Chena Hot Springs in Autumn

Posted by dj.tigersprout (New York City, United States) on 29 September 2008 in Lifestyle & Culture and Portfolio.

a daylight shot of the famous central Alaskan hot springs on the Chena Resort grounds that lie in a very remote area about 1.25 hours north of Fairbanks. we stopped for an hour long, marvelous and very relaxing swim -- however it was certainly a very different experience from that of mid winter's sub zero temperatures, mystically ambient lighting and all that wonderfully soothing steam!! in fact it was almost too much -- the outside air was about 71F, the light from the sun bright and warm and on top of that, it was nearly 108F in the water. you either had to stand half out of the water with your arms and chest radiating the heat into the air -- or stand underneath the fountain of spray from the flagship pole -- which was the same hot water from the spring, but by the time the enchanting arch of water beads landed on the surface it was blessedly cool. i remained for the most part in this spray zone, delighting in the continuous and patterned 'raining sensation' on my head and shoulders while the rest of my body gave in to the wonderfully hot, soaking therapies of this naturally sulfurous pool. it was amazing and i would certainly recommend this experience should you find yourself in the Fairbanks vicinity -- however, that said, i much preferred the 2 magical swims i had in -20F degree winter weather. one of those swims was just before midnight in the meditative pitch-black surrounds and the other in a rejuvenating, eternal twilight -- both experiences were simply amazing and wonderfully moody!! if you have it within you to visit Alaska in the tremendously cold climes of winter, it is the most wonderful thing you can physically experience -- hands down!!! :D

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