Aurora Hunting in Alaska

Bucket list: Aurora Borealis.  Check!

As you can guess by the lack of blog posts, we stayed close to home for the remainder of 2024. Rog has been diligently working on upgrades to the Short Bus including a new inverter and associated electronic gadgetry, rewiring and adding solar. So how did we come to be freezing our tushies off in the arctic north? We winged it, literally. No RV trip this time, we flew. When we offered to take Randi on the Africa trip, she passed since hiking and gorillas were not her schtick. But seeing the aurora has been on her bucket list, so here we are!

On Thursday, 1/30, Randi and her fiancé, Jose, flew in from Texas. Jose was born and raised in southern California and isn’t fond of the cold, so this could be an interesting adventure for him.  But he loves Randi and he had a special surprise planned.

My brother Tim was kind enough to housesit and take care of Riley and Raney for us. He was also the designated airport shuttle driver and dropped us off at SeaTac for an 8am departure on Alaska Airlines on Friday, 1/31. The baggage drop line was ridiculously long, far worse than the security line. Who knew? We arrived at the gate about 10 minutes before boarding, which was cutting it too close for comfort. Note to self - leave extra extra time.  The flight was uneventful and the snow-covered mountains were stunning as we got closer to Anchorage. 

Just wow! Aerial view of the Alaskan wilderness.

We landed, picked up our luggage, and grabbed a cab to the Anchorage Hilton. That’s where the fun began. While we were checking in, Rog asked me where my carry on was. Huh? I looked around and it was gone. Oh shit. I’d put all my essentials - parka, gloves, meds, etc. - in the carry on, just in case my suitcase was lost or delayed. I knew I’d had it in the terminal, so I must have left it there. Randi was a superstar. She jumped on her phone, found a number for the airport, got through to an actual human, and explained the situation. We were able to narrow down the possible locations where I could have left it and they found it! Yay!! In the meantime, we had the hotel call us a cab and we raced back to the airport. Randi said it would be waiting at the Lost and Found office. Rog waited in the cab while I literally ran into the airport, only to find the metal curtain pulled down at Lost and Found and a “out to lunch, back in an hour” sign on the counter.  You’ve got to be kidding me! I started shouting into the speaker, HELLO, HELLO! Is anybody in there? You have my bag! HELLO!! A very nice lady answered and let me into the office. Randi had told her I was on my way, so she waited. Whew!! Disaster averted, we headed back to the hotel.

We went for a late lunch/early dinner at 49th State Brewery, which was just a short walk from the hotel. Location, location, location. Lol. We had a great meal. Jose and I opted for adventurous and had the Yak burger. Yes, you read that right. Locally raised Alaskan Yak. When am I going to have another chance for that?? It was excellent.

Fun times at 49th State Brewery.

Yes, I highly recommend the Yak burger. Lol.

We spent the remainder of the day relaxing since we had an early departure on the Aurora Winter train from Anchorage to Fairbanks. A twelve-hour ride through some of the most gorgeous (and frigid!) country imaginable. We had sunny skies as we left Anchorage and were delighted to see Denali in all its glory. Unfortunately, the closer we got to Fairbanks the cloudier it got.

Boarding the train in Anchorage before sunrise.
Ok, it was 8am but it seemed earlier!  

First light on the mountains.

Randi and Jose enjoying the scenery.

Lots of majestic mountains along our route.

The views never got old.

The train ride is something I’d definitely recommend. It’s a long day, but you get to see a lot of country. Even with the limited number of daylight hours, there was plenty to see. The train staff did a great job calling out landmarks and providing a little history of the tiny settlements we passed through. For $5 you can also purchase a guide that provides a map and additional information by milepost along the entire route. The train has several scheduled stops and also does “flag stops”. Along a remote stretch anyone can flag the train down and board or ask to be let out at any point. It’s a lifeline for the hardy souls that live year-round in these remote areas, as well as backcountry hikers and campers.  I was surprised how many times it was used. Of course, moose spotting was great fun, we saw a few but I was never quick enough to get a good picture.

We made a flag stop to drop folks off at "City Hall". Lol. 

Going 'round the bend. :) 

Denali in all its glory. 

The winter train doesn’t offer the open-air observation cars that travel this route in the summer, for obvious reasons. Lol. We still had frost forming inside some of the windows, so dressing in layers is a good idea. The dining car took reservations for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and there was a bistro car for lighter fare too. We arrived at Fairbanks around 8:30pm, gathered our luggage and called our hotel shuttle.

