I don’t love sharing negative travel moments, but this one feels important. Winter roads in Alaska are no joke, and even experienced drivers can get caught off guard. As we were driving back to our hotel on Chena Hot Springs Road, the pavement was covered in ice. A local friend and our car rental agent had both warned us about icy conditions, so we were taking it slow. But about ten minutes from our stay, our SUV suddenly hit black ice, spun out, and slid off the road. We were lucky — the car wasn’t badly damaged, it was still drivable, and AAA arrived quickly to pull us out. I also happened to know someone (thanks to social media!) who was nearby and willing to help if needed. Still, it was one of our scariest travel moments. Jason grew up driving in Canadian winters, and we rented an AWD SUV… and still, this happened. On the bright side, while we waited for the tow truck, the sky lit up with the most beautiful aurora and kept glowing our entire drive back — a little magic in a str...