Tag: Fairbanks

I: Ice Museum

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Fairbank’s Ice Museum is in an old theatre. From the front it didn’t look modern but as we had travelled from literally the other side of the world we decided to go in anyway. At first it didn’t look like much and then the owner came out and guided us through the exhibitions. The secret was to go through the door and ride the slide. It was great fun and I wanted to do it again, but he was excited to show us what was next. I’m pretty sure it was the first and only ice slide I had ridden.

The owner had been an ice carver for several decades, he had amazing skills and had won many competitions. After showing us all of his sculptures, he gave us an ice carving demonstration. WOW. We were in awe. We had never seen anything like it.

F: Flight From Fairbanks

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Prior to our flight to the Artic Circle I had never flown in a small bush plane. I was fortunate enough to sit in the front seat so I could see all the pilot’s dashboards. It was fascinating to see him be constantly adjusting the knobs. I also loved that the pilot has to jump into his seat through his window from on the wing.

During the flight we were required to wear ear phones that meant that we could hear all the conversations the pilot had with the control tower and the other pilots flying in our group. They also helped shut out some of the noise. It was a perfect Spring day and we could see for miles. It was amazing.

The ice-capped mountains, Yukon River, isolated communities, remote wilderness, Dalton Highway and the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline looked spectacular from the air.