Five Nights In Fairbanks!! Part I of III

I'm not sure where to begin this story. Most people aren’t at all surprised to hear were engaged after 4 and 1/2 years but exactly how we came to be engaged is where the surprises come in. A few people were aware of my super secret plans to whisk Carolyn off on an Alaskan adventure but for the most part I had to keep this one under wraps. I couldn’t risk ruining the surprise and blowing a plan that was years in the dreaming and months in the planning. Now that were back from the trip of a lifetime we can shout it from the roof tops, Were Engaged!!Eventually we'll post all our pictures and tell the story from both sides (check her blog too) but for now heres the beginning. And how it all happened was truly by the book, which is of course if the book is a fairy tale. The Preparation: For years I have had a plan in my head of how it was all supposed to go. Some time ago Carolyn and I had talked about how amazing it would be to see the northern lights. It was after our conversation that I got the idea to purpose to her under the spectacular lights. I had no idea how to get there or even where to go but I was set on the idea. As my time frame developed (after graduation before grad school) I began to save. Finally in January of this year I sat down and started to research. Two days later I had two tickets to Fairbanks Alaska!! The plan was finally set into motion. The main goal, surprise Carolyn and purpose underneath the northern lights. I got Carolyn’s parents blessing and recruited a few others to help pull of the surprise. There were seemingly a million things to be done and I had to think of everything. I booked the flight, hotels, and rental car. I had to organize time off of work for both myself and Carolyn without her knowing. I had gather snow gear to keep us warm in temps well below zero. Ginger needed a dog-sitter and of course I needed a ring! Week by week I meticulously worked out every detail without arising any suspicions. Difficult to do because after four years of dating and daily harassment anything can be suspicious engagement activity! Of all the details to work out the hardest by far was making sure Carolyn didn’t plan something for that special weekend. We all know how Carolyn loves to plan and free-time isn’t really in her vocabulary. In fact I had people on the inside reporting to me on her plans to take me on a secret camping trip the same weekend we were in Alaska. Luckily I was able to keep her schedule free by committing to fake plans as the trip neared. Day 1 The night before we left was my 28th birthday and despite my every attempt to get to bed early we didn’t go to bed until after midnight. We went to dinner and had cupcakes did the whole "birthday thing". My stomach was in knots the whole evening and I had hardly slept in two days. Ha ha she had no idea. Day 1: At 3:30 am Thursday morning my alarm went off and I shot up. I kissed Carolyn awake and once she was coherent (sort of) I asked her if she trusted me. She took and understandably alarmed tone and said yes. "Then I need you to get up and pack, we're going on a trip". Unlike most of us who would immediately ask where are we going or what the hell is wrong with you she only asked if her coworkers knew. I told her it was all taken care of and retrieved a list of items to pack that I had prepared in case packing at 3am was problematic. We were on the road by 5:45am (not bad right) and headed to LAX. Soon she found out where we were headed and any trace of sleepiness or reservation went out the window and there was only excitement. Check out Carolyn’s side of the story on her blog to find out what it was like to find out your going to Alaska two hours before you get on the plane.
Several hours later we arrived in Fairbanks Alaska and check into our hotel. We gathered info from a few locals on where the best places to see the lights were near the city. Almost every one we talked to seemed out right confused when we told them we were on vacation from California. They all wore an expression as if they were waiting for some punch line like we were playful locals having a bit of sarcastic fun. Without fail they all said something to the effect of: "what are guys doing up here now? You should come back in September when it’s nice, not sure if you’re even going to see the lights but good luck anyway." In the beginning I laughed those kinds of comments off. However, as the trip went on my anxiety grew as the lights were more elusive that I thought. We found that out the first night as we waited in the car on a chilly Alaskan night for them to show. After watching and fighting exhaustion for several hours we gave in and left our hilltop perch over looking Fairbanks for our hotel. Tired as I was that night, sleep was still difficult to come by. Day 2: Our first full day in Fairbanks began with an exciting trip to downtown where we happened upon the start of dog-sled race. It was exciting to hear the announcer introduce the mushers and hear the countdown to sending each team off. 3, 2, 1 go and the team of dogs as many as twenty would launch themselves forward and zoom down the street.
After all the teams left the gate we headed north to the town of North Pole Alaska. It will be fun to tell our kids we've been to (the) North Pole to see Santa’s house. Next it was back to Fairbanks to check out the international ice sculpting championships where we took in numerous wonders of ice. Life size horses, slides, mazes, and people all carved by hand painstakingly out of ice. During the day we noticed a sign advertising a hockey game that night so on a whim we decide to go cheer out the Fairbanks Ice dogs as they took on the Kenai River Brown Bears at the not-so-big Big Dipper Ice Arena. The ice dogs killed the bears 3-0 and the game had all the hits, saves, a shoving that makes a hockey game complete. The night continued with us going back to see the ice sculptures again this time beautifully lit up. Where most mere mortals would go to bed after an epic day of activity, Carolyn and I pressed forward. Determined to see the lights we drove twenty-six miles outside of the city on an icy road to find the perfect spot for viewing. We pulled off the highway into a snowed in recreation area and waited. And waited..... And waited..... No sign of the lights. The nearly full moon shined brilliantly in defiance, mocking me and my plans for proposal. Finally at 5:30am we gave up and made the long journey back to the hotel. Disappointed at not seeing the lights but on the plus side we did see a Lynx run across the highway on our way home! Once at the hotel we collapsed. Day 3: We awoke bewildered at 2 pm the next day, the unfortunate side-effect of staying up all night. Within an hour we hit the road in our rental car to drive two hours south to the massive Denali National Park. Denali is the size of Maine but in the winter only the first three miles of the park are open to drive. The drive there was very beautiful with ample photo opts of the majestic mountain ranges. When we arrived we decide to take a hike into the park beyond the point which cars could not pass. Denali was serene and silent, we felt like the only people in the park. Sunset approached so we hiked back to the car and headed back to Fairbanks. Already we could see the largest moon in 24 years rising over the mountains. Statistically speaking March is supposed to be the most active month of the year for the lights. There is ample darkness and the weather is making a transition to spring providing good conditions to see them. This is what my research had revealed and precisely why I booked the trip when I did. The Fairbanks travel bureau says that if you stay in Fairbanks at least three nights you have a 90% chance (weather permitting) of seeing the lights. That is, of course, unless you book your trip during the time in which the moon is bigger and brighter than it’s been in 24 years. In addition to that it just so happened that Aurora activity, which is based on solar storm activity, was forecasted to be a 0(quiet) or 1(low) on a scale up to 9 (head explodes) the entire length of our trip. As many locals told us, "you should've been here two weeks ago probably the best aurora I’ve seen my whole life living in Alaska". My other favorite: “well hey next week is supposed to be active if you guys are still here". No, no we will not, but thanks for the tip Joe Eskimo. This was our chance, these five days. By the third night my nerves were getting the best of me. What if after all the work, carefully planning and money spent, I could not carry out my dream plan? What if I held out all these years for nothing? Yes the trip was and is still going to be amazing but the whole point of everything was for the moment where I propose under the celestial green hue of the Aurora Borealis.