It is WINTER in Fairbanks

Winter has arrived in the Far North.  I am 4 days into a 17day "shift" up here and ready to go home.  Not too busy so far this time, but it has been a long one away from home.  Here is the hotel where I stay:

Not far away is the Fairbanks Airport which has its interesting features.  there is a campground where a pilot can taxi up and pitcha tent.  There is also a large float pond, now frozen which has a couple hundred float planes moored on it.  The "non airline" side of the field has a cool gate:

There are a lot of old cargo planes that are used for parts, keeping others like them in the air flying whatever out to the villages:

Just North of the airport is the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the sunlit buildings in the picture:

If you drive around the surrounding area a few miles from town, you get the sense there might have been a litttle prospecting going on here:

And of course the ever-present Pipeline, which passes pretty close to town.  This is along the highway to Fox, a town North of Fbks:

I had a couple days off in the middle of my time here, so I went to Chena Hot Springs, about an hour away by auto.  Interesting place.  they have tapped geothermal energy to power all their electridity needs, heat the buildings, grow food in a greenhouse, and of course supply water to the pond we got to soak in.  I say "we" but in actuality, there were VERY few people there this time of the year.  Their very busy season is farther into the winter, when Japanese tourists come up to steam and view the Aurora.  They believe a child concieved under the Northern Lights is somehow special.  They get a lot of summer tourists, also.

There was a lot of cool old junk sitting around like this horse drawn grader and very ancient snowmobile.

The lodge itself was a log structure.  This is the restaraunt and bar area.

So back to Fairbanks now and digging in for the last few days.  Cannot wait to get home.  While here I have also worked on a wood model ship Wendy got me for Christmas last year:

And finish three books:

And of course visit the local motorcycle shop and get a SCREAMING deal on a BMW R1200R, white like the one in the picture from the brochure. I will have it shipped to Albequerque and have it there when we are down in December.  Still a good deal despite shipping costs.  Gotta go to work.