Fresh Alaska grown tomatoes and lettuce
The two RV Gypsies at Chena Hot Springs |
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| Chena Hot Springs Natural Outdoor (ages 18+) Adult Rock Lake and hot tub, an Indoor family swimming pool and hot tubs. Open daily from 7am to midnight. Want to laugh? Karen Duquette is a South Florida girl who hasn't gone to the beach at home in South Florida in years, yet she got sunburned here in Alaska. LOL! | |
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| The Chena Geothermal Powerplant came online in late July 2006, putting Alaska squarely on the map for new geothermal technologies. Chena Hot Springs is the lowest temperature geothermal resource to be used for commercial power production in the world. Hopefully this will be the first step toward much greater geothermal development in the state. This plant can reduce the cost of power production, even in semi-remote locations such as Chena, from 30 cents to less than 7 cents per kwh. | |
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Fresh Alaska grown tomatoes and lettuce |
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AURORA ICE MUSEUM and HOTEL |
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| Chena Hot Springs Resort is home to the world's largest year-round ice museum in the world, the Aurora Ice Museum! It was completed in January 2005 and stays a cool 20 degrees Fahrenheit inside year round. Keeping the museum icy cold in the heat of summer comes from the patented absorption chiller, the first of its kind in the world used for this purpose! Appletini Beverage served in an ice glass (the glass was not a glass, just ice frozen in the shape of a glass) to adults at an additional charge of $15 each. Normally, the two RV Gypsies would not pay that kind of money for a beverage, but they made an exception this time, due to the unique circumstances (and Lee doesn't even drink alcohol at all, so this was definitely a different experience for him, and he wasn't driving because the campground was right there on the grounds). | |
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| The Aurora Ice Museum gallery featured amazing ice sculptures created by 13 time world champion ice carver Steve Brice and his wife, Heather. They are also 4 time champions as a husband and wife team. Within the museum, they have created a two story observation tower with a circular staircase........But visitors could not climb up the staircase. | |
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The two RV Gypsies in the 20 degree Fahrenheit ice museum - parkas were provided, but bring your own hat and gloves - |
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Below: Ever-changing colored ice crystal chandeliers which mimic the Northern Lights. There were 5 chandeliers, each with 70 hand-carved ice crystals that changed colors every 10 seconds. Fiber-optic lighting was used to create this feature. All other lighting was LED based which transmits no heat. |
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| Lee just doesn't know how to behave - or does he? |
Give Karen a martini and she is happy even in this cold place |
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Below: Ever-changing colored
life-size jousters on horse back. Steve and Heather Brice
spent 300+ man-hours and several ice blocks to create this. |
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| Ice glasses for the appletini and the ice bar with caribou-fur covered stools. |
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| The "appletini" served in a glass made of ice to adults who choose to pay an additional $15 per appletini. | |
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Karen and the ice bear |
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Ice bar, bear, and igloo |
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The ice altar - you can actually get married here. |
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| an ice fireplace - can it really warm your hands? |
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| The guide said that this was a singing igloo - everybody sounds good when they sing in the igloo - ha! ha! ha! Not the two RV Gypsies! | |
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Below is the largest ice chess set in the world. It's an Alaskan theme, with eagles, ravens, bears, totems, foxes and caribou as the chess pieces. |
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Bedroom 1 - a polar bear bedroom - only $600 per night - no thanks! |
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Karen sat in an ice "outhouse" |
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bedroom 2 - with caribou-fur covered stools - only $600 per night |
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bedroom #3 - Christmas tree bedroom- only $600 per night |
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4th bedroom (Gothic) |
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| The two RV Gypsies returned to Chena Hot Springs and the Ice Museum with their daughter and grandchildren. New photos of that visit are posted at spot #27a on the Alaska menu. But if you just follow the arrow below, you will eventually arrive there. | |
