Farewell to Alaska

This isn't one of our photos but
we did see the lights like these
above trees like these - then the
lights just went dancing all
over the sky - fantastic!

Northern Lights really successful viewing 1.  We had resigned ourselves to a blissful all night sleep due to the snow and rain during the day when all of a sudden, at 12.30am, there was a phone call from the front desk to say the lights were showing.  No hesitation, we were up and gone to our near viewing point.  It’s really hard to put into words how amazing the Aurora Borealis is, even harder to capture in a photo without the right gear.  Another night.

After a nice sleep in following the previous nights shenanigans we decided

Candy cane lampposts

to go to North Pole.  North Pole, Alaska where they have candy canes for lampposts and a Christmas store that is open all year round.  We weren’t fooled by the lampposts so didn’t break any teeth and managed to shop just with our eyes (yes, it can be done). 

Even the fire hydrants are in
Christmas colours

We spent the next day at the Chena Hot Springs making use of their facilities.  Naturally our first priority was lunch.  This was followed by a visit to their Ice Museum.  Some amazing pieces on display plus, for the small fee of $600 you can spend the night there – there are 4 rooms decked out for visitors.  Apparently no one has lasted the entire night – it’s too cold and there is no indoor plumbing. 

Life-sized jousting knights - the original piece was 5 times larger

Ice fire place complete with fire

Very cool Aurora Ice Bar - it's cool because it's all made from ice
and serves appletinis

We finished up the tour of the museum with an appletini served in a glass made from ice.  We also got to keep the glass.  Pretty sure these ones won’t survive the flight back to Pennsylvania to join our other souvenir glasses.

With sensible clothes for -5C temperature

Can't stay sensible for long - Cheers!

Also spent some time in the Hot Springs that Chena is famous for.  Bliss!  Have seen lots of photos around the place that show snow piled high on the boulders around the pool – we had to suffer through a gloriously sunny (albeit a bit cool) day.  As the photos tell, we were suffering lots but gritting our teeth and soldiering on.

Northern Lights really successful viewing 2.  Sue hadn’t even got to bed when the call came through from the front desk that the lights were shining bright in the sky.  A rude awakening for Jean when Sue turned the lights on but a quick change into thermals and we were off.  A lot more activity tonight but still not ideal for the luminescent photos.  It really is amazing to watch the lights weave their way across the sky all shimmery and ethereal.

So now it’s time to farewell Alaska.  Our flight is in the wee hours so may get one more viewing of Aurora Borealis before heading back to the Lower 48.

Alaska – rainy, sunny, snowy Alaska

Don't think the roof gets mowed very often

Might be the only moose we
get to see in Anchorage

We spent a couple of days in Anchorage.  The weather was drizzly and rainy, our dispositions were sunny.  Jumped on the tourist trolley bus that drove us around Anchorage showing us the sights that we weren’t going to walk to in the rain.  We even got to see a moose!  In Downtown Anchorage!  Found the trip around Lakes Hood & Spenard interesting – hundreds of float planes – many moored up like you would a boat.  Spent the rest of the day dodging rain drops in Downtown Anchorage before finishing up at the Glacier Brewhouse for dinner and a drink … or three.

One of the many planes parked (moored?) on Lake Spenard

This building was the first permanent structure in Anchorage

Coming at ya - monument to all sled dogs

A couple of quiet ales to end the day

Laurel & Ryan

Spent the next day with some friends of Jeans from New Plymouth, Laurel & Ryan.  After coffee and a catch up they took us for a drive down the very scenic and very beautiful Turnagain Arm.  It was still raining off and on and the cloud cover was quite low but that didn’t detract from the beauty of the area one little bit. 

 

Turnagain Arm out of Anchorage

 

Back in Anchorage we saw moose again.  Real ones this time!  In Suburban

Anchorage!  It was so lovely to watch the mum and her babe munching their way through the neighbourhood.  Laurel & Ryan then spoiled us thoroughly – taking us back to their place and treating us to king crab, reindeer sausage and salmon fillet.  Thank you so much for your hospitality and don’t forget to return to New Plymouth or visit Napier (or wherever Sue eventually ends up) so that we can repay your generosity.

King crab wars! ... and the winner was ... not the crabs, they got eaten

From Anchorage we took the train to Fairbanks, a mere 12 hour journey.  Sure we could’ve flown up in a fraction of that time but we would’ve missed one of the more spectacular train journeys in the world.  I was hanging out to have a nap after lunch but didn’t dare shut my eyes in case I missed yet another glorious sight.  It was hard to know which way to look – left, right, ahead, behind – every vista was simply gorgeous.  The weather had cleared up and we had sunshine for most of the trip with a light rain falling as we were nearing Fairbanks. 

Our main objective in Fairbanks is to see the Northern Lights.  This, of course, means getting up in the middle of the night for a few hours as the best viewing is anywhere between 11pm and 4am.  These hours, of course, are crazy and not conducive to daytime activities so after a couple of 2am wakeups we’re playing it a bit smarter (attempting anyway) so that we’re not wrecked by beer o’clock.  Will let you know the outcome but no pretty lights in the sky as yet. 

Our days in Fairbanks are taken at a nice, relaxed pace.  One of the best

There's ice in them thar hills

viewing spots for the lights is at Murphy’s Dome, a good 30 miles out of town.  It was a gentle climb (we’re driving not hiking, otherwise I would have written Everest-like) to the top of the dome but I was not expecting ice-covered plants like these.  Our new qiviut hats and smoke rings kept the cold air off nicely.

Ice slide - yee ha!

Visited the Ice Museum where the highlight had to be the ice slide.  Just a shame it wasn’t longer.  No drinks at the ice bar (must have been a dry ice museum). 

