Alaska Part 5-Chena Hot Springs

"One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning."--James Russell Lowell



Chena Hot Springs is a warm oasis in a very cold Alaskan wilderness. Mid way through my trip with my best friend in Alaska we decided to spend the day exploring museums and spend the afternoon at the hot springs thawing ourselves out.

Chena Hot Springs is located about an hour outside of Fairbanks, AK. There is a very expensive resort attached to it, but it's not the typical resort. They grow their own food in greenhouses and even use geothermal energy to power their buildings, or at least some of them. They even have an ice museum! They sponsor activities that change with the season such as dog sledding, aurora sighting trips, glacier tours, horseback riding, etc.

The indoor swimming pool area and hot tubs are the first stop before the hot springs and the only way to access the outdoor hot springs. The pool area itself is a bit old, but in good condition. It's not an upscale pool by any means, but it's fun! he corridor leading outside is unheated and picturesquely covered in frost, ice, and snow. It was quite pretty besides the fact it was -20F outside and we were in only swimming outfits... after much cursing, running, trying not to trip and fall, and more exclaiming about freezing to death we ran right in to the hot springs!

There a ramp that gradually goes deeper along with a railing. Whatever you do don't touch the railing! I got my hand stuck for half a second and immediately thought of "A Christmas Story" and thought I would have to have my hand pried off. Luckily that didn't happen.

We went to the springs in mid-afternoon, but most people go at night so they can float in the hot water and watch the Aurora Borealis. We enjoyed flopping around and swimming in very very hot, but comfortable water. It was such a surreal experience to be outside in mid winter in Alaska of all places and actually be warm. The contrast in temperatures was so great and there was so much steam that I could barely see anything around me in a few places.


Make sure you bring lots of water! The elements in the water can make you dehydrated and light headed as an effect, so bring and drink lots! Don't wear any jewelry either as it might get tarnished. We stayed in for about 2 hours and enjoyed being warm for the first time in days. It was a really fun experience and would definitely be a phenomenal place to watch the northern lights.



We didn't stay to eat at the resort restaurant because of the prices, but if you have the means I'd give it a go! It definitely smelled delicious! Everything about the resort was very overpriced in my opinion with the exception of the activities and the hot springs. Definitely don't miss taking a dip in the hot springs, especially if you visit Alaska in the dead of winter!










"Wilderness is not a luxury, but a necessity of the human spirit."--Edward Abbey

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 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

A Journey To The Desert!

 “When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” –Clifton Fadiman

Will is from the beautiful desert/mountainous city of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He lived there for several years before his family relocated to Virginia Beach. His grandparents still live there and we had planned a trip to visit them over Christmas this year. Our flights were booked, Atlas had a sleepover planned at Will's mom's house so he could play with the pit bulls, and we had everything planned that we wanted to see!

Now we had to wait a month for our flights. Luckily time flew by. Next thing we know it's already Christmas Eve! We dropped our fluffy child/dog at Will's Mom's house so he could have a weekend of play time with the pit bulls, small children, and get some snuggle time in. We made it to the airport nice and early because we thought we would have to battle the masses of people flying out on Christmas Eve. However, we were pleasantly surprised that the airport was near empty! We breezed through security in under 5 minutes, which I'm sure most of you are jealous of that time.

Now we had to figure out how to kill a little under 2 hours in the airport. We ended up sitting at the bar having a refreshing drink and delicious dinner! By the time we finished eating we were pleasantly full and went to our gate to relax, read, and people watch.

Our flights were pretty uneventful and by that I mean we both passed out and I actually had a pillow aka Will's shoulder. We arrived in Albuqerque at 1130 after both of our flights were delayed, but it wasn't a big deal.

Before we left, everyone, and I mean everyone, in Will's family warned me that I was going to be EXTREMELY well fed while I was there and that his grandparents would try to feed me at every chance they got. They weren't kidding. Almost every decorative bowl in the house was filled with candies, chocolates, and other goodies. Every drawer either held cooking utensils or more food. Their pantry looked something like a bomb shelter supply that could last 50 people several years.

