A Tribute to Fox Spring

by Sarah Olson

It is not uncommon for students in Fairbanks to choose to live in a dry cabin for an affordable, memorable experience. For those who are unfamiliar, a dry cabin, quite frankly, is most often a glorified shed with heat, electricity, and slop bucket (more on that later). They receive no running water, hence the term “dry.” The low price of living in a glorified shed is the initial draw-in for most college students, but if you look a little deeper you’ll find a plethora of reasons why life in a dry cabin is extraordinary. 

Alanna Greenwell, a current employee and former student at UAF explains her affinity for dry cabins saying, “There’s definitely a bit more work involved with doing dishes, hauling water and having to shower away from home, but it also forces you to use your time intentionally, which I like,” and Mina Carrol, a UAF student and dry cabin inhabitant describes how “...a dry cabin instills a new level of gratitude in you. You get used to living simpler and aren't so involved with ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ mentality.” I relate to both of these perspectives immensely, as I’m sure readers that reside in dry cabins will understand.

The Fox Spring in the snow. All photos by Sarah Olson.

One of the moments that really sticks out to me as I go about cabin life is the act of filling up my water buckets. I don’t just fill them with any old water though, I stick to the Fox Spring, which, in my professional opinion, possesses the best water in the 66th latitude.

There are many options for filling up your five gallon water buckets across Fairbanks, with some common places being the “Water Wagon” and the “Watering Hole”, conveniently located throughout the city, charging about three cents per gallon of water. While these places are great, 12 miles up the Steese Highway lies the glory hole of potable water. The Fox Spring. The spring is a water well located on a two-acre parcel that was purchased by the State of Alaska in 1966. Now, it provides free water to about 2000 residents from the Fairbanks/Fox area year round thanks to expert engineering controls that keep the water running through the arctic winters.

Sarah Olson at the Fox Spring fetching water.

Taking a normal trip to the Fox Spring is a different experience than going to any other water source. At the spring a water run becomes more than just a chore, it is an event. During the summer months, a line of people piles up outside the well, some of them are locals filling up water jugs for their homes, and others are tourists filling up a water bottle before heading up the road to do some berry picking at SkiLand. The people lined outside the spring are always in a good mood, looking to spark up a conversation, tell a story, and listen to a couple themselves. It’s nice. 

Winter at the spring, however, brings a different ambience. Rarely is anybody lined up or sticking around to have a conversation with one of the local legends. It is a surprise to see more than two cars parked at the spring during the winter. I can’t decide which season I like more. The summer is comfortable, and you often leave the well with a smile and a vehicle filled with water jugs. Leaving the well in the winter on the other hand is extremely uncomfortable, but somewhere between slipping on spilt water that instantly turned to ice, getting a glove painfully frozen to your blue water jug, and a boot that feels frozen to your sock, there is a certain ebullience to driving back to your cabin with a water supply to last the next two weeks.

The Fox Spring at night.

Here's to the Fox Spring, in all of the ordinance, community, and memory behind it. I know I can't be the only one that feels a connection to this side-of-the-road water shack. Someday my cabin life will probably come to an end, running water will no longer feel like a luxury item, and a shower might be part of a daily routine. What a crazy thought. Whenever that day might be, my bi-weekly trip to the spring will begin to dwindle, however the memories, friends, and community that I have found at the Fox Spring will not. I feel so lucky to be a part of the niche community that the spring hosts, and will forever cherish what it means to me. 

So, is it really the water that is so good, or is it the people you meet while spilling ice cold water onto your legs and shoes to create an instant ice rink? You be the judge of that.