Goodbye Fairbanks

So I finally saw the Northern Lights on Saturday night after taking a snow cat vehicle on a 30 minute ascent up a mountain at Chena Hot Springs. It was a clear but frigid evening where the windchill hit 15 below zero. Despite the extra winter gear that was provided it was painful to stand outside of the tent that provides temporary shelter for the 50 or so brave souls that ventured to this isolated place. Initially I was disappointed when 11:15 PM hit as there wasn't much to see except a sky full of stars and a very faint glowing band that had formed across the sky. Another ten minutes elapsed and we were all treated to the most fabulous light show that nature could provide as random streaks of glowing colors illuminated the clear sky to our north. There were ghostly bands of green, pink, violet, and blue that fluctuated in random patterns and dissipated shortly after forming and then restarted again after several minutes with new formations. They say is a picture is worth a thousand words so I can say I was very dissapointed when I realized the cold weather had sapped the battery life out of my digital camera and further annoyed that my video camera wasn't sensitive enough to pick up any meaningful views of the night sky. Just gives me incentive to come back again some day.

So now I start my trek back to Seattle while I wait to board the airplane that will make its next stop in Anchorage. I think the cold has drained me so I am considering driving south to warm up. I guess I'll see how I feel in a couple of hours.