Tips for the top of the world | Alaska
Call me crazy, but my idea of heaven right now is an open field full of snow, mountains as far back as the horizon. Black, skeletal trees with snow straining their branches, and a still silence.
I’ve been back from Alaska for two weeks, but a part of me is still there, staying up till 3am watching the Northern Lights, trudging through knee-deep snow, drinking hot chocolates and watching pastel sunsets.
Infatuated is an understatement, and I’m still shaking my head at some of the crazy adventures we got up to. There’s more to come on that later, but first, an introduction to the USA’s most northern state.
Here are five things worth knowing before you travel to Alaska:
Dawn is drawn out Get out your globe of the world and take a look at where Alaska is. 
You’ll notice it’s right at the top – which means in summer the sun barely dips below the horizon and there’s almost 24 hours of sunlight! Winter is the opposite; you’ll only see the full glowing ball of the sun for around 3-4 hours each day, and you’ll never see it directly in the middle of the sky – weird huh?! Compared to the stinging sun we know here in Aus, the Alaskan sun is nothing but a fleeting breath of warm air.
The sun on it’s way down after a short trip above the horizon.
Lady Aurora can be a shy Ever since I got my subscription to Techno Quest in Primary School and learnt about space, I’ve wanted to see the Aurora. I’ve spent hours on Youtube watching the Northern Lights, wondering what they would look like in real life. Turns out, the dancing Aurora is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. The shimmering curtains of colour tumbling among the stars is something I’ll never forget. So will you ever get to see them? Come to Fairbanks in winter and you’ll have a really good chance– especially if you head out of town. You need clear skies, a good solar forecast and a good sense of direction, which is where the help of a local comes in handy.
A warm blanky covering the lodge… my favorite kind of blanky! #northernlights #aurora #auroraborealis #fairbanks #alaska #visit #travelfairbanks #travel #travelalaska #ak #907 #lodgelife #comevisit #alaskalife #thealaskalife #alaskan A photo posted by Mount Aurora Lodge (@mountauroralodge) on
We stayed at the Mount Aurora Lodge, on Cleary Summit which is elevated so the sky tends to clear out in the middle of the night. You can stay overnight at the lodge or come and watch the lights here for $30 dollars and drink all the hot chocolates you can handle while you’re waiting.
Hot tip: If you can’t make it out of town, you still might get lucky. On our last night in Fairbanks we managed to see them in the middle of town from our room at the Westmark Hotel.
The Second Amendment
Let’s be real- it can be a little unnerving for us Aussies to see guns on sale in the local Walmart. Alaskan’s are very liberal and upfront with their gun use, so don’t be surprised to see gun paraphernalia sold in everyday places like chemists, or even see people walking around with them in town. In fact, you’re likely to get into a conversation with a local on this topic.
Hot tip: It’s best to leave your negative opinions about guns at the door. Just like we love our Vegemite, Alaskans love to hunt and during hunting season (August to October) residents are allowed to hunt animals like Moose and Caribou, something that is highly policed and regulated.
Winter is wild
Come to Alaska in winter and you’ll actually freeze your bum off, especially if you buy your clothes in Australia. We experienced a mild winter, with temps around minus 20 degrees, but usually you can expect to feel the wrath of minus 30/40 degrees. Add wind-chill to that and you’re looking at cracked lips, flaky skin and shivers that never seem to stop.
Lucky there’s heaps of reputable places to get decent gear and trust me, you’ll wanna fork out for it when it’s that cold! Anchorage and Fairbanks are both well equipped with shops – we hit up JC Penney and Nordstrom while we were in town and bought insulated coats, base layers and mid layers to keep us warm and toasty. The coldest temperature we experienced was minus 26 degrees, somewhere near the Artic Circle.
A photo posted by M I T Z I (@whosmitzi) on
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