Yes, I’m now in my 50th state! 

After completing my big road trip, I realized I had traveled to 49 of the 50 states.  With one remaining, it was time to visit Alaska.  Add to that: 1) I would love to see and, if possible, photograph the Aurora Borealis – which I missed when I was in Iceland a few years ago; and 2) my birthday is in a few days, so I thought I’d treat myself to a birthday trip.

So, here I am!  Is it cold?  YES!!!!!  Game changers:  Karen’s long down coat (thank you!), hand warmers, and a balaclava!

By cold, I mean…it was -4° in Fairbanks last night when it was 45° in San Luis Obispo…

I spent the morning relaxing and getting up the resolve to face the cold.  Well, and I’m having fun “learning” Spanish on DuoLingo, so I did quite a bit of that while delaying going outside into the cold air!

My first stop was a terrific coffee shop, McCafferty’s!  I have a feeling I’ll see quite a bit of Alaska through windows like these…

I walked around a bit and enjoyed the views of Golden Heart Plaza.

In addition to visiting the Cultural and Visitors Center, I wandered over to the Ice Museum.  The ice sculptures demonstrate amazing creativity!

Now, to stay inside and warm…unless I decide to venture out for the lights!

I went out for a little bit to try my camera at night.  No success with the Aurora, since downtown Fairbanks has too much light pollution. 

Here’s a photo I took of trees beyond a snow berm.