2007 02 09-17: Alaska

Misa Edito:
After all the amazing places Germain has taken me, I wanted to give him something spectacular. So it was off to Alaska to see the aurora/northern lights. We flew to Anchorage for a day- it was cold... but not that bad. We took a walk down the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail and ended up with Knik Arm in the background at sunset.
The next morning we woke up bright and early to board the Alaska Railroad to Fairbanks. This nearly 12 hour ride passes through brilliant, virgin land and we even managed to spot some moose and caribou along the way (though from the train, they were merely moving blotches on the pristine snow). The scenery was breath-taking, the air crisp and ever increasingly colder. With a dining car and plenty of extra seats available (an extra car was added to accommodate the bus-load of Japanese tourists boarding half-way to Fairbanks), we were able to keep ourselves occupied. Between the scenery, sleeping and eating (we packed sandwiches, but Germain couldn't resist trying reindeer sausage) the day passed in a blur.
Fairbanks is home to many-a competition-level ice-sculptor; and it shows! Every business had an ice sculpture- from banks to tourist centers... even Wendy's fast food! (the "Charlotte's Web" sculpture- and that's Charlotte the spider in my hand- was in front of the local Wendy's!). We toured the city on foot, seeing only snowmobile tracks or soft, deep, virgin snow. And falling back into my childhood, I could not resist creating my very own snow-angel--- and forcing Germain to regress with me!
The next day, or rather late night/early morning was spent at the Aurora Borealis Lodge. Mok (the owner) collected us and a van full of JAL flight attendants to view nature's spectacular beauty. I would recommend the Lodge to anyone! The aurora/northern lights got off to a slow start... but by 2am, were simply awe-inspiring! Mother Nature put on an incredible show... with ribboning displays and color changes. And She was further accommodating by giving us interludes so that we could hurry back inside to warm ourselves and defrost. Even through all the layers and cup after cup of hot chocolate... it was freezing!!! But frost-bite was a small price to pay for such beauty- the pictures do NOT do them any justice!
Because we were out late watching the northern lights... the next day was a sleep-in day. The shortened hours of daylight afforded us only enough time to head out to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and hike a trail or 2. The snow blanketed all track signs (if there were, in fact, any) and we wandered around for hours in the midst of skinny trees bowing under the weight of winter. It was so cold in fact, that tears turned into icicles on our eyelashes and frost formed on the scarves around our faces from the condensation of our own breath!
The final day was our most action packed. We got a ride out to Chena Hot Springs and tried almost everything they had to offer. The snow-shoeing was fun, but exactly as I imagined it as a child... like walking with tennis rackets attached to your feet... not the easiest means towards gracefulness ;) The snow-mobiling was awesome! Once I got over my initial fear of tipping over... it was vrrmmmm, vrrmmmm, vrrmmmm- speeding around bends like the Bond-girl I was born to be; Germain was, as ever, the conscientious, relaxed driver. Then, it was off to the dog-sled course. At first I felt bad for these little doggies having to pull the weight of 5 grown adults, but they seemed happy, even eager to do it. They love the attention and you could see that they loved and were loved by their handlers. And an interesting, though equally gross fact about these dogs, is that they are long-distance runners that don't even take the time to stop to go to the bathroom. They can manage to run and defecate at the same time... talk about multi-taking!!! Our final activity was the ice hotel. Here everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is made out of ice! It is possible to actually rent out one of the rooms- sleep in a bed made of ice (with caribou hide to keep your butt from freezing to it) and use the toilet also made of ice- and I thought bare feet on tile in the morning was bad! We were wimps and just walked through the small hotel. We did, however, stop off at the Stoli-bar. I had an apple-tini, chilled by its descent down a fish tail, in my very own carved-ice glass. It was delicious and I was drunk by mid-afternoon.
As there are no direct flights from Fairbanks or Anchorage to Tokyo (unless you book one of the many Japanese tour groups... but then have to stick with their itinerary), we decided to cut our travel time and forgo connecting flights and just spend a night in Seattle. We did the tourist thing in Seattle and took in the MarketPlace, historic district, and of course the Space Needle. A night of delicious seafood fare, drinks and Thursday nightlife was the perfect wrap-up to our winter holiday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GERMAIN :).