Welcome Snowbird to my Alaska Adventure Page

Check out the long days in Fairbanks!!

I should start out by saying that you, the potential visitor, are referred to as a"snowbird"- and me a 'Cheechako', a newcomer a greenhorn or a tenderfoot--the opposite of an old timer or sourdough, - to Alaska and to the Fairbanks area.

"The fire weed is reaching its last blooming stages! And we understand the winter season is on its way again......: when the last blossoms show on top of its stalk, summer has reached its end".

Fairbanks is "Extremely" Alaska, and that includes temperature extremes!! There can be as much as a 150 degree difference between winter and summer.

The Aurora Borealis can be seen overhead on clear, dark nights, which unfortunately rules out summer viewing for Alaska's warm weather visitors. Normally visible late August through April, the Lights can take on a breath- taking variety of patterns, movements, and colors.
What Causes the Northern Lights??To answer this, we start with the sun whose energy production is far from even and fluctuates on an 11 year cycle. Maximum production coincides with high sunspot activity when processes on the sun's surface throw particles far out in space. These particles are called the solar wind and cause the northern lights. The sun's surface temperature is approximately 6,000 0C, much cooler than the interior which is several million degrees. In the sun's atmosphere or corona, the temperature rises again to several million degrees. At such temperatures, collisions between gas particles can be so violent that atoms disintegrate into electrons and nuclei. What was once hydrogen becomes a gas of free electrons and protons called plasma. This plasma escapes from the sun's corona through a hole in the sun's magnetic field. As they escape, they are thrown out by the rotation of the sun in an ever widening spiral - the so-called garden-hose effect. The name originates from the pattern of water droplets formed if we swing a garden hose around and around above our heads.
"More Aurora Pictures"
Aurora Predictions
Alaska Links

Alaska abounds with wildlife viewing opportunities. Observing animals in their natural habitat is a rewarding experience that no one visiting the state should miss. The long, sunny days of summer ( up to 22 hours of daylight!!) is the ideal time to take a wildlife tour into Denali Park.

The tours are fully narrated and you can usually expect to encounter moose, caribou, Dall sheep, bear, fox, birds, and wolves. Come during the winter time to view the events of Winter Carnival.

Take a little time out for a game of snowshoe softball. Guaranteed to work out the kinks!!That's me at bat in the "pink"!!