Fairbanks (Chena Hot Springs 3)

After a late morning visit to the hot springs, I joined a tour of the greenhouse and geothermal operation. Andi was again our guide. And Oscar and Tegan, the couple I met the night prior on the aurora tour were the other participants. Chena has a very impressive hydroponic greenhouse operation, which supplies all of the lettuce, herbs, tomatoes and squash for the resort. It is all run on geothermal energy from the natural hot springs in this area.

Next we went over the the building where the geothermal energy is produced. Andi explained that the water itself does not reach boiling, so it cannot be used directly to generate steam to power turbines. So the hack they have put in place is to run a refrigerant in a sealed pipe adjacent to the water, which reaches about 145 degrees F (boiling is 212 degrees F). Because the refrigerant boils at a much lower temperature, it produces the steam that then powers the turbines. It is actually a pretty ingenious solution. She also explained that the start-up cost for a geothermal operation is quite costly. It took 20 years to break even and they are only now able to shed their dependence on diesel and are starting to export energy to the nearby air force base. This area is completely off the grid, so anything they can do to achieve energy and supply independence makes for a more stable and profitable operation. To that end, they recently acquired a 3-D printer. Currently, they are producing small souvenirs to sell in the gift shop, but the goal is to be able to produce replacement machine parts so as to reduce reliance on supplies shipped in outside the area.

I had a short nap and then went to get a bite to eat and chatted with Trina and Andrea at the bar. They are both locals and had a lot of information about the area and about viewing the aurora.

At 9 PM I headed back over to join the aurora tour. Oscar and Tegan were also taking another shot at viewing the lights. The sky was relatively clear and there was a decent forecast for viewing the aurora. I was waiting inside to board the vehicles when all of a sudden there was a commotion. The lights had appeared very brightly and could be seen from the viewing area just outside the building. The foreground wasn’t great, but the aurora was very intense. I grabbed my gear and was able to capture a couple of shots. We then piled back into the caterpillars for the half hour drive up the hill. When we arrived, the aurora had faded. We thought that the chance for the night was over, but of course kept an eye out for any activity that might re-emerge. Oscar was particularly persistent and is also good at spotting faint activity. A bit past midnight, Tegan ran inside to grab me as they had noticed that the activity seemed to be picking up. The next two hours were both unpredicted and completely magical. We watched the lights dance in the sky in a way that covered a 360 degree radius. It was completely captivating and everyone forgot how cold it was. We were running on adrenaline. The activity was still going when we had to leave at 2 AM to ride back down. But I had to sleep at some point.

I knew I would have another chance in Fairbanks the next evening before my flight. Of course, I would be restricted to locations in the city, but the forecast was good. Stay tuned.

Note - I'm still learning how to process these images for optimal results.  I plan to get some expert advice.  But this is the best I could do rather quickly on my own.