Westgate

Taking a day off from tourism and spending a relaxing day at Chena Hot Springs Resort, about 60 miles NE of Fairbanks. A beautiful drive through the Chena Stata Recreational Area. Trees, rivers, streams and a highway with tons of gravel roads taking off to the right and left to fishing spots, campgrounds and hiking trails. Arrived at the resort around 1PM, checked into our room, had lunch and off to the hot springs. Spent the afternoon soaking up the water and sun. We were laughing and saying we felt like we had a "day off". Back for a shower and a bathroom we only had to share with each other and not all the campground neighbors 😂.
We signed up for the 5PM tour of the Aurora Ice Museum, on the grounds of the resort. A fun diversion, an entire building with ice sculptures, a bar for 10, an ice hotel and an ice chapel for weddings. The 2 people who have done all the sculptures were in their workshop at the entrance to the museum. They also maintain the building and the ice structure. Amazing place, temperature at 25 degrees. They provide super warm parkas. The best part was the “ appletini” (vodka and an apple liquore) served in an ice martini glass! What fun!
A great dinner of Alaskan scallops and a early bedtime.
One final note, we met 2 interesting groups of young people today. At the hot springs, 3 young male geologists from Denver that had been working in Denali the previous 3 weeks. Had a long conversation with them about their work, traveling in Alaska - they were genuinely interested in our trip and lots of fun commentary. At the ice bar, while drinking appletinis, we met 2 30 something couples from NYC who were taking a year out of their lives to travel the US via RV. Three of them had quit their jobs, one could work on the road. They were full of fun stories and so personable. A real bonus of travel.Read more