October 10 - “I told you he was real!”

After breakfast we called the Arctic Circle tour people. We are all set for our travels to the Arctic Circle on Sunday. 

First excursion on the agenda … Paws for Adventure dogsledding. We joined the group that walked over through the woods from the Lodge to the kennels. Lots of barking and howling to greet us. 

After the organization’s introduction, we were given free rein to pet all of the dogs. We even got to harness the dogs to the leads when it was time for the ride. They pulled their training wagon - a 5-seater ATV loaded with tourists. It was lots of fun to watch the dogs get beyond excited just by our presence. The ride itself was fun but extremely bumpy. 

After a lunch of some really good soup (pasta Italiano), Diana Campbell shared a lecture. Seems her family were among the first to climb Denali. And her grandfather was the first of their tribe to attend and graduate college. What did I learn from the lecture? Well, I was really sleepy. Remember we didn’t get much sleep the night before.  I may or may not have been dozing the while time. But I did learn that the Alaskan mountain Range is ultimately part of the Rocky Mountain Range. Well, how about that. Small world …

After the lecture we loaded up the bus and headed to my most anticipated part of the trip … Santa’s Workshop at the North Pole. What an experience. 50-foot tall Santa statue. Massive mural on the front and side walls. Thousands of square feet of Christmas merchandise. However, the best part of the whole thing? Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus were on site. 

They were absolutely amazing. They even spoke fluent Spanish to a little Spanish kid. They were excited to chat with us, and they even posed for a picture and a quick video with us. I told you he was real!

Back at the lodge we had a little downtime before Aimee made a presentation about a Gondwana tour in her country, Argentina. 

The evening ended with a farewell video by Laurie, compiling all the photos and videos uploaded to date. Also, we enjoyed a farewell dinner prepared by a private chef named Ben. Thanks for coming over to us, Ben. 

P.S. I think Laurie missed us. She sounded the Aurora Alarm around 11:30 to wake us up one last time. The lights were there, but not nearly as active as the night before. Gonna be hard to beat that one. 

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬ says, Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Father, thank you for our incredible week. Bless Ryan and Aimee and Jack and everybody else involved in making it a really great experience. Amen. 

October 9 - “Moose on top”

We had some excitement early on yesterday. I got a text from Cary that read: “Moose on top.” Strange. Then he knocked at our door and insisted that there was a moose at the top of the hill. Well, what else was I supposed to do? My only option was to do my best to quell this myth, to nip this fairy tale in the bud. 

I grabbed my coat and phone. One of our fellow travelers was standing alone in the field staring off into the distance. I adjusted my position, heading closer to her. Finally I caught my first glimpse of the object (actually, objects) of her staring. It was a mother and two youngsters. But they didn’t look at all like Bullwinkle. No antlers. No goofy looks. Just a poor mother elk, deformed as often happens when they give birth. Hunchback. Weird snout. An extra two or three feet in height. And before you say anything, they don’t really like it when people call them names (like “moose”). They are very sensitive about their deformity. People did their best to convince me they were mooses. I wasn’t fooled. 

Momma and the two kiddos soon bolted for the woods, so I directed my attention to the very top of the hill where James was calling out and yelling. Best I could tell, he was saying, “Denali!” I headed up there, and sure enough, there in the distance was the outline of a mountain called Denali (or sometimes Mount McKinley). Guess I can check that one off again (we saw that one when we were here before). 

Our morning excursion was a different kind of experience. We went to the Chena Hot Springs. Yep. We were scheduled to crawl into a giant hot tub. 

The road there was a bit scary. Lots of snow around. In fact Ryan did a great job keeping us in the ruts in the snow. 

Upon arrival, we had a box lunch. Turkey sandwich. Tomatoes. Grapes. Nuts. Hummus (yuk). Several cheeses. Crackers. Really random stuff, but really hit the spot. 

