Chena Hot Springs Resort, Alaska

On our third day in Fairbanks, the rain finally let up and a clear night was forecast.  We headed out to the resort of Chena Hot Springs which is about an hour’s drive north-east of Fairbanks.  By escaping the light pollution of town we were in a better position to get a glimpse of the Northern Lights. We were also keen to visit another hot spring as we thoroughly enjoying the relaxing experience last time at Liard River Hot Springs Campground in Yukon. The ice museum at the resort also gets an excellent write up on TripAdvisor, so we were intrigued to visit.

Our Alaska guide book, The Milepost, stated that there were many places to boondock on the road the Chena Hot Springs road alongside the Chena River.  Free camping in remote Alaska - YES please!   And if the campground happened to be full or if the lights didn't show themselves that meant we could spend a few nights nearby for free waiting for them to make their magical appearance.

We knew that it was a bit pricey for the hot springs entry at $15 each per day on top of $20 for the campsite.  In Liard River, Yukon the hot springs access was included in the very reasonable cost of the campsite.  Chena doesn't look like much when you first arrive and the campsite is a bit neglected with potholes and overgrown trees.  It was virtually empty so after inspecting every site to ensure we got a site that slopes the right way for Winnie to balance out her low front end, and not too many trees around obscuring the night sky, we chose the best spot by the river and paid up.  At 7pm we headed out for the evening tour of the ice museum.  We had no idea how much it was going to be and as we joined the tour at the door, we realised we were supposed to book it and pay in advance.  The guide informed us it was $15 each for a short tour and an extra $15 for an apple Martini in a handmade ice glass!  Feeling the pressure of impatient ticket holders we agreed to the tour and said we would probably have one Martini between the two of us.

I didn't know what to expect inside the ice museum.  The word "museum" always makes things sound boring to me, but surely no museum that serves apple Martini can be that bad!  Neither of us has ever been to anything like it before, but quite a few people we know have been to Icebar in London and raved about it.

We were offered thermal coats at the door but we had come prepared with our own coats and gloves for me.  They apparently have students who work on their sculptures during the day.   Just inside the door was a workshop with lots of tools on one side and on the other side was their stock of huge ice blocks which are harvested from the local lakes every winter and stored for use throughout the year!  Then we went through into the bar area which was so cozy, complete with a fake fireplace lit up with an orange glow.  The globes on top of the balustrades were absolutely fantastic – I still have no idea how the hell they manage to make those!  They also had an altar area for weddings to take place and two hotel bedrooms at the far end.  Apparently they tried to register it as a hotel, but the powers that be rejected it because it doesn't have a sprinkler system. Like an ice room has a great need for a sprinkler system!

We shared the Martini cocktail and it was fab, but I was more impressed with the workmanship that goes into making a stemmed ice glass!  Apparently the ice carvers love their work so much they have a stock of 16,000 Martini glasses!  I could imagine that I would love a vocation in ice carving if only I didn't feel the cold so much.  My gloved fingers were numb after only half an hour or so in there - it is only about 24-27 degrees Fahrenheit which is minus 3-4 Celsius.  I just can’t handle the cold!

With all photographs taken I was keen to get warmed up and what better way to do it than in a hot spring!

There was one large outdoor pool surrounded by large rocks placed strategically so that it was possible to climb out of the water and cool down.  The water is so hot that the maximum recommended immersion time is only 20-30 minutes, any longer and you risk hyperthermia.  At the price we paid we wanted a little more than half an hour for our money; so we hauled ourselves out at the hot end for a recovery rest.  We also discovered that the cool water jet at the side gave a fantastic back and foot massage.  The pool was surrounded by beautiful gardens with huge sunflowers in full bloom.  There was also a cooler indoor pool for the kids, but this was somewhat dated and seeing the colour of the water was a bit off-putting (what percentage of the water was actually pee?!).

After about an hour and a half of dipping in and out of the scorching water and starting to feel a bit light headed we decided to make our leave.  I had spotted the free showers in the changing room on the way in and couldn’t wait to take full advantage of a shower without the worry of having to conserve every drop of water, as we do in the RV.  We have been living on military style showers, and sink washing since we moved into Winnie, so an unlimited shower is SUCH a luxury now!  I had told Adam of my intention to make the most of it so we agreed that he would head back without me.  When I emerged from my shower (surprisingly early by all accounts), the front desk was warning guests that there was a black bear roaming around the campground.  Oh shit, I thought, Adam has just gone back there on his own, but at least he had the bear spray.  Oh that’s right, now I had to walk back on my own without the bear spray – great!! Thankfully, he had got the news just in time and decided to hang around and wait for me…thanks baby :D!!  We walked back together making loads of noise and didn’t meet any bears in the trees of the darkening dusk.

