Fairbanks and Chena Visit

We had a wonderful stay in Fairbanks last week.

On Friday night, Stephen drove up with Donald, Alicia, and Little Bit (sporting her winter disguise as "Lotta Bit"). They arrived at the cabin very late, around midnight.

That worked out okay because it meant we were forced to be awake at that hour so we were able to catch our first glimpse of the beautiful northern lights (aka aurora borealis). The light show started just after 1am and only lasted about 20 minutes. But it was really cool to see. Lots of green lights jumping and dancing across the sky. I'm not sure my camera is capable of capturing it very well, but I tried.

We loved the peaceful solitude of the cabin, as usual. Every time we stay in one we breathe a little easier. No phone, no TV, no frantic obligations. Just read a book, do a puzzle, keep the fire going in the stove.

This cabin is wheelchair accessible with ramps and an oversized outhouse. It's relatively new and located at mile 32.2 of the Chena Hot Springs Road. It is called the Chena River Cabin and it overlooks the river which was frozen during our stay, but you could see a little running water.

After the 2-night retreat at the cabin, we drove back home via Cantwell where we looked through the lodge which is for sale there. It actually has great potential. We just can't figure out a way to run it while still having kids in school 3 hours south of there... If anyone wants to take care of it during the snowmachine season, let us know! It has 18 lodgings and a well-equipped restaurant/bar. There is minimal competition in Cantwell and it's 20 minutes away from the entrance to Denali National Park.