When we arrived at their house both adorable grandparents greeted us and of course offered us food. We politely declined and went to sleep almost immediately. In the morning, breakfast was promptly served and this the feasting began! Christmas day was off to a delicious start! Since we had just gotten there and Will hadn't seen his grandparents in a few years we decided to have a lazy day and just spend it with his family opening presents, talking, and watching movies. And of course, we had a FEAST that night!

The second full day consisted of driving around town, seeing where Will used to live, taking in the sights of the desert, and going to Old Town Albuquerque, which had lots and lots of stores that boasted handmade items, Native American pottery and other makes. It was really neat to explore all of the stores with nothing but handmade Native American crafts. As an anthropologist I loved seeing the drastic and sometimes subtle differences between the pottery and jewelry of different tribes.

One thing that I really loved about Albuquerque was the openness of the terrain. There were tons of mountains that you could always see in the distance, but there was also very flat desert all around you as well. It was completely different, as you'd expect, from the East Coast and I really enjoyed it. It was a very refreshing feeling.

The next day we were supposed to go skiing in Santa Fe. I was beyond excited because I had never been skiing before and the mountains were phenomenal looking. Plus I wanted to get some really neat action pictures for my portfolio. However, life had a different plan for my Christmas vacation...

First of all, I get sick about once every 2 years. Nothing in between, but maybe a small cold. I guess my 2 year sickness interval was up and of course it had to come while I was on vacation the NIGHT BEFORE the day trip I was looking forward to most. I was lucky enough to somehow get norovirus...I got it once before on a cruise and let me tell you it is no picnic. I don't want to get too graphic, but it is essentially like throwing up out of both ends, continuously for 8 hours straight...

My wonderful boyfriend should get an award for picking me up off the bathroom floor and carrying me to bed every few hours. I felt a little better by the morning, and by that I mean I could drink water and keep it down. I decided that I would come with the guys (Will and his brother, Nick) to the ski lodge and just rest there in hopes that I would be able to ski later. In reality, I just slept all day on a table and some chairs in a corner. It was a huge disappointment that I couldn't ski there, but I'm glad I got to see the mountains and that Will had fun day of skiing. The only upside to this part of the story was that I lost all the weight I had gained by eating until I couldn't move for a few days straight. Not that I would ever condone losing weight this way..ever. I'm just looking on the bright side.

We spent our last night there enjoying spending time with his family, playing scrabble, relaxing, and of course eating. We had a very nice trip minus the illness setback. We decided we will have to go back soon so we can add more adventure to our New Mexican repertoire!   I did get to see tumbleweeds and a road runner so I can call it a success ;-)    I've always wanted to see both of those and I finally got to! (Nick and Will did a bunch of eye rolling when I got so excited over them)

All in all, New Mexico was a great success and I finally got to meet that side of Will's family. It was also my first time to the West coast and I absolutely enjoyed myself. If you ever get the chance to go I would definitely recommend it. It was very picturesque and had a homey feel to it even though it was such a big city.

“Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.” – Mark Jenkins

We Have Lift Off!

"Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life." --Steve Jobs

2013 has had an unexpectedly remarkable start. Personally I think it started New Years Eve as I FINALLY had a date. Ever since I was little New Years Eve either consisted of going to bed and missing it or being essentially a third wheel. I've had good times with the people I was with, but it's a couples' holiday and I was always dateless. This year however I went to Virginia Beach with my ex/best friend Will. I feel like it was the kick start to a new and exciting year. I never thought anything could top my year abroad, but this year is just as exciting for completely different reasons.

I've decided I'm slightly off my rocker this year with goals, but I'm aiming high and I've made myself a promise to always do that. I guess you could say that's my resolution for this year. Here is a little of what I've been up to and part of the reason why it's taken me FOREVER to post again.