We settled in ready for a long night, and had a late night feast - cheeseboard with grapes, apples and bread.  This was washed down with a couple of frozen margaritas accompanied by some soft rock on the only radio channel.  We peered out of the windows excitedly watching and waiting.   At just gone midnight we went out to the mini airstrip just outside the campground which has an open view of the sky.  The sky was mostly clear, but the full moon was drenching the landscape in light, and there were no signs at all of the elusive northern lights. We went out again an hour later, by which time it was quite cold, and we saw nothing.  Coldness and tiredness overtook us at 2 or 3 am and once we got in bed to keep warm we were soon asleep. Northern lights: #Fail

The next morning we went to see the resident huskies at  their kennels. About a hundred adorable dogs welcomed us with wagging tails and howls of excitement.  They were all chained up, with signs warning not to touch the dogs.  They are taken out just for gentle exercise in the summer, but no mushing as they don't cope well with strenuous activity in warm weather.  They are sled dogs and happy in temperatures as low as minus 50 to 60 Celsius in the winter! They are a gorgeous breed of dog, and Adam and I would love one, but MK sadly is not the right climate for them.  I think Adam would happily move to Canada if it meant we could get one (or two!).  He, like the huskies, rarely feels the cold.  I, on the other hand, may not survive the winters!   

We spent the following night at one of the free boondocking sites, but the weather took a turn for the worst and it peed down all night. We woke to a dreaded leak from the seal of our motorhome's slide-out – not good!  The result was a soaked carpet and spot of de-lamination on the woodwork, but thankfully the ceiling was not involved.  The rain just wouldn’t let up so we could do little to resolve the situation.  We realised it leaked a lot less with the slide in so we spent the evening more cramped than we like.  It was the next day before it was dry enough to put some sealant on the joints. Our first attempt failed and we had the same problem again, but now we think we’re sorted.  It rained all last night and the carpet is as dry as a bone.  And a few nights ago on a dry clear night we finally got a spectacular show of the Northern Lights! Happy days!

Read More...

Journey to Alaska

It is a very long drive to Fairbanks, Alaska.... approximately 2,200 miles from the Canadian/USA boarder at Glacier National Park.  This amounts to a lot of fuel for our extremely thirsty Winnie at Canadian prices, a high potential for vehicle damage in the form of stone chips, windscreen damage, suspension damage, moose/elk in the road etc; and almost 50 hours of driving (one way) on very taxing roads! Despite all that, it was still our most anticipated and important leg of the journey.

A few weeks ago, when our funds were dwindling, we started to look into other options of seeing Alaska - like flying in and leaving Winnie somewhere near Seattle.  As it turns out, that option would have been just as expensive when we factored in flights, hotels, having to eat out, possibly needing car hire, and paying for storage for the RV. And then we would obviously miss out on the adventure and experience of actually travelling through Canada on the infamously remote and beautiful, but sometimes poorly maintained Alaskan Highway. The Northern Lights has always been a bucket list must-see for us, so sacking it off altogether was not an option! Plus, according to the experts the sun's energy runs in 11 year cycles and is peaking this year in 2013! We have literally planned our whole year trip around getting to Fairbanks (our northern-most stop) at the right time of year to ensure we saw the Northern lights in their full glory. 

The aurora isn't visible at all during the summer months because it hardly gets dark at all in the height of summer.  The dark evenings begin to set in around mid-August, so that is when we planned to arrive in Fairbanks. At 65 degrees north latitude, Fairbanks is within the so-called “Aurora oval” - the area where Northern Lights occur most often and are the brightest. The Aurora is most active late at night or early in the morning, clear skies and darkness are essential to see the northern lights. We considered that we only had a small window of opportunity to see Alaska because it starts to get incredibly cold around the end of September and then the snow arrives. For some reason Adam doesn't fancy driving the Winnie in snow and ice so I hope we time it right as I don’t fancy being stranded in Alaska for the winter!  

We have had our fingers crossed the whole way hoping for a safe trip without any mishaps, we simply can’t afford the hit of a big repair job on the RV without it impacting our budget to get us through to the end of the trip. We had read a lot on various RV forums about the Alaska Highway, and also the horror stories about the state of the road at times. Due to severe winters the roads are affected by frost heaves, cracking, potholes, wash-outs etc. The construction workers spend most of the summer months resurfacing the roads and repairing the damage. They don’t seem to tackle the resurfacing of roads quite the same here as they do at home in the UK.  Here they literally just scrape off the entire top layer of the road surface on both sides at once and divert you onto a makeshift rocky gravel dusty track for more than 20 miles at a time! Not good for the tyres, suspension, windscreen, undercarriage or my nerves! 

