CHENA HOT SPRINGS, Alaska

We've gone from cold to hot. At our unheated cabin with outdoor toilets in Denali, temperatures dropped to the low 30's so for two days Benedicta didn't remove anything other than her shoes. Now we've moved into our bathing suits for twice-daily, multi-hour soaks in the Chena Hot Springs. Some form of the resort has been serving healing-water-seekers since 1911 and it is now world-renowned for its geo-thermal self-sustaining power facility which provides electricity for the 440-acre property, including a year-round ice museum and hydroponic greenhouse. The ice museum employs two award-winning ice artisans and the greenhouse gardener, Pete Redshaw sings requests in the Trail's End bar on Saturday nights. Our favorite number involved five middle-aged Japanese women spontaneously joining Pete on stage for a rendition of ... well I don't know, but the tune sounded familiar. Pete's fluent Japanese is a major asset because Chena Resort fills year-round with Japanese star-gazers attracted to the mystical power of the aurora borealis.

The 162-degree hot springs are cooled to 146-degrees before reaching the centerpiece of Chena, Rock Lake, which has an overhead sprinkler (like a rainshower in a hot tub) for cool-downs. I've had a years quota of massages at the water feature that shoots out as if a fireman is pointing a full-throttle hose of pummeling hot water - imagine the roughest back rub you've ever had given by a tireless masseuse. The proper stance for the treatment includes digging one's heels into the sandy bottom to prevent being blasted face forward into the pool. The rocks around the perimeter are ideal for relaxing like sunning walrus, though the slime on the edges makes scaling them a bit treacherous. When the over-30/over-130 pound bathers make their attempts it's polite to look away but impossible not to gawk. I found an amazing rock-recliner to nestle in for hours while watching the Creator sprinkle stars across the ever blackening night.

It hasn't been all soak, rinse, repeat. We hiked the Monument Creek (evening stroll around the runway), Charlie Dome (steep and muddy) and Nature (around Beaver Lake and through the dog kennels) trails; toured the ice museum, geothermal plant and hydroponic garden; and watched planes come and go from the dusty airstrip. We're planning our next visit for March 2012 when conditions for the aurora are predicted to be optimum. Though I may get back sooner as I'm contemplating picking up my next job out here!