Geothermal plant and pet goat photos at Chena

These are the 2 geothermal converters that provide all power for Chena Hot Springs Resort. They were built with recycled parts.

This is the new geothermal converter.

Our tour guide Susan from Michigan shows us the hot water pipes that come from underground at 165 degrees.

The well for the geothermal water is 700 feet deep as illustrated here.

Staff housing at Chena Hot Springs. The 60 employees live on site.

This is the geothermal power plant building.

Pretty trees with snow.

The sun sets about 3 p.m.

Pet goats...

...like treats fed by Carl...

...and Susan...

...and Susan (and Carl).

Photos of Chena Hot Springs Resort #2

Here's the inside of the restaurant with two fox pelts in a case on the wall.

Hanging from the ceiling in the restaurant are a dogsled and moose antlers.

Above the fireplace in the restaurant is a metal laser-cut enameled sculpture of a bear fishing for salmon in the river.

This photo of Carl was taken at 9 a.m. and it's not fully light out yet.

In the morning I said, "Hey, there's a mountain." The snow machines take people on tours.

This little snowman sits outside our building. The photo was taken after lunch when it's starting to get dark. 

This is Carl at the entrance to our building. Someone left their ice martini glasses on the step.

Here's our building, with a guy on the roof pushing off the 8 inches of snow.

The guy got up there in a lift bucket on a big tractor.

Here he is pushing the snow off the roof.

This is the snow falling outside our window!

Chena Hot Springs photos #1

The door to the outside in our building was frosty this morning when it was 33 degrees below zero.

Carl takes off his boots prior to going into the indoor hot tub.

I'm wearing my parka and flipflops!

See my feet?

This is the indoor swimming pool at 90 degrees with hot springs water.

Carl looks at the fish pond surrounded by plants.

Carl relaxes in the hot tub.

You can barely see Susan across the hot tub through the steam on the camera lens.

You go down the left walkway to the outdoor Rock Lake natural hot springs. The outdoor hot tub is up on the right.

This is the fish pond inside the pool building.

First photos of Alaska

This is our first view of Denali (Mt. McKinley) from 185 miles away as we landed in Anchorage. 

As we approach Fairbanks, Denal's two peaks are visible in the center of this photo.

Chena Hot Springs Resort

11.15.11 Chena Hot Springs Resort, an hour from Fairbanks

When we woke up at 6:00 a.m. and, of course, it was dark, but by the time we were done with breakfast about 8:00, the sky had started to lighten. It didn’t really look like “morning” until about 9 a.m.

We decided to check out the indoor pools today, so we got our swimming suits and went to the pool. The regular swimming pool is about 80 degrees, and if it were always that warm, I’d swim more laps! Then we got into one of 2 indoor hot tubs where the temp was about 100 degrees. We decided to save the outdoor hot tub and Rock Lake for tomorrow around noon when you can see where you’re going. The wooden walkway to Rock Lake is not covered in plastic yet (it will be about December 1), and it’s about a half a block to the natural hot springs—in your swimsuit and flip flops which they provide. There is snow on the railings and under your feet to get to the hot springs. They call it Rock Lake because big boulders surround the springs. Supposedly our hair will get frosty while we’re in water from 80 to 120 degrees, depending on where you sit. The indoor pools are chlorinated, but the outside ones are not, and you can smell the sulfur.

Our room at Chena Hot Springs Resort is in one of several 2-storey buildings. There are 4 rooms on the lower level and 4 rooms on the upper level. The décor is again “north woods” with a wallpaper border of moose, evergreen trees, and bears. The room has 2 double beds, a 3/4 bath with a shower and toilet, and the sink inside the front door. There is Direct TV with about 6 channels and no phones in the rooms. BTW, no cell phone service here at the resort. And I’m in the Activity Center to get a better Internet connection than in our room. There is also a newer Moose Lodge with fancier rooms.

This afternoon we’ve signed up for a tour of the geothermal heating/cooling system and the greenhouse. Hopefully tonight we’ll see the Northern Lights. Tomorrow we’ll tour the Ice House Museum.

How cold is it, you ask? This morning it was 33 degrees below zero, but it doesn’t seem that cold because there’s little humidity. We have our parkas and boots and fleece-lined jeans and are quite comfortable, except if you’re outside for 5 minutes you notice the cold on your cheeks and in your nostrils.

After our sojourn in the hot tub we took our wet swimsuits back to our room (if they’re outside very long wet, they get a little crispy as they start to freeze!). Suddenly I heard a noise on the roof and noticed snow falling outside our window. There were 2 guys with shovels who had gotten up there in a lift with a front end loader, and they were shoveling the roof of about 8 inches of snow—just like they have to do in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Many of the young people working at the resort came here because they dreamed of living in Alaska. The Activities director is a 21-year-old from Michigan, and the pool attendant from North Carolina is studying to be a special ed teacher and wants to teach in Barrow. I guess it’s on their bucket list to visit Alaska in the winter time, too.

