Our Trip to Chena Hot Springs - Sal's Take

Chena Hot Springs Resort is located 57 miles northeast of Fairbanks.  We decided to visit because, according to its website:

Chena Hot Springs Resort is world renown for being one of the best places on Earth to see the northern lights. It is located under the most active band of northern lights, it is away from the light pollution of city lights, and the skies over Chena are clear more often than those over Fairbanks, 60 miles away.

We checked the Auroa Forecast on the Geophysical Institute's Website and decided the nights of November 1 and 2 looked promising. 

The majority of our trip would be on AK-3, or the George Parks Highway, which goes from just outside Anchorage to Fairbanks.  George Parks was governor of the Alaska territory from 1925 - 1933.  The road is often called the Parks Highway.  People who only hear it called by its short name think it was named that because it goes by Denali NP.  No.  

Day 1: Nov 1

It is a 7.5-hour drive from Anchorage to Chena Hot Springs when driving conditions are perfect.  November is winter in Alaska, so conditions might not be "perfect".  We wanted to get there before dark (sunset was at 5:10pm) and allow extra driving time.  We decided to leave at 6:00am.  It would be dark, but we figured driving roads near Anchorage in the dark was better than driving roads near Chena Hot Springs (CHS) in the dark.

We were on the road by 6:10. It was dark.  We were on alert for moose and Northern Lights.  We saw 4 or 5 moose by the road before daylight.   The Northern Lights weren't out.

Healy is 4.5-hours from Anchorage.  We planned to stop at 49th State Brewing in Healy for lunch.  We were disappointed to discover it was closed for the season.  Denali NP is about 11 miles from Healy and there are restaurants, shops and lodging at the park entrance.  All the businesses outside the entrance to Denali NP were boarded up.  BB found Rosa's restaurant near Healy that, according to its website, was open.  It was not.  We ended up getting gas at a Vitus station in Healy and stopping at Three Bears Grocery for bathroom break and snacks. 

We experienced snow showers on the Parks Highway in the neighborhood of Denali NP and Healy.  Then the sun came out.  And made RAINBOWS!  Rainbows and snow....who'd a thunk it?

We discussed having lunch in Fairbanks but decided we just wanted to get there.  I was driving and while the roads weren't bad I was channeling my Mother, which means I was worried about what the weather and roads might be like closer to CHS.  However, we arrived about 3:30, still daylight and without incident.

We checked into our room and headed straight to dinner.  We both had halibut. I don't remember ever having halibut before coming to Alaska.  Halibut has replaced salmon as my favorite fish.

We rested for a few hours before bundling up to go hunt for the Northern Lights.   The night looked promising.  The stars were out.  The forecast for the Lights was promising.  A room in the Resort's Activity Center was set up for viewing.  It had chairs in front of a large, north facing picture window.  The room had a door to the outside. We would watch out the window until we saw something promising, then move outside for a better look.  We were not disappointed. The lights showed up!  At first they were faint cloud-like formations over the horizon.  The faint clouds turned into defined bands of light crossing the sky.  Then they grew to be bright, dramatic waves of light that covered half the sky.  It was awesome!

BB took these two Northern Light pictures:

The Viewing Room in the Activity Center (Seymour the Moose says Hi!):

Day 2:  Nov 2

First order of the day was a visit to the hot springs pool. We were conflicted. The pool is outdoors.  The average temperature of the water is 106 degrees (Yeah!).  The air temperature around 20 degrees (Boo!).   We had much discussion on what to wear to the bathhouse and whether it was possible to stay warm going from the bathhouse to the pool.   We didn't run from the bathhouse into the pool; however, I admit we walked very quickly!  It was warm and relaxing in the pool.  Mist rose from the water and coated the trees with frost, giving the place a magical, fairy tale look.  

Second order of the day was a GEO Thermal tour, or the many ways CHS uses thermal energy.  All the salad greens, herbs and tomatoes served in the restaurant and flowers used to decorate the property are grown in green houses heated using thermal energy.  The resort is conducting collaborative experiments in greenhouse production of vegetables with the UAF Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. CHS is off the power grid.  The resort's power needs are met by a geothermal power plant.  All the buildings are heated using hot water radiators.

Our third event of the day was a tour of the Aurora Ice Museum.  We were surprised to hear that this is the world's largest year-round ice environment.  Another Biggest/Largest item for our list!  Inside the museum are many amazing ice sculptures (jousting knights, a chess set, an igloo and more), an ice chapel (CHS allows couples to get married in the ice chapel), 4 hotel rooms made of ice (you can book one for the night) and a bar made of ice that serves drinks in glasses made of ice.   Very Cool!  (Pun intended).

Wandering around the resort we saw a warm water pond posted with a sign reading "for moose and ducks."  The ducks flew over us while we were soaking in the hot springs.  No moose showed up.  We did see a fox playing in the snow.

The evening was overcast.  We hunted the Northern Lights for a few hours with no success.  The lights were so specular last night that we were OK they didn't appear tonight.

The Hot Springs Pool:

The mist turns to frost on the trees:

CHS Greenhouses:

In the Aurora Ice Museum:
   Knights Jousting

The Ice Bar

Us in the Igloo:

The Fox:

Day 3:  Nov 3

Time to go home.

We left early, 7:50.  Besides being a long drive we had things we wanted to see near Fairbanks.  

It was snowing lightly during the 64-mile drive to the Fairbank's Fred Meyer on Airport Way.  Why did we want to see this Fred Meyer store?  It's another Biggest for our list! The Fairbanks Fred Meyer on Airport Way has the highest sales in the entire country. One reason the store's sales are so high is that it delivers goods to many bush communities in Alaska's interior.  It is the second largest in size with a footprint of over 5 acres.  It certainly is an impressive store.  After filling up with gas we headed 20 miles down the road to our next stop.

The next stop before heading home was North Pole, Alaska.  Here we visited the Santa Claus House. We saw Christmas decor and candies galore along with reindeer and the World's Largest Santa!  Another entry for our list!  Lunch was at the Country Cafe.  The Country Cafe was featured on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. 

The Three Bears in Healy saw us again, as we stopped for gas and to use the rest room.  We encountered snow several miles on each side of Talkeetna, but slow and steady got us home safely.  

The end of the trip was topped off with a beautiful sunset!  

Inside Fred Meyer:

World's Biggest Santa:

Sal