We stayed up Friday night until about midnight, but were disappointed by increasing cloud cover, although there were some great views of the stars and the Milky Way early in the evening.

Given the impending snow Saturday (8” predicted, although Alaskans are entirely unfazed by this), I did not have high hopes of seeing the aurora from where we were. If I was going to check this item off my life bucket list, I was going to have to double-down and pay for a guided aurora chasing tour. I did my research, then booked with Fairbanks Aurora Tours. I will not disclose how much I paid, but let’s just say it wasn’t cheap, so I was rather anxious about whether it would deliver or not.

Given the snow, the semi-remote location of our lodging, and the fact that the tour ends between 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning, I decided to forfeit my last night at the lodge and book a hotel in the city. There’s simply no way I could drive safely 45 minutes in the snow and the dark at 4:00am. One perk of age is knowing – and accepting – your limits (another perk is being able to afford another hotel room).

We left the lodge and headed to town, checked in to the 2nd hotel, then dawdled about until we got picked up at 9:15. Our guide, Aaron, was spectacular. He spent the first half hour of the drive talking about what the forecasts said (clearing to the north) and why he didn’t believe it and was taking us 100 miles to the southwest. He then walked us through the mechanics of the aurora and explained why aurora predictions online are so awful.

Aaron also seemed to know everything about every model of camera ever made. He walked us all through what settings we needed to have on our cameras to get the best photos. He also explained why those settings mattered and the effect the changes would have on our pictures.

Rather suddenly, he noted that there was some aurora visible from his window, and a minute later we were pulling over and being herded out of the van. Because the van windows were fogged over, I couldn’t see anything until I stepped out. Then I looked up and gasped.

iPhones capture the colors decently (although the real camera images are still significantly more vibrant). What isn’t possible to capture is the motion – colors fading in and out, almost imperceptibly, and the lights pulsing and bending. Still photos also can’t capture the awe-inspiring sensation of witnessing this phenomenon. Once in a while, the earth does something that simply feels magical or otherworldly. Volcanic eruptions, for example, or a magnificent rainbow after a rainstorm. This is another one of those moments where you realize that we simply don’t have the ability to capture some things in words.

We moved a bit further up the road to another spot, and despite just seeing the aurora only minutes before, we were again mesmerized. The aurora is never the same twice, and that’s notably evident.

At this point, we had to head back to get everybody dropped off before 5am. I’ve seen 5am many times as a wake up time, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it as a bedtime. We got back, dragged out exhausted husks into bed, and slept the best sleep.

After waking up at 11am (!) we set off for pedicures and then a tour of the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. It was a nice museum, covering culture, history, flora and fauna. There was a video about the aurora that was interesting and I learned that the aurora borealis and the aurora astralis are actually two ends of the exact same phenomenon so they look the same if photographed at the same instant. Cool!

After returning the car, we hung out at the Pike hotel until heading to the airport. Despite the snowy day, the aurora seemed to want to wish us well on our journey and it made one quick appearance over the city of Fairbanks.

This was a quick trip, and honestly, about the right amount of time unless we wanted to do longer day or overnight trips. The people are friendly, the climate is awful, and the skies are magical. This was a trip that was worth the travel, and one I’ll never forget.

A few weeks ago, the weather in Fairbanks was hovering in the -30 degree range. I can’t honestly fathom what that feels like, although I’m certainly confident that I would not like it. During our time here, it’s been a more tolerable temperature, ranging from -10 overnight to almost 10 during the day.

We collected our luggage and got the shuttle to the hotel. The lights were ever so slightly visible on the ride, but I was so exhausted I couldn’t see straight, let alone appreciate subtle light changes in the sky. After a solid night of sleep at Pike’s Waterfront Lodge, we got our car and learned when & how to plug it in so the oil doesn’t freeze.

Since the dog ate my last good pair of mittens, we went to a local outdoor gear outfitter. I figured if anyplace would have warm mittens it would be here, and I was not disappointed! Kiddo got a snood and I have to admit, it’s pretty awesome.

A stop at Walmart for groceries and we were off to Northern Sky Lodge, about 45 minutes west of town. Roads around here are not salted. In hindsight, that makes sense, but it surprised me in the moment. Salt melts snow, but at some point, it will get cold enough here that the melted snow would then freeze to solid ice which would be treacherous. Also, the snow here almost feels fake. It’s super light and fluffy and blows all over the place. So, they plow a lot of it away, but the roads still are snowy and can be icy. Taking turns is not for snow-driving novices, and more than one car skidded right through stop lights. I see now why many visitors do not rent cars. Thankfully, I grew up driving in bad weather and am comfortable driving slowly and cautiously in such conditions.

Friday we decided to make the 2-hour trek over to Chena for the hot springs. On a map, it looked close, but Alaska is so vast that everything is actually super far apart. It was thankfully a nice day and the driving was easy.

Chena hot springs had mixed reviews so I was wary of what we’d find. I have to say, some people have unreasonable expectations. Many complained that the rocks were slimy. It is a NATURAL HOT SPRING, so yes, there will be some natural algae. I found it to be perfectly nice. The water was about 102-106 and was crystal clear. The walkway to the spring was covered so we didn’t freeze to death getting in and out, and there was also an outdoor hot tub and an indoor pool and 2 more hot tubs. We enjoyed watching the steam cling to our hair and then turn to ice. A very nice $20 afternoon!

We had an exorbitantly priced lunch at the resort restaurant before heading back to the lodge to try to wait for the aurora to show up.