Fairbanks

During the last few years a lot of hype has been made of the looming doomsday of December 21^st, 2012. Much of the mythos backs up this claim by alluding to the Mayan calendar’s so called “end” this month. That declaration is easily busted by comparing our Gregorian calendar to the Mayan one. Our calendar has a repeating cycle and so does the Mayan’s.

Still, the rumors persist. The world will reverse poles. The continents will collide. A mysterious cloaked planet will come crashing down to earth. However, according to the NASA website there is “no credible evidence for any of the assertions made in support of unusual events taking place in December 2012.”

So what will happen? Well, I think the unusual events that we’ve all been wondering about actually occurred this week! It was even a planetary alignment of sorts.

First, Lonely Planet (LP), the worldwide publisher of travel guide books declared its 2013 list of top US destinations to visit. And it came as a pleasant surprise that Fairbanks was number two on their list! Lonely Planet associated the choice with an astronomical collision of solar energy that we know and admire—the aurora borealis. How divine is that?

Secondly, National Geographic ranked the Chena River State Recreation high on their Best Winter Trips 2013 list. They recommended it in part, for northern lights viewing!

Lastly, the stars aligned this week when the Alaska Federation of Natives voted to bring back one of Alaska’s largest conventions to Fairbanks. Perhaps this group of conference attendees will even see the northern lights when they come to the Golden Heart City next October.