Shawn arrives! Chena Hot SpringsJun 29, 2011
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12:50am... waiting and waiting!
NOT Shawn's plane. I tried to get it - the airport was...
Hello?
| I checked on Shawn's arrival time, or what I thought was his flight… only it wasn't his flight. His came in 1/2 hour later than I expected. So I waited outside the motorhome while everyone else slept soundly until 1am. Then I gave up and went inside, but couldn't sleep until he got here. He arrived at the campground at 1:30am. Finally! It was so wonderful to see him!! I was very excited to start our journey with him, and for the girls to be surprised in the morning. I barely slept last night. In the morning Ava saw Shawn and screamed "Daddy!". She was thrilled beyond belief to have Daddy back in the fold. In the morning we got ready to go to Chena Hot Springs. The Hot Springs is at the end of Chena Hot Springs Road, 60 miles from Fairbanks. The road becomes rural then wilderness with only hiking trailheads off the road. We saw at least three moose on the way there, one in the Moose Pond at the Springs, and another couple on the way back. We went to the Ice Museum, which was started by a married couple that are 15- and 16-time ice carving champions. Their work was amazing and obviously done with passion. There was an ice xylophone in an igloo the girls played. The acoustics were fantastic. Jack enjoyed their signature drink at the ice bar, an apple martini in an glass carved of ice. I had a taste and it was delicious! Then we went to the hot springs. The indoor pool was 94 degrees, and the hot tubs were 105. The outdoor age 18+ hot spring "Rock Lake" must have ranged from 105 to 120 in some spots. The spring comes out of the ground at 160 degrees and goes through a cooling pond before entering the Rock Lake. It smelled of sulfur - thankfully it wasn't too bad - and has many minerals believed to be beneficial to our health. I can tell you one thing, it definitely helped us all to relax! The kids had fun in the pool as the three of us rotated out to soak in Rock Lake. We took a tour of their Geothermal Energy Plant. They take the 160 degree water from the earth and run it around pipes filled with freon. The freon expands as it heats and turns into a vapor. The vapor powers the turbines. They also use geothermal heat in their buildings and greenhouses. The greenhouses were amazing. I'm sorry we didn't have a working camera at the time. I'll do my best to describe them so you can picture it yourselves. As we walked in I smelled a strong scent of fresh basil. Their operations are mainly hydroponic or hydroponic with a twist. One greenhouse was filled with basil and lettuce - at least 20 varieties. They harvest about 30-50 heads of lettuce a day right now, and in January they average 540 heads a week! The next greenhouse had cucumber plants, some cherry tomatoes and plum tomatoes. The cucumbers were planted in 5 gallon buckets and were trained to climb a string up to the ceiling rafters (15-20 feet high). All the leaves were stripped off the vines except for the very top portion. This saves the plants energy and channels the nutrients right to the fruit. The tomato plants in the third greenhouse were more like trees, standing 5' tall. The fruit bearing vines were trained around the base of a group of plants, again the unnecessary leaves were stripped to increase yield. If I had to work anywhere that would be the place! Well, maybe part-time there and part-time exercising the horses! Shawn surprised me and bought lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. I can't wait to make a salad! We would all highly recommend Chena Hot Springs if you're in Alaska. We'd love to come back in the winter to experience the Aurora Borealis while sitting in the hot spring, snow covered rocks all around. Now that's living! I keep forgetting to mention that we reserved space on a ferry from Haines, AK to Prince Rupert, BC after Shawn leaves. We didn't feel like making the whole trek back over roads we'd already seen, so we'll be on a boat for 1 1/2 days going through the inner passage instead. We need to vacate the RV, they'll seal up the propane for obvious reasons. We have a 3 berth cabin with full facilities. I'm sure it's no Royal Caribbean cruise, but it'll be another adventure! Off to Denali tomorrow. Hope the rain stops and we can enjoy the park! Not sure if we can get online there… my guess is no. You may not hear from us for the next few days! ~Beth |
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