Alaska Part 3--Aurora Borealis

"Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious."--Stephen Hawking

Seeing the Northern Lights aka Aurora Borealis has been on my bucket list ever since I saw them in a documentary in middle school. I knew my chance was fast approaching as I had recently booked a light to see my best friend, Sarah, in Alaska.

There is a website where you can check the intensity of the Northern Lights each night on a scale out of 10. We saw the forecast for the entire week and knew there was only one good chance of seeing them. That night they were going to be a 5 out of 10. Here's the website if you're interested! http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast

Sarah lives in Fairbanks, which is quite a large city, but not anything like what comes to mind when you think big city. Alaska's population is very sparse. They have lots of people, but everyone is so spread out and environmentally friendly that it is hard to tell that you're in a very large city. There is very little light pollution so spotting the lights when they are out is not too difficult.

We drove to a spot away from all the homes and the school on a little side road where there was a nice clearing and no trees to block out view of the sky. We were one of two cars there and both of us were intent on getting some great photography shots! We had some difficulty in setting my camera on the correct shutter speed and aperture, but after some fiddling and trial and error we were able to get some great shots. They aren't professional by any means, but I'm proud of them.

In every photo or documentary the lights always seemed to burst out of the sky and were so vibrant, however they seem to be dull in color until I edited them in my computer. I'm guessing the location was the reason for this.

Fairbanks isn't the only place to see the Northern Lights. The farther north you go the more likely you are to see more vibrant colors and the lights more often. Norway is well-known for Aurora adventure tours. In addition, any location near to the Arctic Circle will provide lots and lots of opportunities! The winter is also a much better time to go see them.

If you have the chance, definitely take the opportunity to see the Aurora Borealis. There really is nothing quite like it anywhere else on earth.

 "You cannot rob me of free nature's grace, you cannot shut the windows of the sky through which Aurora shows her brightening face. " --James Thomson

Alaska Part 2--To The North Pole!

"The larger the island of wonder, the longer the shore of wonder."--Ralph Sockman

I never thought I would get a chance to go to the North Pole, but somehow we ended up there by chance. I was visiting my best friend who had recently moved to Fairbanks, AK. We had already had some amazing adventures and along the way we learned of an ice sculpting contest that was about to end. We thought it would be a lot of fun to make the short trip from Fairbanks to the North Pole.


When I think of an ice sculpting contest only a few things come to mind, such as really neat ice sculptures on display and maybe lights illuminating the creations. That in itself was reason enough for us to want to visit, especially knowing how much effort and talent goes in to making an ice sculpture. If I ever tried to make an ice sculpture it would look like an amorphous blob, so I have a lot of respect for those who can turn a block of ice into art.

We were 1000% blown away by what we saw there. It was so much more than just ice sculptures in a row lit up my brightly colored lights. The variation of sculptures was amazing. No two were anything alike. We saw a penguin, trains, abominable snowman, Groot, minions, and Christmas themed sculptures. Check out my pictures to get a better idea. Words just don't do that justice.

Not only were there dozens of amazing works of art to look at, but there were sculptures you could interact with. Before you even entered the area with all of the art there was a gigantic ice sleigh with a giant ice santa and reindeer that you could stand in, climb on, and take pictures with. Inside there were 3 ice slides you could go down as much as you wanted and all were varying lengths and heights. There were also sculptures that had a hole where the faces were so you can stick your face in to take funny pictures. They even had a walk in igloo and made it so you could pose with several of the sculptures.

Not only was the outdoor experience much more than we anticipated, the activities inside the main building also exceeded our expectations. The staff were all extremely friendly and more than happy to help. There was an area where kids could sit down and color while their parents relaxed and warmed up after being outside. You could also buy delicious hot chocolate that the staff were kind enough to make us.






The North Pole has a lot more going for it that just the Ice Museum with the ice sculpting contest. They take Christmas seriously there. Christmas decorations and lights adorn the town year round. They even have a gigantic "Santa's House" that you could go in and explore. If you love Christmas and gorgeous lights and a town that has no shortage of Christmas spirit, the North Pole is the place for you.




"Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand"--Neil Armstrong 

Alaska Part 1--Snowmobiling Tour!

"One way to get the most out of life is to view it as an adventure."--William Feather

One of the first things I booked for my trip to Alaska was a snowmobiling tour. I wanted to knock that off of my list and the Glacier City Snow Mobile Tours out of the shop Great Alaskan Tourist Trap had fantastic reviews and pictures on their website. I gave them a call a few days before my trip and booked 2 spots for my first full day in Alaska.




I originally asked specifically for the Glacier Tour, which they said depended on the weather, but we would see when I got there. They had a Gold Mine Tour as an alternative. However, when we walked into the store to check in we were told they hadn't had the Glacier Tour the whole season because there wasn't enough snow. That would have been fantastic to know ahead of time just in case we wanted to make other arrangements. 



Before you think I'm just spoiled let me explain myself. I am 100% down for adventures no matter what. On their website the glacier pictures were nothing short of phenomenal. They had me chomping at the bit to go to Alaska and I knew I had to do that tour. The gold mine pictures in comparison were mediocre. It wasn't unique. Both my friend and I had been led to believe we could possibly go on the glacier tour so we got our hopes up, unfortunately.
That being said, we did have a fantastic time. 