We checked into Pike Waterside Lodge, which I would highly recommend. A lovely lodge with the largest private collection of Alaskan artwork in the state. There were lots of other amenities - a huge outdoor firepit, a viewing area for the aurora, a discovery center and more! We were only booked for one night, but we’ll be back for three more nights later in the week.

The art collection was outstanding!

We left Sunday, 2/2, for our stay at the Borealis Basecamp about an hour north of Fairbanks. Borealis Basecamp was the main destination for our trip. They offer acrylic domed “igloos” and “cubes” with huge picture windows. We chose the igloos, because really, how could you not? If Mother Nature cooperates, you can lie in bed all warm and cozy and watch the northern lights. The staff check every 15 minutes throughout the night for the lights and a chime sounds in your igloo if they’re visible. Unfortunately, Mother Nature was being a bit cantankerous and we had low clouds and limited visibility when we arrived, still an improvement over the weather in Fairbanks so we were hopeful! It finally cleared enough that the stars were visible around 1am (yes, I was waking up and checking frequently!) but sadly, no aurora on our first night.

Our cozy igloo was perfect.

What a beautiful winter wonderland!

We had a six-hour White Mountain snowmobiling adventure scheduled for Monday, 2/3. The Basecamp will loan you outerwear for activities, so we arrived at the Adventure Center around 9am to get kitted up. Unfortunately the 6-hour tours were cancelled due to icy conditions. We were offered a shorter one-hour ride and credit for the cancelled tour. The shorter ride was perfect and we enjoyed it so much, we used some of the credit to schedule again on Tuesday. I’d never ridden a snowmobile before, so this was a new experience. I doubled up behind Rog, so I could take pictures and just enjoy the scenery. I think I got the best out of the deal, although I had to take off my gloves to take pictures and it wasn’t long before I was losing feeling in my fingers! Going 20mph at a balmy (to the locals) 16°F is a bit nippy (to me). Lol.

Our first snowmobiling experience was a blast. 
Randi and Jose pose next to their snow machine.

Not a rainbow, but a snowbow! Can you see it?
Ice crystals formed a white rainbow. Super cool!

So gorgeous as the sun broke through the morning fog.

We spent the afternoon kicking back. The Basecamp has complementary loans of fat-tire bikes, sleds, and snowshoes, but it was hard to leave our cozy igloo. A breakfast buffet is included with your reservation and there are two dining options for lunch and dinner. We had dinner at the Pub on our arrival night and made reservations for Monday evening at the fine dining option, Latitude 65. We had an excellent (although expensive!) dinner. They use locally sourced seafood and ingredients whenever possible and the onsite chef knows his stuff.

After a lovely dinner we retired to our cozy igloos and settled in hoping to see the lights. The weather report looked pretty sketchy for the remainder of the week, so we had our fingers crossed. Now about that surprise for Randi…even though they are already committed to each other, a romantic proposal was on the agenda! We’d arranged with the resort for a professional photographer to capture the moment, as well as a special couple’s treat – roses, chocolate cake and a sparkling beverage. Now we just needed Mother Nature to cooperate and turn on the lights!

The call finally came about 2:30am and we hastily dressed to go outside for the best view. We were just thrilled! I loved seeing the lights and, even using my phone, managed to get some decent pictures. That’s one thing about the lights, although you can see them with the naked eye, the colors and details are much more vibrant in pictures.

I had so much fun just gazing at the aurora and of course...

...taking lots of pictures, including a selfie under the lights. :) 

The photographer arrived to capture Jose’s proposal (Randi said, Yes!) and the professional pictures turned out fantastic. I told Jose that the proposal is official now and I have the pictures to prove it! Lol. Our planning paid off and from here on out, additional aurora sightings will be icing on the cake. Yay!!

She said yes under the aurora!

A quick note on the unusual ring. Jose is having a custom ring made and it wasn't ready in time for the trip. He had a placeholder ring, but forgot it in Texas. Randi has always joked that she would say "Yes" even if he proposed with a ring pop. So guess what? He did! Lol. Aren't they just the cutest?

I think we’ll break here, but there’s more fun to come! Join us for one more Alaska post with dog sledding, reindeer, an ice museum, hot springs, and more northern lights!