Highlights From My Week-Long Roadtrip From Fairbanks to Anchorage and Back
Still chasing my desire to see the Northern Lights with my own two eyes while also wanting to feast said eyes on incredible land- and sea-scapes, I decided I wanted to go to Alaska. I figured the best way to see as much as I could on my own schedule was to drive. Since my time was too limited to try to drive my own vehicle all the way from Houston (which I still hope to do someday) I decided to fly there and rent a car when I got to Fairbanks. I spent half the trip in Fairbanks and the other half in Anchorage, with a one-night stay in Talkeetna. I booked my lodging through Airbnb.
Fairbanks
In Fairbanks I stayed in a tiny one-room cabin, complete with electricity, heat, and running water. It had one large room where the back half was the sleeping area and the front half was the kitchen with a small table and two chairs. The full bathroom was in a separate room with a door off the kitchen.
The first night I spent there was a snowy one. Several inches had fallen by morning, giving everything a frosted look. I used a snow brush for the first time to get the snow off the car I had rented. I didn’t need to use the scraper, though, as there wasn’t a layer of ice, just dry snow.
Since one of my goals was to photograph the Northern Lights, I booked an aurora tour in Fairbanks. Since my last trip to photograph them – Iceland the year before – didn’t produce good results, I planned better. I reserved ahead of time a small group Aurora photography tour rather than a last-minute big bus tour. And it was a much better experience. Even though the Aurora still wasn’t visible to the naked eye, the guide gave us much better, more detailed instruction. He even informed me that my wide-angle lens wasn’t quite enough to cut it, so he lent me his. And so, the photos I got were much better.
Talkeetna
On the way from Fairbanks to Anchorage I stopped one night in Talkeetna. I stayed in a dry cabin, which means there there was no running water. Instead, there was a 5-gallon water jug rigged up over a sink connected to a container inside the cabinet for the waste water. If I had stayed more than one night I would have used it to give myself a sponge bath at least once. Less fun was stepping out into the cold to use the outhouse. And if I had stayed more than one night I would have made use of the wood-fire-heated outdoor sauna.
The rustic wood cabin was located in a picturesque wooded area with a creek running through the property. Besides being a dry cabin, it was heated by a furnace that I had to start myself. Instructions were provided but even following them to the letter I still had a lot of difficulty starting it. I was starting to be pretty sure I was going to have to spend the night fully bundled in sweats, coat, hat, gloves, and socks – unheated the cabin was the same temperature as outside, in the low 40s. But I finally got the furnace going and my night turned out to be very cozy.
Anchorage
Once I reached Anchorage the next day, I stayed in a room in the lower level of a house. I was the only one there and so had the whole level to myself. It was equipped with a shared full bathroom and a kitchenette, but guests were also allowed to use the full kitchen upstairs if we wanted to do any real cooking.
One of the primary things I did in Anchorage was take a private photography tour with a local photography instructor. He took me around to several places in the area and gave me instruction. Some of the things he had to teach I had already been taught, but he helped me refine my skills, especially regarding composition.
Of course, just like in Fairbanks I explored more of Anchorage outside of the photography tour. I woke up early one morning and drove to a spot on the coast where I could see the city at sunrise with the mountains in the background. After that I visited the Eagle River Nature Center nearby, where I walked the trails and took some more photos. The nature center was at a higher elevation than most of the city and already had a lot of snow. Most of the rest of the city hadn’t gotten cold enough yet. The next day, I made the drive all the way from Anchorage back to Fairbanks in one day, and went to the airport to return the vehicle I had rented. I then took the free airport shuttle to a hotel just down the road. The room cost a little more, but it was close enough to catch my early morning flight home.