Day 1, Saturday – Travel
Our Alaskan adventure with our friend Darlene began with a full day of travel. Our first stop was Chicago O’Hare Airport, followed by Seattle, Washington, and finally Fairbanks. We left our house at 8:45 AM Eastern Time on Saturday and didn’t arrive at our Fairbanks Airbnb until midnight Alaska Standard Time, which is 4:00 AM Eastern Time (a 4-hour time difference). That means we traveled for a total of 19 hours. 😴 But, much shorter trip than if we drove it as in the map below!
During our time in Fairbanks, the weather was forecasted to be in the negative 30s. Having never experienced such extreme cold temperatures, we decided to invest in some extreme weather gear, which worked amazingly well to keep us warm. Click here to jump to Our Extreme Cold Weather Gear list below.
Day 2, Sunday – First Glimpse of Alaska’s Northern Lights and Settling In
Early in the morning the skies were clear enough for a sneak peak at some Aurora. Later in the day we were able to see the beautiful view from our deck. We stayed in an Airbnb that had a deck for us to view the Northern lights. We went to town to eat at Taco Azteca Mayan Palace and buy some groceries. In the evening we made dinner, settled in and relaxed.
Day 3, Monday, January 27th – Reindeer Walk
Spent the afternoon with some of Rudolph’s friends! The weather cleared up enough to make a trek out to Running Reindeer Ranch. It was a unique experience to walk among the reindeer while the guides gave us a tremendous amount of information on the animals. You could tell that the guides all loved their jobs and the animals they helped care for. Special thanks to Lindsey of Wandering Alaska for taking us out there while giving us of information on the area. A great way to spend an afternoon!
Day 4, Tuesday – More Lights and Cultural Center
Woke up early and decided to go check the skies even though the forecast said it was cloudy – glad we did as there was some Aurora visible from our deck!
Later that day we ventured in to Fairbanks to get some pictures at the Reindeer Antler Arch, visit the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center. Had to bundle up as the temps dropped below zero!
We then got some views from the bridge while walking over to The Crepery and had some yummy crepes as an early dinner.
Then off to the Fairbanks Curling Club to watch some curling and enjoy a few local beers. It was a lot busier than we expected, with all 6 sheets in use. Everyone was super friendly and we learned a lot about curling. The last two pictures are of the ice preparation. They began with a smooth, level base made by spraying fine mist layers of water that freeze quickly. The ice was then scraped to ensure it is perfectly level and smooth. Then they did Pebbling which involves spraying tiny droplets of water onto the ice surface, which freeze into small, rounded bumps. The ice was scraped again to remove any larger bumps, and a second layer of pebbling applied.
Day 5, Wednesday – Dinner at Pump House
Dinner was delicious and the Pump house had really cool decor! We were too busy eating and the food looked so good that we forgot to get a picture of the main course!
Day 6, Thursday – Dog Sledding and Northern Lights Tour!
What a day! Spent the afternoon mushing at Sluice Box Sled Dogs. The owners were fantastic and all the dogs were so hard working and lovable! You could tell the dogs loved pulling the sled! Rob and I took turns “driving”. Rob was only ditched off the sled once! 🤣
1:30 in the morning and 30 below freezing, but a beautiful light show! Thanks Lindsay from Wandering Alaska for a great Northern Light chase!
Day 7, Friday – Alaska Museum of the North
After catching up on some lost sleep from chasing the Northern Lights, we decided to use boiling water to create snow and pose on the deck in the freezing cold!
That afternoon we visited the University of Alaska Museum of the North. We really enjoyed learning the history of Alaska with the well designed displays combined with the audio tour.
Day 8, Saturday – North Pole and Other Adventures
We went on a City Tour with Wandering Alaska. First stop, the city of North Pole, AK for pics with Santa and then Chena lake to “walk” on it. We ended up driving on it instead! 😱
Next stop was the Alaskan Pipeline and Musk Ox at the Large Animal Research Station. I never knew that there is only a 6″ pipe that the oil flows through and the rest of the pipe is for installation and shock absorption. The installation is for the extreme cold temperatures and the shock absorption is because to protect the pipe from tectonic shifts.
