Fairbanks,
Alaska, is known for being cold but it is also famous for its hot geothermal
waters. When Tim and I visited Chena Hot Springs Bernie Karl, the owner, gave
us a behind-the-scenes tour.
One
of the many things that make Chena Hot Springs unique is the Aurora Ice Hotel. It’s
absorption chiller is powered by geothermal hot water. This renewable resource
can make all the ice needed for just pennies. On our personal tour, Bernie
explained why it is no longer called an Ice Hotel and is now called a Museum.
If it was
to be considered a hotel, the building inspector could not give them an
occupancy permit because it did not have fire suppression sprinklers. That
seems rather odd for an ice structure. However, Bernie was clever enough to
call it an Ice Museum instead. Now people pay admission to the “museum” and are
allowed to stay overnight on actual beds made of ice.
The
museum features a gallery and ice bar, overhead chandeliers made of
individually carved ice crystals changing color to represent the northern
lights, a gigantic chess set, life sized jousting knights, ice fireplace and
four bedrooms with varying themes.
While
ice can be used for fun things, it is not enjoyable, and even a nuisance, when
it covers roads or sidewalks. A friend found out the hard way—she slipped and
fell flat on the ice resulting in having to go to the walk-in clinic for
x-rays. She called to tell me and seemed to be in a state of shock. It took a
few minutes for me to figure out that she had students waiting on her, but she did
not have the phone number to call and cancel their class.
Today’s
gift was to help her out by making calls and telling them about her
predicament. It is interesting how something can be so enjoyable one minute and
such a menace the next.
In
Giving,
Robin
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