The Banks Alehouse

Alright, this will be my last post about Fairbanks, I promise!  When we visited up there in October, The Banks Alehouse was a fun spot we found for lunch right after we landed. It's worth a share here because the food was good and the beer selection was pretty extensive - with Alaska breweries dominating the selection. 

That right there makes it worth a share in my book.  Gotta love a place where you can get beers from places like Kenai River Brewing, Denali Brewing Company, & 49th State.  Plus, there was this type of art on the walls - which I'm 100% in love with:

I mean the expressions, the booties?  Those are some elated pooches.  It's fantastic.  Now I'm not saying I would hang it in my home, but it's so perfect for an Alaskan Pub.

We had a respectable craft beer menu to choose from with one of my favorite pub visuals:  a nice long line of taps to choose from - I ended up trying two beers that were new to me, both from breweries in Anchorage.

Isn't that endless line of taps a beautiful site?      Top right:  Peach Wheat      Bottom Right:  Cosik Amber Ale

I started with a Peach Wheat from a brewery called Sleeping Lady Brewing, and then moved on to Cosik Amber Ale from Midnight Sun Brewing Company.  Both were tasty, but I was feeling the Peach Wheat a little more than the Amber.  I think my take on Alaskan beer is pretty much summed up on a t-shirt I bought from Silver Gulch Brewing Company, another brewery we checked out while we visited Fairbanks.  The tag line is:  Alaska - Where the people are unusual and the beer is unusually good.  Can't argue with that.

As for the meal, I had to go with the elk burger.  I'm sure there are folks who wouldn't agree, but I think a burger is a burger is a burger.  Beef, buffalo, elk, moose - it all tastes basically the same to me.  Throw it between a good bun with some cheese and condiments and I'd be hard pressed to tell a real difference between any of them!

This elk burger was southwestern-style, with green chili peppers, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, fried tortilla strings & a chipotle aioli.  It was a spicy bit of heaven tucked between two pieces of bread.  Behold, the deliciousness...

Elk Burger love

Interior & exterior of The Banks Alehouse

I think I'm done with posting about Fairbanks now!  I got a good 3 or 4 posts about our trip there, so I guess I can call the "Fairbanks series" done.  Unless we go again, of course.  But, I don't see that happening.  Too many other parts of Alaska to see while we're here.  Fairbanks was fun, but it wasn't so compelling that I'd make it a priority to go back.

So, on the off chance you find yourself up in Fairbanks looking for a good variety of Alaskan brewed beer and a bite, check out The Banks Alehouse.  If only for the sled dog art! 

Ta-ta for now.

Gulliver's Books

I'm a sucker for independent bookstores.  They almost always have a quirky vibe to them, and I like to support the local guy.  So when we visited Fairbanks last month, I was excited to go check out Gulliver's Books, the small independent bookstore Fairbanks has to offer.

It was a small space, but it had some fun displays and a decent collection of Alaskana books.  I'd never heard of that term until we moved up here.  It's sort of a take on Americana, only it's Alaska-themed stuff.  Apparently there's a genre for Hawaiiana materials, too.  Same concept.  Who knew?

The first floor of Gulliver's Books was pretty standard - books, stationary, chotchkies, and what-not.  On the second floor - up an impossibly steep staircase which couldn't possibly be up to code - there was a little sandwich and coffee shop called The Second Story Cafe that turned out soups, vegan options, and coffee and tea.  Gotta love the pun name, too.

First floor of Gulliver's

I was loving their sign for the sandwich shop at the top of the stairs. The wall was papered with book pages and the lettering for The Second Story Cafe was thread art.  This is what I'm talking about.  You wouldn't see that in a Barnes & Noble.  I was digging it - Crafty!

The cafe wasn't anything spectacular, but it had a nice little seating area, and a long, narrow counter that ran almost the length of the floor to relax at if you're so inclined.  Unique pendant lighting, too.  It's those little details that make the difference for me.

It was cute and welcoming, and there were more book collections to browse through upstairs, too.