Jean in the ice house (must be something we can talk about)

No ice beer at the ice bar

 

We also visited The Ice Park where the ice sculptures are long melted but at the same time as they were created in March, there were some sand sculptures made, many still in good nick in September.  We were chatting with a local there who said they plan to continue with the sand sculptures and may also look at other media for sculpting in the future.  Guess we’ll just have to come back here again in March one year.

Spent a few hours on a drizzly, snowy day at the University of Alaska’s Museum of the North.  Thoroughly recommend this museum with its history and art of all the tribal groups and early European settlers.  There is a huge section on Arctic animals along with a lot of contemporary Alaskan artwork.  Great place.

I'm sure I've seen that face in the movies

Many of their taxidermied animals are from confiscated, illegally killed animals

Naturally we finish the day with a couple of bevvies.

Cheers!

Back into Pennsylvania

As much as I wanted to stay in one
of these I think our caboose is better

We originally planned to go to Rochester in New York to visit a couple of attractions but had a rethink and headed straight to Corning for the night.  Passed this neat motel on the way at Avoca.  If we weren’t towing our own caboose behind us, we surely would’ve stopped for the night.  The RV park we stayed in at Corning had a railway line running through the middle of it so still had the train theme going on.  Fortunately no trains in the middle of the night – those things just don’t know how to go quietly.

Back in Pennsylvania we took the scenic route across Highway 6 from Mansfield to Mt Jewett.  A lovely piece of road to drive and yes, very scenic.  At Mt Jewett we stopped at the Kinzua Viaduct.  The original bridge was built in 94 days back in 1882 and was destroyed in 30 seconds by a tornado in 2003.  The viaduct now forms part of Kinzua Bridge State Park to show people the result of the forces of nature.  You can walk part way across the restored bridge and even stand on some glass panels looking 300’ straight down.

Kinzua viaduct showing the sections destroyed by a tornado

Jean & Sue underneath the viaduct

Gobblers Knob where every February
Punxsutawney Phil makes his
weather prediction

From Mt Jewett it was a short drive down to Punxsutawney where we found ourselves 5 months early for Punxsutawney Phil’s weather prediction.  Of course we knew we would be so brought along a substitute weather forecaster.  He said the sun will always be shining in my world.  For those no wiser at the end of this paragraph than at the beginning, Punxsutawney Phil is a groundhog who has been predicting either a long winter or an early spring since 1887.

Not Phil but better looking than a groundhog

From Punxsutawney (admit it, it’s a neat name) we headed south and went

Bears, what bears?

for a hike to America’s first railway tunnel.  It wasn’t the first tunnel, there had been a couple made for canal boats but it was the first used specifically for trains.  The trail leading to the tunnel was a gentle hike along the old railway line.  It wasn’t until we were on the return journey that Jean reminded Sue that there were bears in them thar woods.  Which reminded Sue that she doesn’t need to run fast – just faster than Jean.  Sorry Mum.

Thought it was interesting how the East & West entrances
have been finished differently

Stopped in at Johnstown to have a ride on the steepest vehicular inclined

Sadly no room for the
5th wheel

rail in the world.  It was originally built when a devastating flood hit Johnstown in 1890 and a lot of the townsfolk rebuilt on the steep hills.  The roads at the time to the top of the hill were too difficult for the

This gives you an idea
of how steep the incline is

horses and carts, especially with loads, to traverse so the inclined rail was built.  The first rail cars carried the wagons and horses on the top floor with a cabin at the bottom to carry passengers.  These days you can still take your car or motorbike up and down the hill with a small cabin to the side for passengers.

Johnstown from the top of the incline

We needed something to do while waiting for the car to go back down the incline
... so we had a beer

There’s an abandoned turnpike with a couple of tunnels on the way to

The abandoned turnpike at
Breezewood.  We weren't too
creeped out when a man stepped
out from the trees ahead
of us - he didn't act like a
zombie at all

Gettysburg so we just had to stop and pay it a visit.  It’s been the backdrop to a post-apocalypse movie and we can see why.  Nature is slowly taking it back although one side of the old road is maintained as a hiking and biking trail.  It was a couple of miles hike to the first tunnel.  Walked ¾ mile through that tunnel and flagged the second one.  How many miles of post-apocalypse sites do you really need to walk in a day when you’re still pre-apocalypse and have a nice comfortable vehicle to drive in.

A quick stop at Tiny World in Shippensburg then it was onto Gettysburg itself. 

Jean goes back to school at Tiny World ...

... while Sue reminisces about her time as a Volunteer Firefighter

 

Then it was onto Gettysburg itself.  We parked the RV at a campground and went on a scenic tour around the battlefield.  There are cannons

galore along the route along with statues, plaques and tributes to the various states.  We also visited Dobbin House, a renovated parsonage from the 1700’s.  During the Civil War it was used as a hospital for both sides so the family was quite pleased when they came back to Gettysburg to find it still standing.  We were pleased as well – the building is quite amazing.

Dobbin House - the porch was added in the 1800's

The basement has been converted into a 1700's-styled tavern
and, no, we didn't spend all our time here

After Gettysburg we headed straight to Hershey where we are spending a few days with some friends of Jeans before heading to Alaska.  Sue, Jim

This is the way to toast
marshmallows - no mosquitoes

and their daughter Lily have been great hosts.  We did the “coals to Newcastle” thing and visited an RV show.  Sadly no million dollar RVs to drool over and I really don’t understand why you need 3 televisions in such a small space (ours still has the protective plastic on it – hasn’t been turned on once in 6 months).  Like at Johnstown though, we needed something to do while Lily was at her dance lesson – American Sue recommended The Warwick and it didn’t disappoint.  It’s the kind of place where you want to keep going back to try all of the menu.

Had to do something while our meals were coming
- beer, wine and chocolate cocktails hit the spot