After lunch we toured their ice museum. Kind of like the Moody Gardens one. This one was much smaller, though. But the detail was amazing. You can even rent out one of the carved ice beds for the low, low price of $600 a night. My favorite was the jousting scene between two full sized knights on horseback. Amazing detail. 

Next we changed into swimsuits for a dip in the Chena Hot Springs.  They cool it down to 106 degrees for bathing. It was every bit of that. Felt nice and relaxing. I even made an attempt to photo bomb an impromptu photo shoot going on with some young oriental beauties. I was the first one of our group out of the little lake, though. Had all the hot water I could stand. 

Next we climbed back on the bus to head back to the hotel. But wait! Diane couldn’t find her teal  water bottle. That would be green, but also blue. Sort of. It’s so much easier to be blind to these nuances of color. Ryan did a jog back through the property looking for it. But while he was gone, Diane found it. Thanks for all your effort, Ryan. You are awesome. 

Finally we were back on the road and ready for some dinner. There was great speculation therein. Ryan and Aimee were both tight-lipped about where we were going and what would be the fare. Oh, there were some guesses. Leftovers from lunch. The chocolate candies Aimee passed out on our rides together. Or my favorite, McDonald’s. Actually, McDonald’s was never mentioned. In fact I’m not sure there is even one in Alaska. 

As it turned out, the surprise was more than worth it. We went to a family farm (named “Frigid Farms.” Pretty appropriate).  The family fixed us some (allegedly) moose stew, hot tea, and homemade bread. They also had sauerkraut. Chris loved that. I passed. 

Their three dogs greeted us as we drove up. The biggest was a Belgian karackachan, a huge dog that is their chicken guard dog against foxes and the like. The middle sized one was a beautiful golden retriever. Then the smallest was a frisky little black lab. Lots of energy. 

The husband of the family was at work. He is a firefighter in Fairbanks, so I got some stories about their approach to shifts (2 days on, 4 days off. Momma loves that shift). 

The kids all homeschooled until junior high. The youngest, a girl named Marley, was especially proficient at holding her own in conversations with a bunch of strange adults. 

We heard all kinds of stories about life on a farm in Alaska. Growing seasons. Crops that work. Watermelons the size of a ping pong ball. Hunting bear. Oh, and we each got a vial of their homemade lip balm (Thanks, Frigid Farms bees). 

It was quite a popular stop among our group. We all left with a much better sense of Alaskan farm life. Thanks for that surprise, Ryan and Aimee and Gondwana. 

We decided to forego getting much sleep last night. Instead we went upstairs to the viewing deck and hung around with Laurie. We got to be the first ones to see when the lights started their show. It wasn’t nearly as breathtaking as it was last Saturday, but it sure  was … well, more. 

We also saw some satellites passing by, just trekking through on their journey to wherever satellites go. Oh! I saw the first shooting star of the night. And added another later. Meanwhile, the Auroras got greener and greener. Shoots popped up over and over again. We got some really good pictures. And it actually turned into an Aurora Borealis Northern Lights viewing party with our little gang. Lots of fun. 

‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ says, Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.

Father, be with the Hamlin family. Bless them in their farm life. And watch over Dad as he serves as a firefighter. Amen. 

October 8 - “Thai Tea”

We woke up to a blanket of white on the ground. Well, actually it was more like a sheet. A thin sheet. Either way … it was snowing! Us Galvestonians stood at the back door gaping at the falling white stuff. It didn’t last long in the grand scheme of things, but it did enhance the stereotype of the Alaskan wilderness. 

Oh. By the way, we slept uninterrupted by the obnoxious clanging of Jingle Bells calling us to come and see the lights. Ah. Blissful sleep. 

