Tuesday, June 12, 2012

June 12 – Chena Hot Springs, Alaska


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It never gets dark here anymore. Today the sun sets around 12:30 am and rises at about 3 am and even then it just sort of skims below the horizon before it is back up. There is no such thing as seeing the stars this time of year. It is also a bit weird for me in that it rise and sets in the north rather than the east and west as I am used to.

We awoke to the sound of rain so we just rolled over and went back to sleep until late.

We had planned to visit the Chena Hot Springs Resort, which is about 50 miles north east of Fairbanks. When we did get up the rain had stopped and it looked a bit brighter in the east so off we went.

The road is a boring tunnel of trees but you get occasional breaks to see the Chena River which seems to be a moose favourite. The first one crossed the road in front of us and then dashed off into the forest.

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The next one was munching on stuff at the bottom of the river.

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It stared at us and another couple for a while before it ambled off. Whenever a car is off to the side of the road, everyone else pulls over to see what animal is there so you always get a crowd.

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The hot springs themselves were very nice, although the pools were a bit artificial compared to the other ones we had been to at Liard River.

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We went in until thoroughly relaxed, came out to cool off and then went back to cook a bit more. The temperature was just about right.

The resort has quite amazing gardens. I guess with all the hot water they can easily grow things in greenhouses in the colder weather. We wandered up and down this herb garden sniffing all the plants.

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There was spearmint, chocolate mint, peppermint, Thai basil and a lot of others. Amazing smells.

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Just as we were finished walking through we turned around to see that these two had joined the party, getting a drink where we had just been minutes ago at the end of the garden.

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This one almost looked like it had a hairdo.

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We saw another one on the drive back, making a total of 5 today. (No more moose pictures unless it is exceptional).

The resort has an interesting BBQ cover.

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Now we are back at Pioneer Park. The forecast for tomorrow is sun and clouds with a shower. I hope it is short because we are going on a 3 1/2 hour boat cruise (not a 3 hour tour).

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