Chop Chop Billy Goat

A couple days ago, we were at Chena hot springs, outside Fairbanks. Chena’s hot springs were discovered by Robert and Thomas Swan in 1905. They made a resort there, with twelve small cabins and a bath house. They also made a trail to Fairbanks that was used for horses to bring people back and forth. The actual traveling time was twelve hours. Later the resort was improved and the lodge was added.

While at Chena, we went swimming in the indoor pool. It was super fun. Little Kid quickly got cold, but he was soon ready to go back in. I had a lot of fun diving for rings, wearing flippers, and playing with Little Kid. Ma later got some time to soak in the hot springs.

On our last night at Chena, we saw something very exciting – the northern lights! Ma and Pa stayed awake to see them, and when they did they woke me. We went to the resort’s airstrip and had a spectacular view of the northern lights. First there was a horizontal streak,  then it vanished and another one formed. My favorite part was a vertical one that grew brighter and brighter.   All the   northern lights we saw were green. The northern lights are created by solar wind particles trapped in the atmosphere by earth’s magnetic field. The particles interact with gasses in the air and create the colors.

The next day, we left Chena, did our town stuff in Fairbanks, and started on the Taylor highway.