Some more picks of Coldfoot, this time the diner/truckstop.
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| Kevin, standing next to the anti-freeze selection |
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| The bar, which is not open at the moment. |
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| They've had some snow recently |
Last day today. We are flying back to Fairbanks, if the weather is kind to us. It has been snowing lightly on and off, and there is cloud but quite a high ceiling. So we are hopeful of a flight, because another 6 1/2 hours of wheels rolling is not appealing.
One of the hardest things to cope with in the cold is managing your layers, as we get out of the van and need to layer up, and get back in the van and need to strip down else we melt. So no matter how careful you are, or how organised you try to be, you always drop a glove, or forget which pocket you put the lens cap in, or can't find your hat.
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| It's cosy, that's for sure ! |
Our flights are scheduled for 2pm and 3pm, we weigh too much and have too much gear to all go on the same flight. So our guide Tony shuttled the first group to the airport and waited there until they left. The airport is just across the highway from the camp, but there is no terminal, so they have to wait in the van. I was on the 2nd plane, and we heard the 1st lot take off and Tony was back again to collect us.
It was a smooth and uneventful flight back to Fairbanks. we couldn't see much as there was quite a lot of cloud until we got closer to Fairbanks.
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| Our ride |
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| Lots of room for cargo |
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| Approaching Fairbanks |
We landed and were met by the tour company that had arranged everything, and I asked if I could be dropped at the International terminal where I am picking up a rental car, and they were happy to oblige.
The car was collected with no hassles at all and I navigated my way to Pikes Waterfront Lodge just 5 minutes down the road to collect my stowed bag and meet up with the rest of the group for dinner. This was early (relatively speaking!) to accommodate Belinda's 9.30pm departure for Toronto via Seattle and Vancouver, and the rest of the crew want to visit the World Ice Art Championships, which are in Fairbanks at the moment. We had a final meal together, and said very sad goodbyes. More great friends made. Email addresses exchanged. Promises to meet again.
I dropped Belinda at the airport, said goodbye to the best roomie ever, and headed out to my B & B, the Northern Sky Lodge. I undershot the turn once, and overshot it once before I eventually ended up on the right road. I miss Dora. She gives good warning of the next instruction. Google maps just says nothing at all until you are right on top of the place, and then says "you have arrived". Dam you google maps. And it absolutely chews through phone battery. So while it's been fine, I would still take a Navman or such like if you are doing a lot of driving.
I met the owner of the B & B, who looks about 12 but can't be because she has at least two children. She met me with a 6 month old on her hip, and I met a 3-4 year old boy in the yard, blatting around on a quad bike, no helmet. She showed me where everything was (there is a kitchen we can use for cooking meals), and took me up to my room, which was palatial compared to Coldfoot ! When I looked out the window a few minutes later, she was sitting on the back of the quad bike with the baby in her lap and the boy driving around the yard. They breed them tough here in Alaska.
The Aurora forecast is so-so for tonight, but the skies are clear and I am planning on heading outside to take a peak a bit later. There is a better Aurora forecast for later in the week but there is snow forecast, which will spoil it.
I amused myself until about 12:30am, and noticed a bit of activity on the skyline. So I rugged up, it's about minus 5 C, and headed out with my camera and tripod. I went past a small group that were sitting around the fire pit with the flames roaring, it looked super cosy, but I wanted to get away from the light. So I parked myself a short way down the path and set myself up and took a few test shots, the confirmed there definitely were lights about. They got stronger and more intense and I was happily snapping away. The group around the fire went inside, I couldn't understand why. Turns out when I chatted to them at breakfast the following morning, they did not see them. Tsk. Amateurs.
It was a magical show, and I just kept snapping away, trying to follow them as they moved across the sky. For a while they were completely overhead and I gave up trying to photograph them and just stood the, neck craned skyward. By about 2am they had tapered off to almost nothing and my feet were freezing, so I decided to call it a day.
I took roughly 400 pix, here are few of the better ones. Un-edited except for being made smaller so I can upload them.
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