Out of the Sun - Northern Alaska

FAIRBANKS , 358 miles north of Anchorage, is at the end of the Alaska Highway from Canada and definitely at the end of the road for most tourists. Though flat and somewhat bland, its central location makes a great base for exploring a hinterland of gold mines and hot springs, and a staging point for both the tiny villages scattered around the surrounding wilderness,

and for journeys along the Dalton Highway (aka the "Haul Road") to the Arctic Ocean oil community of Prudhoe Bay.

Alaska's second most populous town was founded accidentally, in 1901, when a steamship carrying E.T. Barnette, a merchant with all his wares on board, ran aground in the shallows of the Chena River. Unable to transport the supplies he was carrying, Barnette set up shop in the wilderness and catered to the few trappers and prospectors trying their luck in the area. The following year, with the beginnings of the Gold Rush , a tent city sprang up on the site, and Barnette made a mint. In 1908, at the height of the gold stampede, Fairbanks had a population of 18,500, but by 1920 the population had dwindled to only 1100. To thwart possible Japanese attacks during World War II, several huge military bases were built and the population rebounded, getting a further boost in the mid-1970s when it became the transportation center for the trans-Alaska oil pipeline project: construction and other oil-related activities brought a rush of workers seeking wages of up to $1500 per week and the popu lation reached an all-time high.

Getting around
Alaska Airlines, Delta and United all offer daily services from Anchorage to Fairbanks Airport , four miles southwest of downtown; the MACS bus Yellow Line (Mon-Sat; $1.50) runs downtown but the long wait between services means you'll probably want to grab a taxi (around $12) or the Airlink Shuttle (tel 907/452-3337), which charges $7 (for two) to your accommodation. The airport is also a gateway for flights into the bush; Frontier Flying Service (tel 907/474-0011) operates a reliable service. Daily trains stop downtown at 280 N Cushman Rd, but are far more expensive than the minibus companies that run here from Anchorage and Valdez and drop you off at your accommodation.

The best way to get around is by car, but the five bus lines , run by MACS (tel 907/459-1011), provide a reasonable service; call for information or collect a schedule from the visitor center (see below). Airlink Shuttle offers transport to sights within the city for $5. Among the companies that can whisk you off into the surrounding bush and fly you to the Arctic Circle , the widest choice is with the Northern Alaska Tour Company (tel 907/474-8600, ).

The visitor center , at 550 First Ave (summer daily 8am-8pm; rest of year Mon-Fri 8am-5pm; tel 907/456-5774 or 1-800/327-5774, ), carries a vast amount of information on lodging and activities. For information on the area's parks, including Denali, stop by the useful Alaska Public Land Information Center (APLIC) at 250 N Cushman St (summer daily 9am-6pm; rest of year Tues-Sat 10am-6pm; tel 907/456-0527).

Entertainment
The six-million-acre DENALI NATIONAL PARK , 240 miles north of Anchorage, is named after the Athabascan word for its most famous denizen, Mount McKinley , which is often shrouded in cloud, and only around one-quarter of visitors actually get to see the snow-covered massif. The mountain is far from being the park's only attraction, however. A ride through Denali on a shuttle bus offers a glimpse of a vast world of tundra and taiga, glaciers, huge mountains and abundant wildlife - the Park Service reports that 95 percent of visitors see bears, caribou and Dall sheep , 82 percent moose, and over one-fifth wolves , along with porcupine, snowshoe hare, red foxes, and over 160 bird species.

The six-million-acre DENALI NATIONAL PARK , 240 miles north of Anchorage, is named after the Athabascan word for its most famous denizen, Mount McKinley , which is often shrouded in cloud, and only around one-quarter of visitors actually get to see the snow-covered massif. The mountain is far from being the park's only attraction, however. A ride through Denali on a shuttle bus offers a glimpse of a vast world of tundra and taiga, glaciers, huge mountains and abundant wildlife - the Park Service reports that 95 percent of visitors see bears, caribou and Dall sheep , 82 percent moose, and over one-fifth wolves , along with porcupine, snowshoe hare, red foxes, and over 160 bird species.

The Northern lights
The aurora borealis , or "Northern Lights," an ethereal display of light in the uppermost atmosphere, give their brightest and most colorful displays in the sky above Fairbanks. For up to one hundred winter nights, the sky appears to shimmer with dancing curtains of color ranging from luminescent greens to fantastic veils that run the full spectrum. Named after the Roman goddess of dawn, the aurora are caused by an interaction between the earth's magnetic field and the solar wind , an invisible stream of charged electrons and protons continually blown out into space by the innate violence of the sun. The earth deflects the solar wind like a rock in a stream, with the energy released at the magnetic poles - much like a neon sign.

The Northern Lights are at their most dazzling from December to March, when nights are longest and the sky darkest, but late September can be good for summer visitors