Anchorage to Fairbanks

Anchorage to Fairbanks

We arrived in Anchorage at 2:40, and our flight to Fairbanks was scheduled for 3:40. Because Delta wouldn’t transfer our luggage all the way to Fairbanks, I had to pick up the suitcases at the baggage claim area, go back to the ticketing area, and check the luggage. Carl waited at the gate with our carryon luggage while I RAN to get our two suitcases. When I got to the ticket counter, the gal told me there was no charge for flights in Alaska, so I checked them and made it back to the gate in time. Whew! I’m not used to RUNNING! As we walked through the jetway, I was calling Chena Hot Springs as we’d been instructed to let them know we’d need the shuttle from the airport.

On the flight into Anchorage, I was sitting next to a man who showed me Mount McKinley (Denali). Then on the flight to Fairbanks we happened to be on the left side of the plane which was best for viewing Denali. Both peaks were visible as the sun was setting about 4:30. It was an up-and-down hour long flight, and when we arrived in Anchorage, the temperature was 20 below zero. The van driver was waiting with a Chena Hot Springs Resort sign, looking for us.

On the drive 56 mile drive to the resort, it got down to 35 below zero. The van had “Moose lights” mounted on the roof which were trained on the ditches so that the driver could see 300 yards ahead of the van. At the resort we checked in, got our luggage into our room, and went to the restaurant. Carl had halibut “hali-bites” and I had a bowl of clam chowder “with a clam in every bite” and a Chena Fresh salad—made with leaf lettuce from the greenhouse on site. It was served with a wonderful walnut vinaigrette dressing. It was the only meal we had eaten all day. Thank goodness we had brought along a bag of Carl’s homemade beef jerky to munch with our complimentary sodas on the 3 flights.

After supper we checked out the hot springs before turning in for the night about 7:30. It was as dark as midnight on the drive to the resort! It does not seem like it’s 25 below zero because the air is dry. There is snow on the ground, but we didn’t need to put on our boots to walk over to the restaurant because the sidewalks have been cleared. The décor is typically “north woods” and the restaurant in the main lodge has mounted animal trophies from fox pelts to moose and caribou.

We put our name on the list for a knock on our door if the aurora borealis are visible, sometime between 10 p.m. and midnight, but they must not have been visible because we had a nice long catching up sleep.

Minneapolis to Anchorage

Minneapolis to Seattle to Anchorage

The plane in Mpls had to balance the fuel and then the fueling nozzle was stuck, so we left 1.5 hours late.. Before we took off, I e-mailed Julie at R & R Travel, and when we landed in Seattle, she had sent our confirmation for an 11:30 Alaska Airlines flight to Anchorage., which gave us time to get our luggage and make our 3:40 to Fairbanks.

She is SO getting a present from Alaska!

Because we booked our flights at two separate times, first Delta Airlines to Alaska and second within Alaska, we had to claim our luggage in Anchorage. We weren’t sure with missing the original flight out of Seattle and leaving an hour or so later that our luggage would make it. Carl stayed with our carryon bags at the gate for our flight to Fairbanks, and I went to the baggage claim area to get our luggage. I waited quite a while for mine to come down the chute, but I didn’t see Carl’s on either of the 2 carousels being used. Then I noticed a baggage clerk scanning bar codes on bags and pulling them off the carousel. That’s where I finally found his bag. Then I had to go back to the ticket counter, check the bags to Fairbanks, re-enter security, and literally RUN back to the gate. I had 45 minutes in which to accomplish all of this and made it back just in time to walk onto the plane since they’d already started boarding.

The man next to me was from Anchorage, and as we came into the airport, he pointed out Mt. McKinley (called Denali by the locals) which was 185 miles away. Then on the flight to Fairbanks, we were on the left side of the plane and I got some great pictures of Denali. Once again, as in 2009 when we visited Alaska, we were fortunate enough to see both the north and south peaks! Only 30 percent of visitors to Denali National Park see Denali, and only 10 percent see both peaks!

The planes are getting smaller. The Boeing 757 from Mpls. to Seattle held 219 passengers. The 737 from Anchorage to Fairbanks held 144 passengers, as will the flight to Barrow and back. However, the Beechcraft 1900 has 19 seats for the flight to Wainwright. If there aren’t a lot of passengers, they’ll use the front half of the plane for cargo. Yes, this is an adventure!