Chena Hot Springs Resort, Alaska, United StatesChena Hot Springs
Camping at Mile 38.2 at the Chena
river
We left why later than we thought and
headed towards the Chena Hot springs, we heard from another couple, that we
should camp at Mile 38.2 because it is super nice – so we went there and set up
our truck. With river view it is nearly perfect – even we were not so
enthusiastic about the Mosquitos and decided after supper to stay inside – which
was a good decision because it started to rain!!!!
It’s the last day of July and nearly
the whole month we had cool and rainy weather – as we heard they have a heat
wave in Comox…
The history of the Hot Springs:
- Here you are at the end of the road
- They got famous for curing crippled prospectors of their aches already in 1905
- Robert and Thomas Swan learned in 1904 that a Geological survey team saw steam rising from a valley at the upper Chena river, but they did not investigate further. Robert who was looking for a place to ease his pain from Rheumatism set out in search for the hot springs. Over a month after leaving in a boat they arrived after 80 miles on the river at North Fork of the Chena river they went up monument creek and found the springs in Aug 1905
- By 1911 there was a bathhouse, stable and 12 cabins (2 of them are still standing), in 1912 it only took 20 hours of travelling time from Fairbanks and was good for sled dogs and bicycles, they did horse round trips every 10 days: it could be done in 2.5 days – as before it took 1-3 weeks
- They examed the hot springs and decided they are different from any other American hotspring it contains lots of sulfate, choride and bicarbonate of sodium. It is similar to the Felsenquelle in Carlsbad/Bohemia
In the Hotsprings
After coffee we left (as there were
too many mosquitos to enjoy a nice morning outside), what was super cool right
before the hot springs there was a train which was not on it’s wheels and it
looks like that the whole train will be lifted.
After we arrived we got our tickets
and now as all is organized we have breakfast – changing and then into the hot
spring pool. At this early time in the morning when the air was still cool, we
could see the steam above the waters. When going in – it is super hot… haha
most of the time we complain here when going in a lake the water is too cold.
They have 3 inlets of the hotsprings and depending on where you are you are in
a hotter or cooler spot… they have a super cool massage sprout which Gine loved.
What we missed was spots to sit down – but then it is also so hot, you really
can’t be in too much.
Upps I forget and we got a free
shower!!!! We set up outside on some loungers and relaxed…
Geothermal tour
They offer a free tours – so that was
a nice break from doing nothing. First we went into the freenhouse they are
growing with LED lights year around here and most of their veggies like
tomatoes, basil, lettuce is grown here year around.
We then went to check out some outdoor
garden and veggi garden display – what we thought was even cooler are the old
rusty cars and trucks which are on display with some beautiful flower
arrangements – the colors of the flowers matching the rust tones. We also saw a
rusty dinosaur and lots and lots of rusty old caterpillars.
We then went into the Chena Power
Plant where we could look at some techniques on how they create electricity out
of the hot springs – that is geothermal power: the water here att he hot
springs is never over 165 F and steam driven turbines need 220 F to create
steam. So they have a secondary fluid R-134a which has a lower boiling point
and the heat from the hotsprings makes
it to vapor and driving the turbine. Ok there is more involved but that was too
complicated for me.
Before heading back to the pool, we
checked out some more rusty old vehicles and the plane – yes there is a Dc-6
Cargo plane sitting up in the air. They also had some super cool like huge snow
machines and we checked out all the recycle cubes
More Hot water
Time for coffee and to head back into
the hot water: does it only feel hotter now??? We couldn’t stay in it for too
long this time, but then the temperatures were very pleasant: warm enough to
sit around and relax and with the clouds it was not so hot, that we were
sweating. For a while we were sitting, so we had only hot feet – and we also
talked to a lot of people here. Many are pre-cruisers.
A big truck
We did see earlier that big truck and
decided to check it out, it’s a Rolligon. It is another super cool huge truck –
wow we did see some really weird things on this trip.
- When William Albee in 1950 discovered that some locals moved a boat with like giant rolling balloons (which were inflated seal skin) – he went back home to California and used this technique to make the first low-pressure-off-road-tire and then made the vehicles to it under the name Albee Rolligon co.
- The tires are made out of a mix of fabric and rubber and the tires can go on any terrain and absorbs bumps rather than the tire going over it. At one time a 5-ton Rolligon truck literally run over it’s creator William albee and he was completely unharmed (I’m not sure if I would do that).
- The Rolligons were used in the oil fields in northern Alaska during the harsh winter months. The top speed in perfect condition is 30 mph and around 3 mph when it gets bad. 3 of them made all the way out to Prudhoe Bay to bring supplies: so yes it took a while, and still today they use them up there.
A perfect river spot
After a lazy day we finally left and
then Paul said I think that is a perfect spot, so we pulled out, and thanks to
our nice high clearance and our great truck we parked right on the rocks along
the river. Super perfect – Mandy walked outside on the leash – that means Mandy
walks and Paul follows…. And once it was time to head inside for cooking supper
it started to rain – perfect timing.
Did I mention you are not allowed to
shoot along the Chena Hot springs road?
And in the morning as it was cloudy
and not so great, we decided to have coffee and leave, only before leaving Paul
did drove into the river with the truck only for the fun of it – even there was
a sign: no driving in the river!!!!
2025-05-22