Our first stop in the morning was … drumroll here … curling. Yep. That most exciting of all Olympic sporting events. And we were given the opportunity to give it a try. The hardest part of learning for me was convincing my bionic knee that it was OK to go into a full squat. After more than my share of icy tumbles, I finally figured it out enough to reach the other end of the court. It was a lot of fun. Well, until Kay Lynn - by herself - totally smoked me and Cary …

After such an exhausting outing it was time for some lunch. We went to a place called The Crepery. All their fare was somehow wrapped in a crepe. We had one with crab meat, 3 cheeses, onions and bell peppers. Ryan also got a Crepe crème broule (however you spell it) for the group to share. Really good. Genius to use crepes as a vehicle. No wasted space in your gut on big breads. 

Ryan was giving Chris a tutorial on our camera after lunch, when 

Larry texted me to come to the mini mall next door. “There’s something here you just have to see.” I rushed over and came face to my face with …  a stuffed animal molded to look like a full sized mythical  moose. I wasn’t fooled. 

From there we went by to the Antique car and airplane museum. They also had random fashions from the date of the car. Lots of dresses and ladies hats. My favorite was one from 1899. The sales pitch at the time? “Free from odor. Speed at will.”

The Roaming Root Cellar was our stop on the way to dinner. Another local artisan shop. This one even had fresh produce. You know. Like a gallon of milk for $10.50. Then there was that scarf made from musk ox fur for the great sale price of $389.00. I added the decimal so there could be no mistaking the actual price. Ouch. 

Finally it was time for dinner. Back to downtown Fairbanks and Bahn Tai. Yes. This guy actually went into a Thai restaurant. It wasn’t so bad, though. I found out they had fried shrimp on the appetizer menu. There was also shrimp and cabbage filled rolls. Not bad. That was enough for me. I stayed away from the spices and the sauces. 

But I did really enjoy one of the things I ordered. Thai tea. Actually I ordered sweet tea. Thai tea gives a whole new meaning to sweet. It is flavored with condensed milk and vanilla. There are other spices in there as well, but suffice it to say, the thing tasted like a milkshake. Wow! It was sweet. No dessert for me, thank you very much. 

We did get another lights call around midnight. Weird thing was, Laurie didn’t push the alarm button. Apparently someone either in our sister lodge or maybe someone over at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks did the deed. The sky was obviously glowing, but there weren’t any really clear lights. We went back to bed. 

But the a while later the alarm sounded again. Laurie did push this one. And this one was wildly successful. We saw some lights on the horizon. And after a while they spread higher and higher. And finally they started dancing a little for us. We got a few good pictures and at least one pretty good video. Thanks, Laurie. 

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭11‬ says, “For I know the plans I have for you” — this is the LORD’s declaration — “plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Father, thank you for more different experiences. And thanks for the growing closeness of our tour family. Amen. 

October 7 - “Run, Run, Reindeer”

The weather app called what greeted us in the morning, “Haze.” Very similar to dense fog. Almost indistinguishable, in fact. Bottom line … visibility on our mountain was maybe 50 yards or so. And later in the morning that haze morphed into snow flurries. Hey. As I always say … If it’s gonna be dark and dreary, it might as well snow. 

We got a text from Ryan while we waited for breakfast. It was a link to the reindeer visitation place’s “it wasn’t me” accountability page. Listed all the things they were not responsible for (basically, things like wildlife is wild and the company wouldn’t cover stupidity). We had to sign a waiver before we could experience the experience. 

Our first stop of the day was the Museum of the North. 

Artifacts of archaeology, native art, and creative culture. Speaking of which … I just gotta say, after seeing the exhibit of native toys, Dolls are scary whatever the culture. Oh, and I managed to do an animal-ish rescue. Puck the Polar Bear is now part of our tribe. 

From there we grabbed a sandwich at Lulu’s. Then it was on to the Running Reindeer Ranch. We heard more about reindeer than we could ever hope to remember from Jayce, our guide. For example, when reindeer reach the age to start scraping the velvet fur from their antlers, the layer of blood beneath the fur is released. The result is basically a bloody mess, but it is not at all painful, and it is not an active bleed. More than you wanted to know? 

