Thursday, July 20, 2023
Today started out cloudy and rainy at 63 degrees, so we decided to not do any sightseeing. Instead we decided to do our laundry and run some errands -- to Safeway for groceries, to Fred Meyer for gas, to Arby's for lunch and then to Walmart for groceries. For dinner, we had steak and salad.
Friday, July 21, 2023
Today started out as another beautiful day in Fairbanks, with sunshine and a temperature of 61 degrees that would reach 80 degrees in the afternoon.
After going to the post office in Fairbanks to see if we could pick up mail we had sent to the post office, we then drove to the Chena Hot Springs Resort.
The Chena Hot Springs Resort is located about 60 miles northeast of Fairbanks. The road is paved, and well-maintained and passes by many ponds and sloughs, through low, rolling hills and the flats of the Little Chena River.
Chena Hot Springs is an unincorporated community and hot spring resort in Fairbanks North Star Borough. The resort makes use of the first low-temperature binary geothermal power plant built in Alaska.
(Aerial view of Chena Hot Springs resort.)
Chena Hot Springs was founded over 100 years ago by two gold mining brothers, Robert and Thomas Swan. In 1905, Robert Swan was suffering from rheumatism and needed a place to calm his pain and be comfortable.
The two brothers set out to find the hot springs. It took them a little over a month to reach the hot springs after searching for it in Interior Alaska's harsh landscape. In 1911, twelve small cabins were built to accommodate visitors.
Also located and on display at Chena Hot Springs resort is a DC6 aircraft that was previously owned by Everts Air Cargo. It is on a dirt airstrip and is hoisted on top of 30-foot poles for display. (See above and below.)
Also on the Chena Hot Springs resort property is the Aurora Ice Museum -- the world's largest year-round ice environment (see above and below). This unique ice museum is created from over 1,000 tons of ice and snow, and is kept at 25 degrees year-round. The intricate detail of each sculpture reveals the artistry in each piece. An optional cocktail is available in an ice-carved martini glass.
And even though we didn't get a chance to go inside the Aurora Ice Museum below is what it looks like with all the ice carvings and lights galore.
We got to Chena Hot Springs at 11:15 a.m. and stayed until 2:45 p.m. It cost us $18/each for senior admission. Below is a story board about the early history and geology of the hot springs.
Chena Hot Springs Resort operates a big indoor pool and hot tub and also has a handsome outdoor wading, boulder-lined lake with a sandy bottom, all of it constantly replenished by pungent mineral spring water that rises from the earth at about 165 degrees Fahrenheit. This facility has authentic Gold Rush roots and was already a premier destination for Alaska's Interior by 1912, with people traveling by stage from Fairbanks. The outdoor hot springs area maintains an average temperature of 106 degrees year round. We strolled around the outdoor hot springs until we found our perfect "Goldilocks" sweet spot -- where it was not too hot, not too cold but just right for our soak.
Mel tucked into the "sweet spot'' where the water was just right!
I walked around a bit trying to take selfie pictures with my phone and not drop it or get it wet.
You can see the water spray behind me in the picture above and the spray coming out of the boulder in the picture below with Mel.
We enjoyed our soak in the hot springs, but we didn't think it was as much fun as the time we spent at Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park with our friends, Brian and Karen Burk.
Above and below are pictures of some of the antiques placed around Chena Hot Springs Resort.
And as we were just getting ready to leave the hot springs, we met Brian, Karen and their daughter Alyssa who has just arrived. We had asked them to join us, but since neither one of us had cell service there, we were unable to communicate with each other.
On our way home we stopped at Taco Bell for a late lunch/early dinner. We made one more stop at the post office to see if the mail had arrived yet and then got home around 4:30 p.m.
We enjoyed our steaming hot soak today and are looking forward to our visit to the North Pole tomorrow!
Shirley & Mel
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