Alaska: The North and Ice Museum

We flew back to Fairbanks and did some exploring in our remaining couple of days. We drove west and did a hike on the way to Chena hot springs where we walked through an Ice Museum.  

Hike crossing the water

Beautiful views of the mountains

Up at the top

The ONLY time it rained while we were in Alaska was when we had finished the hike and we were waiting for the next tour through the Ice Museum. It poured like mad, but we were inside and warm. 

The ice for the sculptures is collected from a nearby river. It is cut into big squares and transported to the museum where they have designed special tools for creating their sculptures. There is a couple who works here and makes all the sculptures - they have won a bunch of competitions and are some of the most famous ice sculptors in the world. 

A jousting knight

Apparently you can stay the night in the Ice Museum in this lovely polar bear bed.... seems a bit chilly to me though. 

We were very glad for the coats they provided

Some of the work is exquisite

Musical ice? I tapped it and it actually worked! 

Some things were recognizable

The most expensive drink I think I've ever purchased for myself, but it was yummy! The only drink that they serve is an apple martini at the ice bar. Its served in a martini glass (you guessed it!) made entirely of ICE! 

This particular piece of ice is not harvested from the river (thankfully! who wants to drink out of pond water?!) this ice sculpture was made with restaurant grade filtered water. 

The caribou skins are a life saver (behind-saver?) to keep your warm rump from melting the ice chairs. 

Now for some very random, but very interesting pictures of Alaska. 

Fun facts about chickadees - some of my favorite birds

In Alaska it gets so cold that cars won't start. They have to have an electrical plug to warm up the starter block so that the car can turn on. There are all sorts of places to plug in the cars throughout the city. 

And last but not least, MIDNIGHT SUN! 

It is so light out

The sun was still above the horizon, but unfortunately because of the clouds you couldn't see it. 

I hope you have enjoyed the pictures and stories from our adventures in Alaska. Thanks for taking the time to read our blog. I'm on a roll now, so hopefully soon you will see posts from Seattle, Joshua Tree/San Diego, Jamaica and Salt Lake City

Alaska: North - Day hike

The North, continued. 

As you leave Coldfoot heading north, there are some very helpful signs about what amenities are available along the Dalton Highway. 

Not much. 

This is where we are headed. Oh yeah. 

Once again, our pictures are limited because we had to beware of mosquitoes. We have come from the road (that faint tan line) and are headed up the ridge. Once you get above the trees, there is enough of a breeze to keep the mosquitoes away. 

Looking north

On one of the first false peaks. This is looking down on Coldfoot. You can see the road to the right, and further to the right is the river (not the Yukon). In the middle is a lake that we had to walk around (which is why we started the hike on the road) and now we are headed up and to the left. 

There were many false peaks. 

But we are having fun :) 

And we are at the top! You can see the ridge behind us that winds to the right and down. 

The ridge up at the top

Great views! 

Happy!

These plants are crunchy

Again, sinking into the vegetation. Going up is awful, but going down is like jumping on pillows. 

Since there isn't a path, we needed to find the old mining road that leads out to the Dalton Highway. There is a creek (where all the taller trees are darker green) that we have to cross and the mining road is on the other side. This picture served a bit as our map. 

SINKING

And we are back down. The mining road is nice and broad here, but it heads into the trees and gets very narrow, very fast. 

We drove north to Coldfoot (it took about 8 hours) and flew back in one of the many small aircraft in Alaska. Something like 1 in 3 people have their license to fly in this state. 

Hi!

Cool clouds

Stay tuned - we have one more (maybe two) posts about Alaska coming up! 

Alaska: North

And we are back with more from Alaska from June 2015. Jeremy and I finished our tour of Seward and Anchorage and continued to Fairbanks where we joined up with a tour to go north of the Arctic Circle. We saw bears, moose, and became very acquainted with the state bird (ie: mosquito).

Arctic Circle Fun facts: It is the southernmost part of the globe where on the summer solstice the sun remains above the horizon for 24 hours - the further north you go the more "days" of light you have. The opposite is true as well. On the winter solstice the sun remains BELOW the horizon for 24 hours. The lowest temperature recorded in the northernmost city of Alaska (Barrow) is -56F. The Arctic is home to some very interesting creatures including the arctic fox, the polar bear and the narwhal. We didn't get so far north to see these creatures, but they are pretty cool.

Because we were north of the Arctic Circle a couple days before the summer solstice, the sun never truly set for us.

Now for the pictures.

This is the famous Dalton Highway. Its literally the ONLY WAY to travel by land north through central Alaska. 

The majority of the road is gravel. Here we stopped to check out a mama moose with her two calves. 

The trees are something else. Yes, those are trees. They look like they dropped out of a Dr. Seuss book. They are quite small due to the limited sunlight in the winter months. Also, the ground is frozen, making it hard for the roots to go very deep. 

Everyone gets a picture of the pipeline. Its over 800 miles long. 

The great Yukon River. Before there was a bridge, the river was only passable during summer (with a ferry) and winter (by driving across). During spring and fall when the water is freezing and melting, it becomes too treacherous to pass. The drivers would make bets as to when the ice would crack - and this would be found out the hard way (when a truck falls partially through the ice). 

Nice view of "nowhere" 

And we are across! It felt pretty cheezy to get a picture with the rug, but we allowed for a bit of showmanship for our driver. 

The bear. He ran away from us (we are so fierce).

Another beautiful view of wilderness

Not a house for miles and miles and miles....

For those of you who didn't look up the Arctic Circle after my fun facts up above... here is a picture. I made it super big so that you can see the black dashed line of the circle, and the little yellow star just north of it at a place called Coldfoot. 

And here we are, in Coldfoot. The restaurant is on the left. The lodge is to the right. Not a whole lot here. Notice the big hill in the background - we hike this the next day. 

We went for a hike the afternoon we arrived. This is what it looks like. 

It wasn't particularly cold, but we had to wear extra layers to keep the mosquitoes away. 

Evidence. 

When you would stop moving, the mosquitoes would hone in. We are trying to brush them away from our faces while we pause for like a SECOND but they were tenacious. 

The amazing part of hiking in the north is that there aren't any trails. Like, none. We blazed our own path and went wherever we wanted. Though, you can't REALLY go wherever you want, because you have to avoid the boggy marshes and the impassable vegetation... etc. 

Can you SEE the mosquitoes on my head? I have like 5 of them on there. If you look closely, I even captured one that is about to go for my jugular. And, I was STILL WALKING while taking this picture. Hence, there are very few pictures of this hike. 

The ground is covered in wild grasses that grow in a thick column about 12 inches high. Between them is a mini canyon that is just begging to twist your ankle. You have to be really careful where you walk. 

There is also really soft parts in the vegetation. I'm trying to show just how far my feet are sinking into it every step. 

More Dr. Seuss - Thneed material anyone? 

Midnight in the Arctic

Going to make a new post for our hike the next day.