I have to go a little off topic and share this little tid-bit about exactly how cold it is there in the winter - because it's a stellar example of what an extreme winter environment it can be in Fairbanks weather-wise.  Every car has an engine block heater cord hanging out from under the hood, and parking lots have stand alone electrical outlets to plug the heaters into so your car starts!

Engine block heater cord and stand alone outlets in a parking lot

It's kind of crazy to think that the cold is so intense that your car won't start without external heat applied to the engine.  Makes me glad that Kodiak's winter temperatures are in the low to mid thirties instead of the minus twenty it can get to in Fairbanks.  Hell, Kodiak is a damn tropical island by Alaska standards! Fairbanks is no joke, real deal Alaskan interior winter. No thank you.

At least you can get out of the chill, enjoy some soul warming hot coffee, and wander around a neat independent bookstore at Gulliver's!

Ta-ta for now.

The Real Great White North

Fairbanks in October?  Cold!  I know, it's not rocket science to think it might be a little chilly 800 or so miles north of Kodiak.  It was still colder than what I was expecting, though.  The hubby and I took a quick weekend trip up there a few weeks ago to see the northern lights.  It's kind of a sprawling area without a real dedicated downtown, but we were able to ferret out some fun places to check out while we visited.

We stayed in a lodge bed & breakfast about 15 miles from the airport area, and it was a comfortable stay.  It kind of felt like you were at Nana's house - only it was someone else's Nana.  Sort of a vintage, down home cabin type of style.  It was cozy, but somehow I doubt it'll be the next decor trend on HGTV.  My favorite part was her little pack of dogs that greeted us and hung out the whole weekend.  Keena, Jake, and Chewy.  They were so sweet.

A few shots of the lodge and pack of pooches

We found some decent restaurants, coffee shops and other nifty places during our stay, and it was a welcome pleasure to have good food out at a restaurant for a change.  I've talked about this before, but the food and restaurant choices on Kodiak leave a lot to be desired.  So, going out for a decent meal was refreshing.

On our first night we went to a restaurant called The Pump House that I scoped out before the trip.  It's on the National Register of Historic Places, and had such a warm atmosphere.  We were surrounded by genuine antiques and a Gold Rush theme, it was so unique.  The food was pretty damn good, too.

The dining room interior, snowing on our way in, and being greeted by lots of dead things, like the bear!

On our first full day, we drove about an hour north to the Chena Hot Springs to check out the resort.  It was kind of dumb, but we both forgot to pack our bathing suits - so we didn't actually go in the hot springs.  I wasn't really in a "bring the bathing suit" kind of mindset when we were packing.  More like slippers and warm hats.  Eh, there were plenty of other things to do.

Predictably, we found our way to the bar at the lodge and had lunch and a few beers. It was one of many places we visited where dead things on the wall dominated.  Not shocking given the location, but enough with the dead things, ya know??  

Beers at the lodge and a huge moose antler sculpture on the grounds of the resort

After we wandered around the grounds, we toured the ice sculpture museum and the kennel where rescued Alaskan Husky sled dogs live and work.  Both were very cool!

The ice museum had some seriously impressive ice sculptures on display, plus a bar made completely of ice called - wait for it...The Aurora Bar.  We had apple martinis served in a martini glass sculpted entirely of ice.  Glad I had gloves on! 

The giant face was a sculpture of a Gasparilla mask - Tampa friends will appreciate that one

After the ice museum, we walked over to the kennel to check out the sled dogs.  The gal running the yard explained all about the dogs, the ins and outs of racing, the equipment, etc.  It was interesting.

They have 71 dogs that live and work there, and almost all have been rescued.  They were either getting too old for the long, 1,000 mile races or just weren't cut out for professional sled dog racing.  They still pull, but just for the winter tours that go a few miles around the resort.  I would have loved to go on one, but they hadn't started doing the sled dog tours for the season because there wasn't enough snow yet.  Maybe next time.

Look at all those wudgers

I know they're working dogs and are bred to do exactly what they do - but I couldn't help feeling a little bad for them seeing them all chained up to their little houses.  They're tough pups, and they seem to thrive in their environment & love what they do.