Thankfully we only encountered 2 stretches of road that were this bad between Whitehorse and Tok. The rest was mostly surfaced but with potholes and horrendous frost heaves that make you lose your stomach and the suspension bottoms out which I hate!  The scenery though more than made up for the roads, although Adam sadly missed a lot of it as he dare not take his eyes off the road for even a second.  You never know what will jump out in the road just ahead of you, or where the next tire damaging pot hole will be. 

Just to give you an idea of the remoteness of some sections of this road, there is no phone service so if you do break down there is no way of calling for help.  If we get a puncture there is no way we would get a spare put on ourselves (Winnie weighs 8 tonnes!).  We would probably have to wave someone down and hope they would give us a lift to the next town with phone signal!  There was no 911 emergency service for hundred mile stretches of road between towns, so who knows what you do if someone needed urgent medical assistance.  Probably the same procedure – flag down a lift!  Quite scary when you think about it, but I suppose the locals have been surviving here for thousands of years through harsh winters without these commodities so I guess you just get by if you have to.  While I was worrying about the lack of emergency assistance, I also had to convince Adam that the lack of 911 service did NOT mean that the area was a "lawless no man's land" where you could set up some kind of criminal enterprise and easily get away with it.  Clearly there are two kinds of people in this world!

Without mobile signal coverage in Canada to research our trip whilst on the road,  we had to rely on leeching WiFi in the few small towns we came across every few hundred miles or so. We also invested in a book called The Milepost which has full detailed maps of every mile of the Alaskan Highway as well as the all the routes throughout Western Canada and Alaska. It covers all points of interest, touristy stuff and campgrounds free and paid which came in useful a few times.  It lead us to stay at Liard River Hot Springs campsite for our first experience of a natural hot spring pool - fantastic and absolutely boiling at the "source" end of the pool 40-50 degrees C!  Shame we got absolutely done over by the mosquitoes at dusk!  Ugh - I still have three scars on my bum two weeks later...

The town of Watson Lake has a very interesting visitor centre which is surrounded by a signpost forest. Visitors are encouraged to leave a sign here which they mount on posts. There are more than 72,000 signs which vary from license plates, towns, people's names and date of visit or printed mottos.  We didn't have enough foresight to have a sign made beforehand so we just signed the guest book, which we were somewhat bizarrely forced to do before being allowed to leave!  

We also stopped off at what we thought was the access to a lake but what turned out to be a deserted lodge and gas station. It was a really eerie, almost post-apocalyptic scene; all the buildings were in a state of severe disrepair but still wide open to the public. At the lodge, all the windows were broken, some furniture was still inside with loads of evidence of wildlife wandering in and out from the droppings on the floor. We thought we were exploring alone, but then suddenly I smelled smoke from a fire and jumped a mile when a guy popped his head out of the window and came out to say "hi". He introduced himself as being Polish and had lived there alone in the ruins for 3 years. After a few minutes we determined that he was probably harmless, but quite mad as he talked endlessly about having been Vladamir Putin's right hand man, and about how he had been involved in making tanks and weapons for various people in the middle East.

We have found people to be especially helpful when we seem to be having any mechanical issues with Winnie. Since arriving safely in Fairbanks we have developed a few issues: two chips and a crack in the windscreen; suspension airbags on the front coils have popped and deflated resulting in a rather unpleasant ride; the slide out portion of the living area has leaked heavily twice during the night; we're leaking coolant somewhere; and after so many miles on the clock it was time for an oil change on the engine and the generator.  Adam is at least halfway through DIY fixing this never-ending list of Winnie ailments. 

Thankfully, to balance out the shit the night before last we were rewarded with a fantastic show of the northern lights in their full glory!  We had headed out of the town to get away from the light pollution to Chena Lakes recreation area campsite in Northpole. All the conditions were right – a clear, dark sky. We knew we would have to stay up late to see them and at about midnight I spotted a sort of light grey wisp of haze above us, which started to dance and change shape.  It eventually started to show more potential at about 1am, but took another hour for it to really intensify and get going.  We started to see the beautiful colours which looked more like a subtle greeny shaded rainbow with the naked eye, but appeared very bright green through the camera lens. During the finale the lights went mental for a few minutes, changing and moving every second.  I was literally squealing with delight outside in the cold with only socks on my feet as I was in such a hurry not to miss them!  It was so flippin’ amazingly awesome!  I nearly ended up sleeping across the dashboard of the RV where I could see the full sky.  Then I woke up really early excited about looking over my photographs again!  Big cheesy grins all round…and once again we were reminded of how blessed we are to be doing this trip :D

Whilst in Fairbanks, we also took a trip to the fantastic Chena Hot Springs Resort which really deserves a post of its own - so look out for that in another blog.

