fountain in the distance, and steam swirling around the surface of the water and off into the night, the only thing I wanted was a light. There are colored lights around the edge, but nothing to penetrate the darkness of the water. And we all know how I am about dark water. So, after several minutes of freaking out and insisting that Marshall carry me in the water, the warmth finally calmed me down and I touched the sandy bottom, 3 and a half feet below the water's surface. I know, I'm a chicken.
The water temp at the source was 146 degrees, and the outside air was -20. It took about two minutes for our hair to freeze, and shortly afterwards, if we didn't dunk in the hot water, ice would form on the frozen sculptures of our heads, turning them white. Being the respectable adults that we are, Marshall and I held our hair in funny shapes and let them freeze that way, making fun of each other for their silvery-white spikes. As you can imagine my hair looked a lot sillier sticking straight up from my head.
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| A Reindeer! |
After relaxing at the hot spring, we went back to the room and slept, that is, until a man knocked on our door informing us that the Lights were out. I bundled up quickly, impatiently stood around as Marshall dressed, and then ran outside. It was very beautiful, even though I could barely even see them. But it was enough for me, and it only took a couple of minutes to fulfill a lifelong dream, so it was all worth it.
The next morning, we ate breakfast at the restaurant and then drove back into Fairbanks. We completely missed downtown because we drove right through it and didn't realize it. But we found a movie theater and, since we had a few hours before we could check into our next hotel, decided to watch Kingsman, the Secret Service. It was a great funny movie in case anyone wants to know.
We checked into the Alpine Lodge, located about 4 blocks from the airport and only a mile out of downtown (which you might never find anyways). It was very clean and quite cozy. The restaurant associated, The Finish Line, was very expensive but the food was great! We had the Valentine's Day special; an appetizer of asparagus wrapped in pancetta, an entree of choice (chicken, vegetarian, or filet mignon; Marshall and I each had the filet Mignon), and a dessert to split. The steak was perfectly prepared, on top of delicious mashed potatoes, on top of a cooked spinach salad, which I honestly thought I wouldn't like but I loved. For dessert we split a slice of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake, with two chocolate dipped strawberries. I also got a "hearts afire" drink which is hot chocolate, chocolate liqueur, whipped cream vodka, and a float of 151 on top, set on fire. It was very strong and I would not recommend for the faint of heart. The weirdest part about all of this was that a family came in to eat after we had sat down, and while there were many open tables, this family, with children, sat at the bar. Children at the bar. A confusing sight for me, but Marshall wouldn't let me sneak a picture. Apparently that's weird.
Saturday morning we packed out stuff at 4:45 am and headed back to the airport, where we caught the first flight home and unfortunately I had to work. But all in all it was a great weekend and a fun Valentine's excursion to the edge of the arctic.
