Northern Lights - 3/9

The other day there was a solar event, so I was keeping an eye out last night.  After a hint from a friend on facebook, I decided to drive out.  I was wearing PJs and didn't bother changing - if I had gotten dressed, there certainly wouldn't have been any lights, right?  Anyway, I grabbed the camera and off I went.

Within minutes of leaving home, I could see faint glows.  They kept appearing and disappearing so I was worried I'd miss everything!  By the time I got out to my spot, all you could see was a very faint band on the horizon.  I settled in to wait.  Shortly, I noticed pale, thin bands arcing across the sky - kind of like the trail a plane leaves.  I pulled out the camera, and sure enough the bands blossomed into color, running east to west directly above me, through the Big Dipper.

Here's a picture to the west, with the moon.  You can see how narrow the band was at first.  It was really cold (especially with no socks and no jacket!) but I scarcely noticed!

To the east, with the Chugach mountains and the Star-On-The-Mountain.  The glow from Anchorage and Eagle River can be seen.

Spruce trees.  Note the line from the airplane off to the left!

Lazy Day

Being a cat is so tough...

Mush!

 

We started off the day watching the ceremonial Iditarod start. As a fundraiser, they auction off the chance to ride in the sled with the musher during the Anchorage start.  The rider in this sled, however, is this year's Teacher on the Trail.  She'll travel from check-point to check-point, blogging and posting lessons for students across the country.

 

After the Iditarod start, we headed down to the Fur Auction.  Fur Rondy started as a get-together for trappers across the state to sell their furs, so this is really the beginning of it all!  There are several different auctions throughout the two weeks of Rondy.  This particular one was run by the Alaska Trapper's Association.  Since I am taking a fur sewing class later this week, we came home with a red fox and a beaver.  I was also a second away from getting a tanned lynx for the ridiculously low price of $175, but someone else snapped it up.

Our cat isn't sure what to think!

We ended the day with the 4th annual Running of the Reindeer.  It's great fun, and the proceeds go to Toys for Tots.  On the right, you can see how close we came to getting run over by the reindeer with the smallest antler of all!

Eagle Eye

This fellow was right on the side of the highway as we drove home from Talkeetna the other weekend.

In other news, the lights have apparently been out the past two nights, but I'm recovering from The Plague so I've been going to bed at ridiculously early hours.  I've got my eye out for tonight though - activity level seems pretty steady at 6.  I'll check again in a few hours and if it hits 8 I'll take a short drive.