Chena Hot Springs

I loaded these pictures yesterday, but never got around to writing about them....

We spent Thanksgiving day and most of Black Friday at Chena Hot Springs. It is about an hours drive from Fairbanks.

We checked in at about 1pm...

It wasnt technically his birthday yet, but he needed his birthday present for the hot springs. I got him board shorts, a matching shirt, and Michigan sandals. He'll be able to use them in Honolulu as well.
This was our room....second from the left on the bottom. During the summer, that big balcony would be nice, but I have to think the hot springs just wouldnt be quite so wonderful during the summer.
The view from our room...This is the natural hot springs. This water is actually to hot to get into so they have to cool it off and pump it into another pool.
If you can make it from here...
Past (or in) the natural springs hot tub...
Down this sidewalk...
And down this ramp...
Into here...
Without freezing your butt off, then your good! The hot spring is wonderful. They keep it at 107 degrees. There are signs around that say to drink lots of water because the springs "pulls the toxins" out of your body and makes you very thirsty. I dont know if the toxins part is correct, but I can tell you that I was THIRSTY! I relaxed in the hot spring and let my muscles loosen up for about an hour, then went and had a massage. Talk about relaxing! The only way it could have been better was if we would have seen the aurora while relaxing in the hot spring. Unfortunately, the Northern Lights continue to elude us.
Then we went and eat until we couldnt eat anymore at the Thanksgiving dinner served at the resort. They served quite a spread, but its just not quite the same as eating a home cooked meal.

We had a really great time at dinner. At times, we laughed so hard it hurt (literally...because we were so stuffed).
Even Mr. Bill had a good time!
Here's our whole crew after dinner. We went and soaked in the hot springs for a couple more hours after dinner. When we got back to the room, I tried to do some reading...yeah right!!! I dont think I got through a paragraph.
In the morning while the others were cross country skiing, Avery and I spend a bit more time in the hot spring. It was just too irresistible.
Even the ducks think so...

Before leaving Chena, we took a tour of the Ice Museum...it was really cool and pretty cool, too! Stay tuned for the next post.