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Living in the Arctic Circle

  Welcome to Wiseman, a small community 63 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Alaska. Gold was discovered in Nolan Creek near the village in the early  1900s and miners turned this town into a bustling settlement until the boom ended. Today, there are fewer than twelve people living in Wiseman. It’s the perfect getaway if you crave peace and quiet or love hiking and mountain climbing. Wiseman is sandwiched by the Brooks Mountain Range and the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. We passed by a portion of the Alaska Pipeline on the Dalton Highway on our way to Wiseman from Coldfoot where our plane landed. This stretch of highway continues on to Prudhoe Bay in the Arctic Ocean. Residents of Wiseman are allowed to hunt just one moose annually for food consumption. Not surprisingly, there are antlers everywhere. Many of the cabins display antlers above their doors.  Our guide, Jack Reakoff, showed us his house and explained to us the mechanics of heating, cooking, planting vege

Alaska Bucket List 2021 ✔️

  Aurora Borealis The number one item on my Alaska bucket list was to see the dancing northern lights. The best place for viewing is in and around Fairbanks which is in the Aurora oval (away from bright city lights). Though I had seen the Aurora Borealis in Iceland in 2015, I had only seen the curtain rays and small swirling lights. I was hoping that this time around, I would have the chance to see a full Aurora display. It’s never guaranteed that you’ll see the northern lights when you’re in Fairbanks during the Aurora Borealis season. But I was hopeful. I did check the KP Index before leaving and saw there was moderate activity forecasted on the days I would be in Fairbanks. But it was not to be. However, the moment I boarded my flight home, there was a strong Aurora display at around 1 a.m. What luck or lack of it! On our flight back to Fairbanks from the Arctic Circle, the pilot called our attention to a horizontal ray across the sky with a short vertical flowing down midway from t