A few of the more interesting facts were that "Alaskan Husky" isn't a pure bred dog, it's a mixed breed that has certain characteristics that lend them to sled dog racing.  Like their double coats and demeanor.

Let me tell you - those dogs eat like kings!  They get salmon, high level protein, supplements...they eat like elite athletes and live to be 16 years old.  I didn't think dogs that size could live that long.  Think it has something to do with their very lean, healthy diet and amount of daily exercise they get?  Yeah, me too!

We explored some other places during our trip, and I'll be blogging about a few of them in the next few weeks.  If I don't get tired of writing about Fairbanks, that is!  How about I wrap up this too long post with a lovely sunrise through the birch trees shot I took from the deck at the lodge?  Not too shabby for the really real great white north.

Ta-ta for now.

Crossing Off Number 68

In 2005, I decided to make a life list.  It was a list of all sorts of things I'd love to experience in my life, from the completely realistic, to the probably not going to happen.

My approach to making the list was an absolutely no holds barred type of attitude.  It didn't matter whether the experience I added was do-able, realistic, practical, or reasonable.

The whole point of making the list was to not have any limits.  Just pure possibility.  Someone once told me that it was totally unrealistic and ridiculous.  I choose not to hear that!

So, my list includes things ranging from Walk on the Great Wall of China to Take a Painting Class.  There are all sorts of things that may or may not become a reality on my list...but last weekend's trip let me cross off number 68.  And what was number 68?  To see the northern lights!  I loooooove when I get to cross something off!  Because you know what crossing a number off means?  It means I experienced something new that I've wanted to do for almost 10 years.  Yes and yes.

Early, when they just started faintly appearing

If you're a frequent or occasional blog reader, you know that I've been slightly obsessed with seeing the northern lights since we moved here.  They do appear in Kodiak, but it's not very often, and I've managed to miss it every time it's come around.  So, I decided to take things into my own hands and go to where I could be almost guaranteed an aurora display.  Fairbanks!

The whole reason for our trip up to Fairbanks was to see the northern lights, and we checked out the area for the weekend and saw some fun sites, restaurants, and breweries.  Future blog posts to come about our Fairbanks adventure.

As for the northern lights, I would have liked a more sensational show than what we saw, but whatever - I'll take what I can get.  I know - now I'm getting greedy!  It was so very cool to see and I'm thrilled I finally got to experience it.  I got a new camera for my birthday & I made sure to get a tripod before our trip.  Amazingly, I was able to capture some shots of the aurora.

I say amazingly because I'm a total novice photographer.  We're talking still shooting mostly on auto and not exactly having a full understanding of the relationship between ISO, shutter speed, aperture, f-stops, etc.  I'm slowly learning, but I knew just enough to use a tripod and set the shutter speed as slow as I could to capture a few meager pictures of the show.  They came out decent for not having any idea what I was doing!

It was a camera learning experience, for sure.  Out of about 30 pictures, only around 10 of them came out.  The rest were just black.  That's how it goes when you're winging it (and don't have fancy professional equipment).  Considering the welcome booklet in our room had a section dedicated to tips for photographing the aurora, and the first line was this:  "PHOTOGRAPHING THE AURORA IS EXTREME PHOTOGRAPHY" - I'll take my scruffy shots as a total success in extreme photography for a first timer.

What was handy about our accommodations was that the room we stayed in at the B&B had a door out to a northward facing balcony, so we could stay out watching the sky for short periods, and then hunker down inside to warm up before going out again.  How perfect is that?  It was somewhere around 10 degrees outside, so it wasn't exactly comfortable hanging out on the balcony for long periods of time.  I have to say, the best way to view the aurora is when you have a bed you can go snuggle in for warmth every 5-10 minutes!

One of the compelling qualities of the aurora was how quickly it changed.  It would undulate from a hefty swath sweeping across the sky to a skinny line along the horizon, and then it would balloon back up to cover a sizable expanse of sky again.  It was such an incredible phenomenon to finally get to see in person.  And I'm seriously tickled that I managed to capture some photos of it!

Let's hear it for crossing off number 68.

Ta-ta for now.