Chena Hot Springs

We had another day in Fairbanks so we decided to go over to Chena Hot Springs for a visit and lunch.  They have an ice hotel, actually an ice museum we were interested in.  It was a beautiful day for the 60 mile drive.  Chena Hot Springs is at the very end of the road with nothing but wilderness along the way.  It turned out to be a very well done resort/spa with many buildings, greenhouses, and beautiful natural landscaping with tons of artwork, with a real bent towards renewable energy.  Because of the hot springs, they use geothermal for all of their heating needs.  They also are a research center for electricity generation from cellulose trash in the land fills, by pelletizing the paper goods, then burning it efficiently, driving a generator mounted using magnetic fields as to be almost friction free!

But we were there for the ice museum.  

The Ice Museum

The museum was created in 2005 from over 1000 tons of ice all harvested from ponds in the immediate area.  It is a balmy 25 degrees inside, yes parkas are provided.  Everything inside is constructed of ice, walls, ceiling, floors, bar, artwork, beds in the 4 rooms, and so on.  Everything inside has been created by the World Champion ice carving couple, Steve and Heather Brice.  It is fascinating and the detail is unbelievable.  You could even get a special appletini at the bar in your own specially carved ice martini glass for a few extra bucks, none of us partook, weenies I guess, but it was only 11am:-)  It is only dimly lit inside to help cut down on the sublimation of the ice, that is the transfer of solid ice directly to gas.  Our guide explained that since that occurs, all of the items inside have to periodically rebuilt over time.  It is also the reason the ice cubes in your freezer get rounded and smaller over time.  Live and learn huh?  So that is why the pics are not completely clear.

The main room

The bar

Some detail in the globes

The color is dependent on where in the pond the ice is cut from

There are even 4 rooms you can stay in overnight if you wish, a mere $600/night, with no running water inside, obviously, but it also gets you an extra room in the hotel.

Folks enjoying the hot springs

We had a nice lunch inside one of the original 100 year old buildings on the property.

Then as we were walking around we were given a treat.  Of all the animals, we have been having problems finding moose, especially bulls, in fact, we joke that they all leave the country whenever we are around.  Well this young bull moose was dining on some succulent grass right at the resort!

Still has velvet on his antlers

Much easier to eat while kneeling!

We watched him for quite awhile, he was totally at ease with people milling around.  Hope he wises up before moose season!  It was time to head back, and as if the moose gods heard our pleas, we were lucky enough to find this mom and her baby along the road.

Mom

With the young'n

We have since moved down to the Denali National Park area and will have much to share very soon.