Snow mobiling is an interesting sensation. It operates like an ATV, but tends to jerk around more. Unless you stay in the path of the person in front of you then it is difficult to maintain the desired direction. There's not really a finesse to it; it's more like you ran out of steering fluid and need to convince it that it should go where you want. That was part of the adventure and I fully embraced it. I was a little nervous and therefore slow at certain points, but we had a fantastic time.

We did runs of around 4 or 5 paths before heading to the top of the trail to take pictures and take in the scenes. The view from the top was breath taking and COLD. We started the tour when it was around -10 degrees F outside and with the wind chill at the top...let's just say that all of us were happy the snowmobiles had hand warmers on the handlebars!

Then we were off on quite a few more trails until we reached the bottom again. We were provided a delicious lunch of reindeer hot dogs and their own specially crafted cider. The food was scrumptious! It was definitely a highlight of the trip. Then we were off again on more and more trails!

After 4 hours of riding with a brief rest with food it was time to make our way back to the shop where we donned our gear. All in all it was a really fun trip and I do recommend snowmobiling in Alaska if you get the chance. There wasn't much time for pictures while you were on the mountain. You were only given the chance to take pictures at the top and during lunch, however some of the best shots came about when we were riding up or down the mountain. I fell behind several times because I stopped for literally 5 seconds to hastily line up a shot, which was slightly frustrating.

On the upside, their guides were very knowledgeable and made sure everyone was listening to the safety briefing and helped anyone who needed it along the way. The company has many great aspects, but there are several things I think they could improve upon for a truly stellar experience.

"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open."--Jawaharlal Nehru

Doggie Day Trip to DC

"If your dog doesn't like someone, you probably shouldn't either."--Unknown

My boyfriend, Will, and I LOVE our puppy, Atlas. He is a border collie mix we rescued from the shelter and fell in love with at first sight. We try to take him everywhere we can since he loves being with us at all times, loves exploring new places and meeting new people and fellow fluffballs.

The perfect opportunity arose when we were asked to house sit for my friend who lives in DC. Will and I decided to have as dog friendly a weekend as we could possibly have. Our first stop was the National Mall. We walked about 4 miles starting at the Smithsonian Castle. Atlas got his first taste of DC when we stopped there to fill up water bottles. A field trip was in full swing and of course everyone HAD to stop and give Atlas some much appreciated pets. We were off to a great start to our morning.

As we made our way past the Washington monument we made sure to take lots of pictures of Atlas having a complete blast. He got to meet several dogs of all sizes and species who were enjoying a day out on the town themselves. We then stopped for a quick lunch of sandwiches and may or may not have shared some with Atlas too. :-)

After a brief rest we were off again! Atlas was born for walkies so we didn't get to have much rest before he decided it was time to go exploring again. We were lucky enough to walk through the WWII memorial while several veterans were being honored. Will had just gotten out of the Navy so it was really neat for us to see this happen while we were standing there enjoying the beautiful memorial.The Vietnam memorial was extremely crowded and we didn't want Atlas to get overwhelmed or jump on anyone (he's still very much a puppy) so we decided to take the path less travelled through some trees and enjoy the shade.

Our last stop, and our favorite was the Lincoln Memorial.For some strange reason, Atlas HATES baths with a fiery passion and also doesn't particularly enjoy pools. BUT he will jump right in dirty rivers and the ocean. He hates crystal clear, clean water, but will swim until we have to drag him from the water when it's dirty and he can't see through it. He's weird.

That being said, Atlas REALLY wanted to chase the ducks floating in the reflecting pool, which of course was filthy...thankfully we were paying attention and he didn't manage to get anywhere near it.By far our favorite event of that weekend included the Lincoln Memorial. I'm guessing very few dogs have ever actually made it up all of those steps and into the actual memorial itself. Atlas is one of those few dogs who can proudly say he's met Abraham Lincoln. Will and I really wanted to get a picture of Atlas with the statue of Abraham Lincoln, but we doubted he would be allowed to walk around in there even on a leash. Did that deter us? Not one bit. America was built upon rebellion, why not us?Our solution was to carry our then 45b puppy up over 50 steps and to hold him in front of the memorial so we could say we'd done it. Take a took at the pictures. They are pretty priceless and well worth the effort.

After our small adventure we walked back along the mall and just enjoyed ourselves and the warm weather. DC has so many dog friendly areas and hiking trails most people have never even heard of. Most people only think of the city itself, which doesn't scream "bring your dogs!" If you ever get a chance to visit and you have dogs make sure to bring them! The National Mall has plenty of outdoor sites to see that you can easily spend a day doing. Many restaurants in the area have outdoor seating that allow dogs. The trails running all over DC have beautiful trails boasting waterfalls, small rapids, and just plain beautiful scenery that will make you forget you're in a massive city. The best part? You can bring your best doggie friend.Now on to planning our next dog friendly adventure!

"Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace. "--Milan Kundera