One of Audrey’s only requests for the trip was that we ride snowmobiles snow machines (as the Alaskans call them), something that I was more than willing to do, but not excited about. It turns out that in this case, I was very, very wrong to not be excited – snow machines are incredibly fun. We were in a group with a guide and three other very tentative riders, but luckily Audrey and I were at the back of the group so we could lag behind and then gun the engines to catch back up; we discovered that our machines maxed out at 50mph. The trip lasted an hour and went through forests and along groomed trails, ending back at Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service where six teams of enthusiastic sled dogs were excitedly waiting for their next tours – we didn’t sign up for a dog sledding tour, but it was surprising seeing how much the dogs obviously LOVED pulling the sleds.
Last night, as expected the Northern Lights were hidden behind clouds, but the forecast for tonight is for clear skies so we’ll give it another try. A big storm is supposed to roll in late tonight and dump snow for the next two days, which should make our return drive to the airport more interesting. Thankfully our route back to Fairbanks is mainly along the start of the Haul Road, which is the road that semis take 500 miles up to the oil fields in Prudhoe Bay, so even if the plows aren’t running I’m told that the trucks mostly pack down the snow and keep the roads drivable.
Finally, in lieu of more Aurora photos, today’s pictures are of the fearless black-capped chickadees that are constantly at the feeder in front of our cabin.
