Alright folks, it's time I talk about something Alaskan. I have discussed everything from menfolk to TV to a few of the actual emotions I have from time to time but let's face it, that's not why you click on my links. You click because I'm your cool Alaskan friend and you are hoping that every post will provide some insight to what it's like living on top of the world.
I remember the first day I saw Anchorage. I remember going out onto the Seward highway and seeing the Cook Inlet surrounded by perfect mountains. I remember going to a barbecue and talking for hours on end not even realizing that it was 1am because the sun was barely setting. I remember my first sunset on Flattop and snowshoeing through the mountains in my insanely warm military grade Bunny Boots. I could describe all these things in length but my heart really lies with another subject. I've been trying to write this post for months and with a recent experience I think it's time to talk about the Aurora Borealis.
Everyone loves summers in Alaska. That's when the tourists come in by the hundreds. I understand. In the summer you have train trips, camping, hiking, and warm weather to do it all in. It's on it's way. Spring has sprung and with it the days in Alaska will get longer. I never thought I'd be as sad to see winter and darkness leave. If you had asked me 4 months ago I would have told you that I'd trade a kidney for some sunlight. It's amazing the power of one beautiful sight can do. One night the clear skies overlooking the 49th state changed everything. Let me take you back to that day. See, I write many blog posts and only about half ever see the light of day. But I'll take an excerpt from that post. I said,
"It's cold. Really cold. Like, I need to buy warmer everything. It's dark. The sun hardly comes up and when it does it's cloudy. Contrast that with what I moved away from in Charleston: Sun, sun, a little rain, then more sun. My two lives couldn't be more different. When the seasons started changing my mood did too. I don't know if it is seasonal affective disorder, homesickness, hormones or some combination of the three but it wasn't fun. The absence of genuine happiness is very tangible. One night I walked outside to see if the skies were clear. That's when I first saw it. The sky was dancing. There were blank boring dark spots but there were spots with green lights that danced. It would move slower then disappear all together. I laughed, I felt like a ten year old kid, experiencing something new."
Seeing the Aurora is like feeling a completely new emotion. It's spiritual, It's romantic, it's exciting, like an adrenaline rush of joy. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. I think from that first time I saw them, I decided I would never miss an opportunity to see the lights.
Which brings me to March sixtee- oh wait no. Which brings me to March 17th. I was working nightside on the 16th and heard about the storm warning. No not a thunderstorm or a blizzard or flash flood warning. A Geomagnetic Storm, the best kind in my opinion. Let me put it in terms that may or may not be accurate: solar wind comes flying towards earth at a million miles an hour, hits atmosphere, mixes with elements (oxygen, nitrogen) and makes pretty sick colors in the sky. Anyway I heard this storm was coming my way and knew I only had one choice. Venture around the state with two goals: stay awake and see the lights.
The lights were currently forecast at about a kp5. the higher the number the better chance you have of seeing something. A kp5 is worth a trip out. So about 11pm I headed for the hills aka Eagle River. There was a spot there I had gone before with good results. I was also going by myself and hoped this place would be popular enough that I wouldn't get murdered or kidnapped.
Let's pull away from the sciency, kp, geomagnetic crap for a sec though. The Aurora is a lady and she doesn't show up for just anyone. You can look at all the stats but if she doesn't want to show up she don't! The key then is patience. Will you out-wait the posers? Will you sit for hours in the cold with no results? Will you drive to the middle of nowhere so the conditions are perfect? Will you pee in the middle of the woods so you don't miss anything? If yes, you've got a shot at seeing the once in a lifetime beauty.
Eagle river was deserted. Apparently the rest of the world missed the Aurora memo. There was one car of what I can only guess by their music was hoodlum teens doing some weed (it's fine, totally legal). I stayed there not too long because it was really windy and this was not the best location. If it was going to be a long night I needed to head to another super secret location. I drove for a good half hour, found the easily-missed road, and parked in a deserted area. I can't tell you if I felt more comfortable here or around the drug using teens but there was no turning back now!
I sat for about an hour not seeing much. It was an overcast night and the clouds were blocking pretty much everything. A light diffused haze reached towards the north but after an hour I was ready to see something. It was, after all, about 1am at this point. Finally it started up. It was straight overhead with green lines coming straight down at me. The wind had no effect on me as soon as I saw this. It danced for a while then as quick as it had come, it left again. Most people would say, ok good, I've seen it, I can go home and sleep. See, I'm not most people. I checked the updates and saw it was going to get up to a kp 6.3 in about 40 minutes. That means way more of what I just saw! So I settled in with my Diet Coke and listened to my iPod.
An hour went by and it was time for round 2. This was completely different than what I had seen in the past. Imagine a thunderstorm inside the clouds so all you see is part of the sky light up for a second then go back to black. Now imagine that cloud being green and seeing the stars behind it. That's what it looked like. Usually the lights streak across the sky in a pattern but this was so different. Like music notes. I could have listened to that song all night! It was like fantasia 2000 where the wales are flying in the sky. Once it died down I decided it was probably time to call it quits. You know you've exhausted every effort when your Diet Coke is gone and you're listening to Simon and Garfunkel's greatest hits for the second time that night.
Driving home was the easy part. As I got back into town I decided to just check the forecast one more time. That was my mistake. In 5 minutes the lights will hit a 6.5. Luckily I live in a dark neighborhood. I literally laid on the cement and watched the sky overhead give me a classically beautiful show. But it could be better and flattop mountain was only 10 minutes away. And I was awake anyway, and tonight might be the last good night... So once again I jumped in the car and headed to flattop. A few others were there taking pictures. I hiked up and watched the sky dance around me. It's amazing to see how many patterns lights take. streaks sideways, straight down at you, flashes of green. I think I saw it all. The rest of the night was an ebb and flow of lights. I would stay outside as long as I could stand then huddle back in the car and try to stay awake.
Bedtime came sometime around 6am, which is a shame because the lights peaked at about 6:30. Still it was worth it. I don't think I'll ever take those lights for granted. I also don't think you can capture them. Pictures are beautiful and I've taken my fair share but when it gets down to it the lights are an experience. An experience everyone should have in some way. They are a little piece of the sun, saying hello in the darkest of days.
Epilogue:
The next morning it made national news how great the lights were the night previous. Media outlets announced the storm saying the following night would be just as good. I did go out again. There were tons of people but most didn't stick around too far past midnight. I watched a pretty good show, not like the night before of course, but good nontheless.
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