Chena Hot Springs (08-12-14)

Post delayed due to lack of internet

Chena Hot Springs is a few hours from Fairbanks.  We drove most of the way there, then pulled over by a nice river, to spend the night.  Why is this important?  Well, the river was great and we got there early enough in the day to enjoy sitting outside for a while.

Even Dozer enjoyed exploring.  And then the mosquitoes arrived.  We moved inside, assuming that would help, but it didn't help enough.

  First we thought we had brought some in with us and we soon realized that Paul’s powerful LED flashlight (Thanks, Kirk!!) was the best way to find them. They actually cast a shadow!  After plugging all the holes we could find and chasing them all down, we went to bed. What’s worse than the buzz of a mosquito when you are trying to sleep?  The harmonious multi-tone drone of many mosquitoes. In the end, we killed about 40 and got an hour or so of sleep.  We both agreed that this is the worst night sleep we've ever had.

The next morning we headed to the hot springs and got there just in time to have lunch in the restaurant.  One of the attractions here, in addition to the hot springs, is an ice museum. We booked a tour to see that after lunch.

The museum is really a way to showcase the work of world class ice sculptors Steve and Heather Brice.  This is where they work and practice for competitions.

The first thing I saw was an ice staircase.

The ice Christmas tree had a lot more intricate details than this picture shows.  The tree sits in a “hotel room” that you can  actually rent.  That’s right folks, for the paltry sum of  $600 a night, you  can spend the night in a ice room, right here in the ice museum. 

Your room of course comes with a completely unusable ice out house. Actually, they give you a regular room at the inn to use for anything that requires water…..

One of the rooms has an ice xylophone. Can’t say that the sound was great, but it was unique.

Luckily the LED was invented, so the whole place could be lit up very brightly with colorful lights.











There was even an ice fireplace to “warm” your hands.  The museum is kept at a cool 20 degrees, so any type of warmth was welcome.















Once we were done with the tour, we bellied up to the Aurora Ice bar.  The only drink they serve is an Appletini.












They serve it in an ice martini glass that is yours to keep (yes, we did, and Paul used his a few days later.)

       

Cheers!