We hope to set off to Denali National Park in the next few days when we get Winnie back ship shape. We are hoping to get a glimpse of Mount McKinley, North Americas tallest mountain.  With the Aurora as a backdrop it should be magical!  We will keep you posted.

Read More...

Medicine Hat and Canadian Rockies

After leaving Glacier National Park we headed north east towards the unusually named military town of Medicine Hat to spend the Canadian bank holiday weekend with an absolutely fantastic couple – (aunty) Claire and Gouldie.  Claire is practically family and we spent a great deal of time together in Wales and Herefordshire during our childhood (more so than I remember according to the box of embarrassing photos that appeared!).  Despite having had very little contact for more than ten years, it turns out that we still had plenty to talk about, and it all got a bit emotional.  Luckily there were plenty of beers, vodka and steak to get us through it all! Adam got a serious bout of BBQ (and house) envy and you can see why.  Their gorgeous and well-trained furry friends Saffie and Jude also made quite an impression and we negotiated hard to take them as companions on our journey.  Too precious to be parted with, we came away empty handed, which is probably for the best given the limited space in the RV!

We had many good intentions for excursions out and about around Medicine Hat, but with the company and hospitality at the Goulding residence being so good, we never did quite get around to exploring.  So I have very little to tell you about Medicine Hat other than the fact that it has the world’s tallest teepee structure on a little hill near the visitor centre which is the highest point in town (which isn't very high as the surrounding landscape is “bare-arse prairie” as Claire so eloquently puts it). 

The teepee was moved from Calgary where it was originally constructed for the 1988 Winter Olympic Games.  It was damaged several years ago in a storm and now stands approximately 15 feet shorter after the repairs.  On the Monday we said our teary goodbyes having had a wonderful weekend which felt like “going home”. 

We headed north west out of town in the direction of the Canadian Rockies – towards Banff and the famous Lake Louise which we had heard so much about.  The Trans-Canadian Highway runs from Medicine Hat right through the Rockies and eventually joins up with the Alaska Highway which is where we are ultimately heading next.  

The journey from Medicine Hat started out looking a lot like the featureless, open highways of South Dakota until we got past Calgary.  In June this year Calgary suffered devastating flooding due to excessive rainfall - up to 20cm in some places on already sodden ground which had not yet thoroughly thawed from the winter.  Thousands of people had to be evacuated from their homes and many are still waiting to return now.  We tuned into the local radio station as we passed by and listened to the housing problems they are now facing with the influx of students shortly returning.  This on top of already struggling to cope with accommodating a populous which increased by 30,000 last year.  They spoke of the need to build more houses and quickly, but from what we saw from the highway it already resembles a concentration camp.  The new build housing estates visible from the bypass were quite a noticeable contrast to the usual landscapes we have passed by which are generally so spread out and sparsely populated you barely realise you have passed through what passes here for a village or town. We did not make any stop at all in Calgary, we hit it at rush hour and already behind schedule we just carried on through.

After travelling on such long, boring straight roads for days, the first glimpse of mountains never fails to get me feeling excited and eager.  We stayed overnight at a casino which happened to have some great WiFi we could leech. We awoke to a clear day and thought we should make the most of the good weather as it had become cooler and cloudier since we arrived in Canada.  After some research I found Barrier Lake about 8 miles away just off the main highway on the Kananaskis trail road, so we took to our bikes and headed out into the mountains. As soon as we hit the first uphill, we soon wished we hadn't!  The lake was much like all lakes here in the mountains, turquoise and beautiful. After a quick picnic the weather looked as though it was starting to turn again so, not wanting to get caught in torrential rains, we cycled back full pelt and arrived back with jellied legs again just in time. When it rains it bounces! 

