Fairbanks, Alaska

Alaska is the 49th and largest state in the US. It is comprised of five regions: South Central, Southeast, Interior, North Slope and Southwest - as well as the Aleutian Islands.

Fairbanks is located in the Interior, the largest and most uninhabited region. It’s a few hours away from Denali National Park (formerly Mt McKinley - the largest mountain in North America).

As my plane flew towardsFairbanks after 7+ hours of travel - which included an hour layover in Seattle - I caught sight of some land which I think is part of Canada and Alaska.

Arriving into Fairbanks, I discovered that fall had already arrived here. Weather in the low 50’s and gorgeous golden colors on the Aspens - interspersed with dark green Black Spruce.

One of my Account Managers told me about a special place 20 minutes outside of Fairbanks. Since it was still daylight but cloudy, I headed there first. North Pole, Alaska is the home of the Santa House. It’s a tiny little town where the street lamps are shaped like candy canes and striped red and white. Even the McDonald’s sign pole is striped.

There is also the world’s largest Santa statue. Who doesn’t want to see that?!

Santa House is magical. As soon as I got out of the car I was grinning. The salespeople grinned back. You can tell they enjoy seeing the wonder on people’s faces. I spent over an hour wandering through the amazing array of ornaments and gifts. I had letters from a Santa sent to my great nieces and nephews - and to my niece’s elementary school class. Santa was not in residence that day - so no reindeer. And just in case you were wondering how the elves get around….

My other quest over the few short days I had there was to see the Northern Lights - Arora Borealis. Apparently the Saturday before I arrived the lights were amazing. My bad luck was that it was cloudy and rainy my entire trip - no good for viewing. But, hey, that just means I need to go back some day. I hardly saw any of the area - mostly just my hotel and the hospital. Still….. I was in Alaska. I think I saw more pickup trucks in Fairbanks than I did in Dallas, TX. 😂😂 And gps tried to take me through Ft Wainwright on the way back to the hotel.

One last stop on my way to the airport was to the last few mills in the country still making wooden bowls - The Great Alaskan Bowl Company. Amazing bowls and gift shop with windows into the workshop to watch them being made.

Chilly fall rainy days made Fairbanks seem pretty gritty. The people have to be tough to survive the winters here. Many of the parking lots are just gravel pockmarked with deep uneven potholes. The median income here is low. The houses are smaller. Tourist season is July and August. I was told I should come back then. But the northern lights start back at end August beginning September. Besides, I’d like to see it in the snow. Well, maybe not 40 below.

I alway usually pick up a souvenir and this trip was no exception. I only wish I had gotten to see more. Still….I was in Alaska.

As always, thanks for reading.

Gypsy Jules