Getting Into Hot Water

No-one was up early this morning after our nocturnal outing for the Northern Lights, which didn't matter too much because because we couldn't check-in at the Chena Hot Springs until 3:00pm anyway.

Our first stop of the morning was the World Ice Sculpture Championships, currently running in Fairbanks. The single block sculptures had already been carved and judged and the multi-block sculptures were now being created ready for judging this Friday evening. Unlike balmy Anchorage the daytime sub-zero (Celsius) temperatures here in Fairbanks ensured that there was no chance that the completed sculptures were going to melt any time soon.

Sam & Keira test the children's ice tunnel!

Before we even made it to the completed artworks there were a number of sculptures made for children to sit on, "drive", or crawl through and the "children" in our party took full advantage of them!

The sculptures themselves were pretty amazing, I don't recall ever seeing so many fascinating pieces in one place so I was quite prepared to believe that the tag of "World Championship" was not lightly made.

One of the single block ice sculptures

The ice artists certainly came from a number of countries. After viewing the completed sculptures we walked around to view the teams of sculptors in action, preparing their large multi-block creations. It was interesting to see the tools and techniques being used and the sculptures taking shape promised to be very impressive indeed. Further round again we came across a number of large slides and once again the "children" in out party were to the fore in trying them out. The consensus was that you couldn't slide on some of them very well. Once these adventures were over we had to retreat to the "warm up" room for a hot chocolate before leaving.

This was followed by a quick visit to Walmart to buy a few items to tide us over until we could reclaim the bag we had accidentally left behind at the motel in Anchorage, then to the tourist info office to get some details on things to do when we get back from Chena Hot Springs. And after some lunch and an unintentional detour getting out of town, that's where we headed next - to our two night stay at the Chena Hot Springs Resort. It wasn't a long drive to get there in terms of mileage but there was a lot of snow and ice on the road, particularly in the latter half of the trip so I was in no hurry to get there. And we did have occasion to stop and see a couple of moose along the way.

After check-in we start off by doing the Ice Museum tour.

One of the ice sculptures with an added light show

The museum is housed in a special building that had a number of beautiful sculptures on display - although the resident artists were currently in Fairbanks for some kind of World Championships (natch!).

Martinis in an ice "glass"

The end piece of the tour was sitting at the ice bar and sipping on an appletini prepared in a "glass" made of ice. We were allowed to keep the "glass" but I somehow doubt it will make it home.

We obviously needed to warm up after being inside the Ice Museum so we headed for the actual hot springs next. There is a covered walkway to go from the change rooms and the (lukewarm) inside pool to the actual thermal spring outside but we still felt every bit of the freezing outside air as we dashed for the water. The spa was quite large and there was every incentive to keep as much of your torso as possible below the water line. The heat from the water was enough to keep your head warm as long it is wasn't too far above it.Even so it was common to find icicles forming in your hair! Whilst in the pool we weighed up our options about which night to use our voucher for the late night tour to the top of a nearby mountain to view the northern lights. The weather forecast was not great for either night but at that point it did seem to be clearing a little so we decided to take a chance on it tonight.

So it was that after finishing our spa time and having dinner we prepared ourselves to join about half a dozen other hardy souls for the 10:30pm departure of the four hour "northern lights tour". It started with a half hour trip by snow cat to the top of one of the nearby mountains where there was a heated Yurt set up to retire in whilst not admiring the lights.

Dozing in the Yurt!

However, unfortunately, all did not go to plan. There was some evidence of faint lights in the sky when we first arrived but these were quickly hidden by increasingly heavy cloud which soon produced snow. The temperature outside was about 2F (about -16.5C) so inside the Yurt was the only place to be, although it was not necessarily as comfortably warm as Laura would have liked. There was a limited range of free snacks available as well as hot drinks, but with no incentive to be outside and not much to do inside most of us were inside, huddled up and often dozing. Eventually at about 1:30am the driver agreed to take us all back early since everyone had long given up any hope of seeing Aurora action tonight.

Understandably no-one was up early the next morning - Sam & Keira not even in time to make the 11:00am cut-off for breakfast. After we all enjoyed another nice long soak in the spa, we decided to tackle one of the walking trails - though while Laura & I were content to actually walk it, Sam & Keira decided to have their first go at cross country skiing. I was able to give some limited advice based on my long ago single experience of it and they both seemed to more of less get the hang of it anyway.

A close finish in a sprint race

A couple of short sprint races between the two of them saw some questionable tactics being used and have at least one of them falling over.

We didn't attempt the full length of the trail as we wanted to be back in time for a 4:00pm tour of the dog kennels. They do actually run sled tours from their kennels but with an experienced musher amongst us we didn't feel the need to do that again. However we did enjoy meeting some of the dogs and hear the kennel owner telling us about them. Of course being Iditarod time much of the discussion turned to the current state of play in the race and some of the tactics and strategies that have been used.

Sam meeting the dogs

After dinner Laura and I decided to experience the spa one more time by night. It was not as crowded and although it was also snowing lightly, all the snow flakes would melt and evaporate before they reached the water. It was a pretty magical feeling. And it was also of perverse comfort to know that those desperate guests heading up to the yurt tonight were destined to fare no better than we had last night.

Our last morning at the resort dawned clear and bright and after a late breakfast Sam & Keira opted for their last dip in the spa before we hit the road back to Anchorage.

Icicles in the hair while in the spa.