Well imagine our surprise when Toby, the largest reindeer in the pack, walked through our gathered group and proceeded to squirt a thin stream of blood all over the place, most notably across the pants leg of the guy sitting next to me. The guide said that was the first time a reindeer had sprayed a guest in her five years there. 

Not only that, we got to see cavorting, running, a little bit of fighting, and some antlers down posturing. Basically, everything she warned us could happen, but probably wouldn’t … happened. Glad we could make your tour memorable. 

It was fun hiking through the woods with the reindeer strolling all around us. We even got to pose for some pictures with Poppy, one of the calmest reindeer on the property. 

They topped off our tour with hot chocolate and a huge oatmeal/chocolate cookie for each of us. Hey. Memorable for us as well. 

After dinner (pizza night) we played a game of Alaska trivia led by Laurie (the Aurora Lady). Totally random questions about Alaska. Chris came in third and won a gorgeous photo print of the Aurora by Laurie. Oh. I came in fourth. I got nothing. 

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭55‬:‭22‬ says, Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

Father, thank you for the snow. And bless our reindeer guide Jayce. Amen. 

October 6 - “Moose? Nah”

Breakfast became a fun time of sharing Northern lights photos. Imagine that. Our guide Ryan who was born here regaled us with some stories and videos of things he has experienced. And we thought our videos were impressive. Pretty amazing stuff. Larry shared about how he stepped outside his room early in the morning and heard some of the sled dogs barking and howling. (They are based just a half mile from here). But no sightings of the mythical moose just yet. Don’t plan on seeing one, either, since they don’t really exist. 

But speaking of something ACTUALLY existing … we found out that we get to visit North Pole on Friday. And there is a good chance Mrs. Santa will be there. Now that’s something to really anticipate. 

After a stop at the famous (or infamous) Alaskan pipeline, where Ryan gave an extensive speech on its history and construction (and after Aimee may or may not have led us to a spot where we could “legally” climb on top of the pipeline in spite of numerous warning signs), we went to the Chowder House for lunch. Let me start out by establishing … great food. Now. Cary and I were confused (dumbfounded, discombobulated) with what we ordered. Not at all what we expected. Let me just say we each had two hot dog sized rolls full of king crab meat … that we had to take to go. We thought we were ordering appetizers. Panko shrimp, a cup of clam chowder, half a BLT. Wouldn’t a crab roll listed as an appetizer be one of those little rolled up things? Nope. The hot dog buns were bigger than the few appetizer shrimp we had. I mean each bun was bigger. Gotta be more careful at dinner, I guess. 

Next we stopped at a bowl making store called, amazingly, the Bowl Factory. Actually it was a wood crafting place that specialized in bowls. Chris found a wooden nativity scene to add  to her collection. I found … well, the closest thing to a moose I have scene here. Except it was made out of wood. And it looked a lot like Bullwinkle. 

Daniel was our guide at the Morris Thompson Cultural Center. He is a native Alaskan from the village that is the farthest north in the United States. He calls the lower 48, “The Down States.”

Daniel was a most amazing story teller. Some of his tales:

1. The Bogey Man - As a child he was told that the Aurora Borealis would float down majestically like a leaf. Then it will cut your head off, and kick it all around if you don’t go to sleep. As an adult, however, the story has changed. Now the lights are a window to your dead ancestors. So when you see them, think of your loved ones who have passed. 
2. The Carrington event. A few rare times in the past, the lights’ magnetic fields were so strong that they wreaked havoc on telegraph lines. 
3. The word for goose in his language is Ngalick. It sounds like the noise geese make. When said in a high voice over and over it serves as a perfect goose call. 
4. Daniel is, by the way, the world’s foremost authority on polar bears. And he has written a book. The name of it sounds something like “Nuvook”

From the Museum we were shuttled over to Fred Meyers. It’s Alaska’s answer to Kroger’s. We just grabbed some popcorn, hot chocolate and sweet tea. I did get to talk with the crew of one of the Fairbanks fire stations. Saw their truck outside. All three of them looked like they were about 12 years old. Great kids, though. Hey, the fire department family includes all ages. 