The next day we set off once again towards Canmore  - the gateway to the Rockies. The clouds hung low in the sky providing a dramatic and eerie feel as we snaked our way through the foothills and with fabulous views on all sides.  We arrived at the gates of Banff National Park and headed on towards towards Lake Louise, arriving late in the afternoon at the already full campground at Lake Louise village.  The sign leading to the lake said not recommended for RVs, so out came the bikes ready for a trek to the lake.  Someone at the campsite informed us the road went "straight up" for about 5km.  Undeterred, despite still being a little saddle sore from the previous day, we set off feeling fit.  OMG, it was the mother of ALL hills.  We had to stop at least four times on the way up.  I was close to being sick a few times and Adam looked, well, less than impressed!  As we reached the summit and car park we saw at least two other RVs who obviously had inside knowledge; we could see absolutely no reason why we could not have driven up and parked on the roadside!     

Lake Louise was fantastic and just as perfect and impressive as we had been told. Many people were queuing at the boathouse to rent out a kayak. After our mammoth hill cycle, we thought we had had quite enough exercise for one day and with the campsite being full, we knew we had to get back and find somewhere else to stay before dusk came.  The ride back down the hill was terrifying, I think I actually hate the downhill more than the uphill!  Adam disappeared out of sight as usual and reckoned to have been waiting minutes for me at the bottom!  I swear it only took minutes to get back down, unlike the what felt like an eternity of pain getting up there.

The next day we carried on through Jasper National Park, stopping off in Jasper to do some laundry and get the RV checked.  Jasper is a ski resort in winter with a quaint high street and outdoor farmers market.  The scenery was spectacular throughout and makes driving much more entertaining for the driver. I took hundreds more photos of mountains, lakes and glaciers, and I never tire of looking back through them. You may not feel the same so I apologise if these are a bit samey... to me they are a helpful reminder of our wonderful day and help to ensure that I can keep the memories safe and fresh forever.  Here are a just few:

Read More...

Olympic National Park, Washington

Situated just to the west of Seattle, this huge protected wilderness compromises of hundreds of miles of pristine coastline, stunning beaches, rain forest, lakes, glaciers  and mountains.  We did not actually see the peak of Mount Olympus itself, as just the week before we had spent a few days at Mount Rainier and visited its glacier.  With little time to spare we agreed we would rather spend our time checking out the coastline, craving for the sea after a month of travelling across landlocked central states. The last time we saw the ocean was in Atlantic City, and we didn't even make it onto the beach then as it was so cold! Olympic National Park really has so much to offer that we could easily have spent a week there and not seen it all.

We visited four or five beaches around the northern and western coastline of the park.  Each one was unique, I can't say I had a favorite  we both really enjoyed them all. The Pacific coast is wild and blustery with a biting chill in the wind. The most memorable beach of all was Rialto beach, just across the Quillayute river from La Push.  We had a lot of fun clambering over a wall of driftwood trees which the waves had dumped haphazardly along the pebbled beach.  Putting our balance and bravery to the test we strode along the upper logs with sea breeze in our faces and salt in the air, quite exhilarating!.  The sea battered logs were bleached white and completely stripped of bark.  I loved the gnarled shapes of the roots and the contrast of their shadows, and ended up with far too many photos to fit in this blog post.

La Push beach is a gorgeous sandy beach, more sheltered from the wind with a calmer sea. We did not stay there long, just a few photos and off we went again.
       Next was Ruby beach which is a local favorite, partly golden sand, partly pebbles with some fantastic sea stacks. It is apparently called Ruby beach due to the colours seen at sunset. Unfortunately we could not stay until dusk, but we did enjoy a gentle jog along its shore and once out of sight of any other living souls we huddled up together and took in the power and beauty of the pacific ocean, and enjoyed the peace and solitude.

To my surprise, we also discovered the real towns of Forks and La Push off of the Twilight Saga. The deeply forested road looked just the same as in the movie too. There were a few touristy signposts, one of which marked the treaty line.  Sadly ladies I did not bump into Jacob or Edward at the beach.  Adam described Twilight as "the story that changed the legend of vampires from uncompromising, bloodthirsty demons to whiny, angst-ridden perpetual teenagers", so I get the feeling he wasn't quite as impressed as me.

We explored the ancient Hok rain forest, it was a truly magical feeling wandering among the hanging moss gardens. The insects as usual were not so friendly so we almost sprinted along the trail, barely stopping for photos. As soon as we did stop the little blighters had us for lunch.  There were a couple of fallen wasps nests in and among the huge tree roots, which neither of us had never seen before. Not a good idea to hang around these for too long either as we found out, they tend to chase after you for quite a while! We didn't have any encounters with other wildlife in Olympic NP although bears do live in the forests and Elk are common. 

On our last night we camped at South Beach.  It was a perfectly clear and warm evening lending itself well to a perfect sunset.  I spent a good hour photographing the magnificent colours in the sky, sea and the silhouettes as the sun set...as you can see.  Stunning!

Read More...