We then stopped at the Great Alaskan Bowl Company and bought a beautiful handmade bowl and the Roaming Root Cellar where we got a beautiful print. Next was Hoarfrost Distillery where we tasted some delicious local liquors and vodkas. We then tried their mixed drinks. Rob had a Bloody Mary made with the Vegetable Vodka, Darlene had a drink made with the tea vodka and I had a Rhubarb Martini. They were all excellent! We ended the day at a brewery for some more local beers and a bite to eat. What a great day!
That night we headed home. We were able to get some final pictures of the Northern Lights from the plane.
Our Extreme Weather Gear
To prepare for our Alaska trip to see the Northern Lights we tested our cold weather gear by going for a walk in 6-degree weather. We stayed pretty warm and were happy with our gear, with just a few changes and additions. I bought a couple thermal tops to wear between my base layer and my sweater. We also decided to get snow goggles with clear lenses, as the blue and yellow lenses we bought tinted our vision and won’t be ideal for viewing the Northern Lights. Can you tell who is who? 🤣
Our Extreme Cold Weather Gear
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 | Fleece Balaclava Face Mask | These masks were great because they could be pulled tight to cover up your whole face except the ski googles. |
 | OTG Over Glasses Ski Goggles | These googles worked great over our glasses to keep our glasses from fogging up. We would not have been able to see anything without them! |
 | Eddie Bauer Women’s Down Parka | I LOVE this coat. The best parts are the warm lined fuzzy sleaves and pockets. Even in the -32 weather I did not get cold. |
 | GEMYSE Men’s Ski Snow Jacket | Rob loves his new jacket. It made him highly visible when he fell of the snow dog sled. 🤣 |
 | EONPOW Warm Autumn and Winter Scarf | Even with the fleece face mask I still was happy to have a warm scarf. |
 | Arctix Women’s Bib Overalls | Super warm and comfy. Zip open at the ankle to fit easily around boots. |
 | N’Ice Caps Men & Women Mittens Waterproof Snow Gloves | These worked great over the base gloves. They came off easily so we could take pictures. |
 | Columbia Women’s Boots | These boots are warm and comfy. I wear them all the time in our Ohio winter weather. |
 | NORTIV 8 Men’s Waterproof Hiking Winter Snow Boots | Rob’s boots kept him warm and dry. He wears them to snow blow now that we are home. |
 | ESNO Women Sweater Oversized | I got this sweater in several styles. It is so warm and comfy I wear them all the time. I just have to be careful to not let the puppies nails snag them. |
 | Fruit of the Loom womens Micro Waffle Premium Thermal Underwear Tee Shirt | When we tested out our cold weather gear my arms felt a little cold. These thermal shirts did the trick and kept me warm! |
 | CAMPSNAIL Fleece Lined Sweatpants | These sweat pants are so warm and comfortable I wear them almost every day. Good thing I work from home and can get away with it! |
 | Alvada Merino Wool Hiking Socks | These socks are soo comfortable. I wear them around the house instead of slippers. |
 | 32 Degrees Ladies’ Heat Tee | These are made from a really thin fabric. At first I didn’t think they would help with the fabric being so thin but they really helped keep us warm. |
 | 32 Degrees Ladies’ Heat Pant | Same as the Tee these are thin fabric but really helped. |
 | Under Armor Liner Gloves | The fit great under our mittens and allowed us to get pictures of the Northern Lights with gloves on. |
 | Fox River Outdoor Wick Dry Alturas Ultra-Lightweight Liner Socks | |
 | OCOOPA Magnetic Hand Warmers Rechargeable | |
 | HotHands Insole Foot Warmers with Adhesive | |
