Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Of Fairbanks
We started the day by searching out the local UU Church. Many of the smaller UU congregations ask first-time visitors to stand and introduce themselves. Arlene and I have done this on multiple occations and we include that our home congregation is Cedars Unitarian Universalist Church. Then afterwards people will approach us and ask, “oh, do you know…?” Sometimes we do and sometimes not but it certainly makes the UUs feel like a wider community.
The First AirBnB
We stopped at REI in Fairbanks to buy more bug spray and bear spray and a shirt for kayaking for me and some warmer pants for Arlene that she can wear under things (that were only 20 dollars). I don’t actually know what to do with bear spray so we watched some videos on youtube. The best one made very clear that it was to be sprayed toward bears, i.e., it is not a repellant applied to humans like a bug repellant might be. On the bear spray there are directions: “First aid: If in eyes: Hold eye open and rince slowly and gently with water for 15-20 minutes.” The bear spray also has a safety mechanism that must be removed before it can be used. One of the guys on youtube said “practice, practice, practice.” I admit that the first time I “practiced” removing the safety I was a little scared. I practiced outside. So, enough about bear spray.
We drove for a couple of hours and arrived at our first AirBnb. The first surprise was that there is no running water. That was really the last surprise too but the consequences of the first surprise took a while to sink in. Here is a picture of Arlene and I standing in front of our lodging for the next 2 weeks.
Isn’t it cute? But it has no running water (as I already mentioned) which means no shower and no bathroom. So as a follow up, here is a picture of the other building on the property.
We do, however, have internet. Lol. It’s good to say that out loud, El Oh El. We spent the evening watching recaps of the Criterium du Dauphine and the Stockholm Diamond League and trying to figure how to survive without indoor plumbing.
Here is a view from inside our “cabin”
Oh my gosh you made us laugh out loud! Love the “other” building on the property. At least the view is amazing! Loving hearing about your adventure!
Permafrost? My understanding is that “dry” residences are common in Fairbanks.
We’ve also heard of people applying bear spray to airplane wheels in the “bush” and bears coming to roll in it.
Enjoying your trip!