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.

Cityscape

 

A clear view of the city from Earthquake park.

It was a gorgeous day, with Denali quite visible.  I really want to get a picture of Anchorage with Denali in the background, but Earthquake park is not at the right angle.  Next time I'll try going up Hillside - once the snow is gone I can try Flattop, too.

Aurora Borealis

 Yesterday, I woke up to find a friend had messaged me on Facebook.  "The lights are out!" she said.  My reply was "Why on earth didn't you call me???"  She promised to call, and as I watched NOAA's aurora report, the call came.  The Husband and I hopped in the car and started driving to find a place away from the lights.

 Nearby, we could see it but just as a dull band of light, nothing different from what I'd seen in the north east on occasion.  So we kept driving.  Eventually, we made it out to the Knick where I pulled over for the first time to watch.

It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen.  Ribbons, just dancing in the sky over the valley.

Unfortunately, the highway was between us and the lights, so it was difficult to get a good shot - note the truck at the bottom right of the picture!  So we hopped in the car to find a better spot.

Next, we pulled off at the Hayflats.  The lights were dimming a bit, but I grabbed the tripod and we hiked 50 yards off the highway where I took the following shot.  Better, but I wanted to make some adjustments to the settings.  Unfortunately, they were nearly gone!

This is a cropped version of the second shot - if you enlarge it, you can see the mountains at the bottom, which is why I like it so much!

We still held out hopes that if we continued north, they might brighten up.  Unfortunately, this didn't happen.  A bit north of Wasilla I snapped this shot, braced on the car, and we turned around and headed home.  It was an amazing experience.

Next time, I will stop as soon as I see a good show and I will take as many pictures as I can in the hopes of getting some better shots!

Turnagain

 Dawn at 10:30am as we drove down the Turnagain arm.

 The view from atop Mt. Alyeska.  Almost perfectly clear - and therefore, cold!

Sub-zero temperatures make for glorious views.