Looking for a few suggestions. We are getting into Fairbanks early Saturday morning. I don't have anything planned for Saturday due to jet lag. Maybe we will drive around a see the town. Sunday I'm looking at a 2 hour dog sled thing, then Sunday evening I have a 4 hour Aurora tour. Nothing during the day on Monday, but we have an 8 hour overnight Aurora tour. Tuesday is open.

Wednesday it's the Alaska railroad trip down to Anchorage. Thursday is open and Friday we have a boat tour in Whittier.

So, looking for ideas to fill in some of the gaps.

Jason

Castner glacier is about a 2 hour drive from fairbanks.  Flat 2 mile walk out to it and has an ice cave you can go in

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Chena hot springs is popular. I’m not the biggest fan but a lot of people like it.

Drive to the Arctic circle sign(most rentals aren’t allowed to)

Parks department has ice fishing huts on tanana and chena lake. Think it’s $35 for the day all you need is a rod and a fishing license(state sells 1 day licenses). They drill the hole and provide a bundle of firewood.

Chena lake/murphy dome/cleary summit to chase the aurora yourself.

I think the ice art championship will still be going on then.

Some remote cabins out chena hot springs road you can drive to or a short walk to if you want a more authentic experience.

Hit me up if you want to grab a beer at one of the local breweries or something while you’re here.

I've looked into the artic circle sign. How far is it? From what I have seen online, some are saying you need 14 hours to make the round trip? I thought I read that it's 200 miles each way, but I'm not sure.

Jason

It’s not that far. Just remember there is nothing between fairbanks and there. And no cell service. Attached File

I'm always up for dumb shit, but my 72 year old mother will be with me, actually the reason we are going, and it's not worth the risk. I've looked into tours, but I couldn't find anything that fit our timeline.

Jason

So far, so good. It's been busy, and worth while. Tomorrow morning we depart on the train.

We hit every museum in town, the culture center was well worth it. They provided us with a ton of useful information. We skipped the ice carving as everything was melting. Drove to the glacier, it was worth it. Saw a few moose on the side of the road. Also drove up to the Dalton sign, I'm glad I didn't try for the Arctic sign, it was really muddy up to the sign, lots of truck traffic as well, including an oversized load.

Saturday night the Aurora was visible, but brief. Sunday night was fantastic, even the guides were excited. 20 mins of intense, colorful, and moving lights, from horizon to horizon. There were purple colors, and the guides were really excited to see those.

Did some dog sledding today and stopped by the North Pole. That was a waste of time.

All in all, it has exceeded my expectations so far.

Glad you are enjoying it. As I’m sure you’ve heard it has been abnormally warm for this time of year. Had the earliest 50 degree day in 15 years or something like that.

That combined with a less than normal snowfall this year sure is making for an early break up.