Highlights in The Golden Heart City

Highlights for me can either be a place, an event or the people I meet. Fairbanks, Alaska offered me everything despite the health issues I had. :) Although I know that I'd still say the same line in the next sections of this journey, I feel like Fairbanks just grew in me.... all the combinations to it, gearing towards the end of my visit there. And it just further emphasized how I loved a certain level of "remoteness", or let's admit it, the big city unfriendliness ain't something that works for me anymore.


Aurora Borealis, Northern Lights

Green Aurora Borealis

This has been on my bucket list for ages. Initially, Alaska wasn't supposed to be part of this journey but I sort of tweaked my plans a "little bit" with the thinking, I might as well since I'd be so close by. And who knows when's the next time I'd be going that way of the world.

Definitely traveling around Alaska without car can be really challenging. But I had my hopes up whilst monitoring the Aurora Forecast. March 29 marked the day when I was lucky enough to see it in Fairbanks.

I dozed for a while that night and woke up half past midnight. I was chatting with my friend Greg (back in NZ) discussing about the possibilities. I believe it was -15C that night but I braved it...good thing though or else I would have missed that window of opportunity.

I had my snowboarding pants on with another layer and 4 top layers plus 2 jackets. I found my way around the corner and walked towards the highway looking for a spot where light pollution was minimal. As I was crossing the bridge I saw a faint green light up in the sky...and I stopped.

There it was dancing before my very eyes was the Aurora Borealis. I could have jumped for joy hadn't it been in the wee hours of the morning. I took a few photos and played around with my settings (arrgh i forgot to take the polarizer off but hey still did get good photos)...

At some point I stopped..... and just watched..... a little bit teary eyed..... <sigh> such beauty.......

NB: The different colors actually symbolizes if it's Oxygen or Nitrogen particles that is hit at Earth's atmosphere 

The Arctic Circle Trip  
 (Click here for more photos)

I was feeling cheap and didn't want to take a cab. With all of the walking the past few days I felt like I can walk for miles. So I decided to take the bus and get off at Fred Meyer East and walk all the way  towards the airport. I was walking for over an hour with my full camera gear. Man.... I'm glad it was sunny that day.

The walk was actually not that bad, snow filled the pavements and the cars along the highway just zipped past. I was thinking of hitch hiking again but didn't bother anymore. I passed by a section with planes parked with snow all over the wings. Stopped for a while and took some photos.

Dalton Highway

By 11 am I eventually reached my destination. There were a few people already there, I was the last one to arrive. Of course, everybody had a car or took the cab. Ha! The guy who was prepping up the bus was laughing at me when I said "I made it!" and realized that I walked all the way.

We had Michelle as our guide for the day :). She was a lovely blonde girl who's been driving the Dalton Highway for the past 15 years or so. We also learned that she's worked in Antarctica for 3 months before. She had a bubbly personality, very welcoming and had so much knowledge in her head.

Pipeline from Prudhoe Bay

We started our way through the rest of Fairbanks and headed up north. 197 miles from our starting point till we reach the Arctic Circle. Apparently during winter car rental companies do not allow people to drive on the Dalton highway. Reason being is due to the road conditions and icy/slippery surfaces. I noticed that it was all trucks and big shuttle buses that owned the road. There were a few 4-wheel autos but I guess that time was already gearing towards spring. 

Barren land

She started talking about the history of the Gold Rush and how things came to be. She then eventually talked about the discovery of oil and how the pipelines were designed and built. Parallel to the highway is this massive pipeline, allowing the oil to be transported. I did ask though if this affected the wildlife, and of course the answer was , "No such research said otherwise". But of course, if you were to ask me, i'm sure it would have. Further on, she discussed about Permafrost and how it had impact on the design of the pipeline. Where there are areas of Permafrost, the structure required to be on a certain level above the ground (as shown in the photo).

   She also explained how to identify if an area has permafrost or not. With almost the same terrain with the cold parts of Canada, Alaska also has the family of Spruce Trees. In the area we passed, she mentioned that sections with Black Spruce trees tells you that there is permafrost. And if it's White Spruce Trees, then that area is all good. She also gave a short blurb on Real Estate and how land can be so cheap when there's permafrost. And at the same time, can be so expensive to build a house on.

Sunset @ The Arctic Circle

  As we got further north some of the areas had a change of terrain and we passed by some barren land just filled with rocks and stones. Most probably years ago a big seismic activity occurred which explains the presence of the rocks. We stopped for a while and got mesmerized by the remote and rugged land before our eyes.

By 8 pm that day, we reached the Arctic Circle. It was really funny coz we had this ceremony of crossing that white line on the rug just beneath the big sign that says the Arctic Circle. Then Michelle shook our hands and later on give the certificate.

We had our dinner in the bus as it was freezing outside. I quickly finished mine and went out again to take sunset shots. I don't know what's with rugged terrain and remote places, but I stood there in the freezin' cold and just stared out to the horizon. Such beauty.

I'll be back someday.