The Chena Pump House was our dinner destination. Very classy joint. You know, the kind with things to eat that you can’t pronounce. I had fish and chips. Figured I’d keep it simple. I did order a dessert of chocolate moose cake. They’re trying to trick me again. 

We got ready for bed and hit the sack right away. Before nine, if you can believe that. Prospects for the lights to show up weren’t so great. It was raining and supposed to be cloudy all night. 

We did get an alarm around eleven from Laurie the Lights Lady.  Not much to speak of, though, in the way of light shows. We went back to bed pretty quickly. 

‭‭Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭22‬ says, Have mercy on those who waver.

Father, thank you for the way our extended group seems to be coming together a little better. And bless those fire fighters I met. Amen. 

October 5 - “Neeext”

We had to check out of the lodge by 10, but our guide wasn’t due to arrive until 11:15. Fortunately, we were able to use a few of the luggage carts to store our stuff. 

Finally our guides for the week, Brad and Aimee, arrived. We joined forces with four other folks, one from California and the others from, of all places, Texas. Brad was from Alaska. Aimee was from Argentina (the farthest south town before you get to Antarctica). 

Our first stop was Alaskaland. It was kind of a theme park designed to highlight the history of Fairbanks with a particular nod to gold mining. The museum docents were really knowledgeable. Not a bad way to start our official weeklong tour of Fairbanks. 

From there we made our way to our home for the week. It was a brand new lodge built up on a mountainside outside of Fairbanks. The rooms were pretty spacious, as was the bathroom. We had a lunch in the large common room. Broccoli/cheese soup and a ham and cheese sandwich. Honestly, just the right amount.

A meet and greet followed, along with an introduction to the week’s events. Then we met Jack, the proprietor of our fine establishment. He assigned us rooms and explained the workings of the lodge. Sounded like this whole week is designed to create family-type relationships as well as meaningful experiences. 

To prove that point, “our six” stuck around after dinner and talked with the staff for a really long time. Aimee in particular was a lot of fun to listen to as she told stories about Argentina and other guide assignments she has had around the world. 

The nighttime guide also arrived and did a presentation on the lights. She’s the one who wakes us up in the middle of the night if the lights show up. And that she did. 

For quite some time we thought it would be too cloudy to see anything, and it was at the start (consider 9 pm to be the start). We grabbed 40 winks (not much more than that), when the alarm sounded in the room. We sprang to our feet (one of our springs may or may not have been springier than the other). We flew into some clothes, grabbed the super-powered coat they issued us, and headed for the viewing deck. 

Sadly, it was still pretty cloudy, but the lights provided a faint glimmer through the obstruction. Undaunted, we stuck with it, listening to the expert explain even more details than we could ever hope to comprehend about what was going on beyond the cloud cover, and chatting with our fellow lights chasers. 

We went back inside around 2:30 to warm up a bit. (Besides, prime viewing was supposed to cease around 2). We were talking with Cary and KayLynn when a commotion began to arise outside. We hopped up to see what all the excitement was about. 

Sure enough, the cloud cover was virtually gone. And the lights began a private showing just for our tired little group. They raced and rolled back and forth across the sky, tumbling and swirling in the kind of array we had only seen in videos and on TV. And the best part? All six of our travel group were present and accounted for. 

I got a few pretty good pictures with my phone. Chris had the big camera set up, but I guess it was too cold to mess with. Besides, this was just one of those experiences you just have to … well … experience. Breathtaking. And to think … it may all be repeated tonight. And tomorrow …

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭51‬:‭10‬ says, God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Father, thank you for our new friends like Nancy. Bless them all. And thank you for bringing those beautiful lights back for a visit.  Amen.