Alaska～Catching the Aurora Doubles Your Luck

Alaska～Catching the Aurora Doubles Your Luck ✨ (7 Days 6 Nights Self-Drive Trip Part 2) Day 4: Dog Sledding 🛷 + Chena Hot Springs 🧖‍♀️ + Aurora Chasing We ordered takeout from The Crepery for breakfast 🥡—delicious! The sweet option was berry cream—sweet but not overly rich. The savory option was crab meat—perfectly salty and savory. Dog Sledding 🛷: While waiting, we got to interact and take photos with 11-week-old puppy babies 🐶—they were super well-behaved. The dogs were very obedient, and their handlers were skilled at directing them. After the ride, we could take photos with the dogs 📷. For lunch, we tried a fast-food place 🍱—nothing exceptionally surprising but definitely reliable (we even ordered takeout from here on our last day). It pretty much recreated the taste of Chinese-style egg wraps. The Peking duck was also good, and the hot and sour noodles were surprisingly impressive—their chili oil was both spicy and fragrant. 📍 Aurora Crepes & Peking Duck Chena Hot Springs ♨️ costs $20 per person and allows walk-ins. It’s about an hour’s drive from downtown. We recommend checking the sunset time 🌄 in advance and planning accordingly. Chena Hot Springs is also an excellent spot for aurora viewing. In the evening, we went to a local supermarket to buy seafood—king crab 🦀 and lobster 🦞. We asked them to cut the king crab into sections, then steamed it back at our rental—it was fresh and sweet! Our Airbnb host was great 👍—recommended the supermarket and even lent us a membership card. The king crab was $45/lb, a pretty good deal! 📍 Fred Meyer We headed out to chase the aurora ✨. First, we went to a viewing spot, but the lights were faint. Then, following the aurora forecast direction 🧭, we drove northeast. Suddenly, we saw the aurora dancing outside the car window and immediately pulled over. The aurora—this magical force of nature—instantly washed away all fatigue and sleepiness! The aurora changes in the blink of an eye, so when you see it, seize the moment. A passing cloud could easily hide its! Day 5: Ice Fishing 🎣 + Aurora Viewing Highly recommend the ice fishing experience! We went with Grandpa Jim, who has a house 🏠 built on the ice. It’s warm inside, and he prepared breakfast and various drinks for us. You can even watch the fish movements from inside—such a fun experience! We caught 20 fish 🐟 in three hours, released most of them, and Jim cooked the rest for lunch. It tasted great 👍. Don’t forget to buy a fishing license 🎣 in advance! Afterward, we visited Santa Claus Village—it’s basically a gift shop with mostly Chinese-made products. You can take photos with Santa. Then we went to a local souvenir shop (recommended by our host) for authentic Alaskan specialties. 📍 The Roaming Root Cellar For dinner, we ordered takeout from Seoul Gate 🥡. The beef bone soup and stone pot rice were both delicious—on par with New York’s K-Town. At night 🌃, we played (a mystery-solving game) with friends by the fireplace—super cozy vibes. Checking the aurora forecast, we realized we were already in the red zone, so we rushed to the balcony and witnessed a major aurora explosion! Luck doubled (or even tripled!) 🍀✨. Day 6: Back to Anchorage We explored Denali along the way. For dinner, we tried a Chinese restaurant in Anchorage 🥢. 📍 Jimmy’s Asian Restaurant #Aurora#Fairbanks#ChenaHotSprings#IceFishing#DogSledding