I know I'm not the only one who has the Aurora Borealis on their bucket list. I've been crazy about the Auroras since I did a science fair project on the phenomenon in sixth grade. Since Stu and I are perpetually trying to live out our bucket list one experience at a time, we decided to take advantage of some time off. I picked up a Costco size package of hand and feet warmers, we packed a suit case of ALL our coldest weather gear, stopped by my mom's for some Thanksgiving dinner, packed a tupperware with leftovers for the road and headed up to Fairbanks, AK.
Stu loves me so much he made sure I had a window seat on the east side of the plane as we flew north. I had my head plastered to the window with my coat covering my head and the window to block the cabin lighting. I assumed this position for the entire three hour flight. At one-point I saw a faint green arc out my window. I thought I was seeing things but it grew brighter. I was silently squealing with joy. The kind of excitement that consumes your entire body and instead of screaming, you reach a point just beyond that results in a high pitched, practically silent SQQUUUUEEEEEEEE that makes it sound like your deflating. My face was getting sore from smiling. As we landed the arc grew into a full swirling curtain. It. Was. Extraordinary!
We were off to a good start. I didn't care that it was -11F when we landed and that I hadn't expereinced that type of cold in years. Turns out, it feels the same as 10F which is... dare I say... bearable, at least for a few minutes. Though, in general it was easier to acclimate than I thought. However, I have to admit that I was wearing two pairs of pants the entire time we were there.
We settled in and the next morning we woke up well before the sunrise at 10:15a. Its true that its dark, really dark. I compensated with a steady drip of coffee.
We took a drive into town and visited a cafe for one of those doses of caffeine. As we walked around town, I was struck by the color of the light. It was a perpetual state of dawn or dusk. There is no "high noon" in the winter in the Arctic. Everything is covered in a soft rose gold light which made my heart swoon. I have never seen such beautiful natural light.
I suppose I could share some key information.
Aurora Viewing: We sprung for a reservation at the Aurora Borealis Lodge, to hopefully get another chance to see the lights. This was a perfect set up. You can stay warm and enjoy some warm drinks while you look out the picture windows and wait for the show. It was a great way to view the lights. They will pick you up at your hotel/accommodation or you can opt to drive yourself. Mok and his wife are fantastic hosts.
Dog Sledding: I surprised Stu with a dog sled tour at Black Spruce Dog Sledding. I will admit that I wasn't keen on this activity, I was concerned about the safety of the dogs but I'm glad we went. I learned so much. I was really impressed with our guide, he knew all the dogs by name, personality and all. The dogs clearly loved him so much. It was even more clear that they loved mushing. Our tour started at 9am, which meant we were arriving in the dark. As we approached the check-in area, we could see gold lights in the distance, it looked like we were driving toward Santa's Workshop. The sun was just starting to come up and the blue was turning pink - I was so glad we booked the early tour!
We had such an memorable time in Fairbanks and as we flew back to Seattle, I got one last glimpse of the Auroras from the plane! As if Lady Aurora was waving goodbye. Not to worry, Lady Aurora, I'm now completely enamored with the Arctic and I am looking forward to visiting again.