Acting!

I've had auditions for local short films, a local feature, 2 musicals, 1 straight play, and landed a job in 3 of those movies and a job as a production assistant. Needless to say I felt like something was finally happening. I've never been more sure that it's what I want to do with my life and I've been trying to tackle it in every way possible. I'm still searching for an agent, but it's a work in progress! I haven't heard back about a few things, but I'm hopeful that I will get something. If not, then it's on to the next audition. No matter what though I am going to take this industry by storm. You can count on that. I've never been more determined in my life.

Adventure!

You can take the girl out of the adventure, but you can't take the adventure out of the girl. After spending the entirety of my time living abroad and pretty much living my dream life of exploring foreign countries and cultures I get to go on another adventure! Where am I plunking myself down this time? MALTA! For those of you who don't know it's an island in the Mediterranean near Sicily. Its culture is a mix of almost every Mediterranean culture as it has been invaded by most. It is also extremely colorful and has some of the best scuba diving sites in the world. I was accepted into a field school there for Anthropology and I will undertake a project there where I'm combining terrestrial and underwater photography to capture the culture of the island. I'll be spending 3 weeks there and I can't even wait.

(I do not own this photo)

I work at a dive shop called Atlantis Divers and they have planned an adventure scuba trip to Costa Rica. One of my best friends of all time, Ellie, has been scuba certified for 2 years and we haven't had a chance to dive together yet. Now we will in South America :) It is 4 days of diving supplemented with ATV trips in the jungle, a hike in the national forest, zip lining in the jungle, horseback riding, and white water rafting. Needless to say it is the perfect trip for me and I'm so happy Ellie is going to be sharing this adventure with me.

(I do not own this photo)

I've also been slightly obsessed with Ben Fogle's books. Particularly The Accidental Adventurer and The Accidental Naturalist. I know my parents will be horrified at my plans, but he's just inspired me to push myself to new limits and go out there and make a difference in the world. I've particularly developed a secret love for Africa and am dying to head out there on a conservation project of some kind, but that's for later on.

Fitness!

I'm probably one of the most active people I know, which is surprising since I used to be quite chubby and one of the laziest people I knew. I go to the gym every day and am always looking for something active and fun to try. This year I'm challenging myself with marathons. Not the ridiculous 28 mile ones. I'm nowhere near that level since I might be the world's slowest runner. Not even exaggerating. I get bored really easily with running. The memes online like this:

I've taken up a form of racing that people would probably think I'm even more insane for doing. It's obstacle marathon racing. I get extremely bored if I run the same boring routes over and over. Jogging in a straight line just seems boring to me. But throw in pits of doom and rock walls to climb and mud pits to slither through and I'm golden. I will tackle it like there's no tomorrow. SO that's what I'm going to do. That being said I am taking part in a regular ole 10K called the Monument Avenue 10k. I'm super excited and it's for charity. The next one I'm doing is called Color Me Rad, which is a 5k where color balloons are thrown at you every few minutes and you end up coming out of the race looking like Alice's Wonderland threw up on you. I can't wait. Someone clean is going to get a VERY big hug :)  I have also decided to compete in a Rugged Maniac, which is the obstacle course 5k. Training is so much more achievable in my opinion when you have crazy goals ahead of you. I've already started training and I'm loving it.

All in all this year has been ridiculously amazing. It hasn't even been an entire month and I can't wait to see what's in store for the rest of the year. I feel like I've accomplished so much already in such a short time. My career finally seems like it has potential and I've got ideas in the works for how I can take on the world by storm. Watch out people. If you haven't heard of me already for one thing or another, I can promise you that you will soon :)

"Let us be about setting high standards for life, love, creativity, and wisdom. If our expectations in these areas are low, we are not likely to experience wellness. Setting high standards makes every day and every decade worth looking forward to." --Greg Anderson