'Scuse Me While I Kiss The Sky

If the Northern lights were guitarists, on Thursday we saw B.B. King with his perfectly placed, well-defined notes, refined phrasing, with some rapid-fire flourishes all leading up to an emotional crescendo.

Friday night was pure Jimi Hendrix. A flamboyant performance that literally filled the sky with 360 degrees of ever-changing, ever-evolving light, overwhelming your senses, leaving you in awe, taking away your breath and leaving you wanting more.

Despite yesterday's forecast of clear skies, when we awoke Friday morning, it had changed to a mostly cloud covered evening with snow flurries from 8:00 pm to 2:00 am. We nearly canceled our tour, but since it was already paid for, we decided to tough it out. We didn't depart our hotel until 10:00 pm, dressed in multiple layers of clothing to brave to -12 degree windchill.

Julian made two brief stops as we headed north and decided the clouds seemed to be clearing out in the west. By the time we finally came to a cloud free area, it was near midnight, but as soon as we disembarked the bus, it was obviously worth the long ride.

From just above each horizon and reaching high overhead from all directions, the Aurora filled he sky. It was as if we were standing below a dome of pale green light. And then the dance began. Tall ribbons of light twisted, turned, merged, and faded before regathering strentgh to continue their phenomenal display. There was so much activity all around us, we didn't know where to look. The peak of the diplay lasted about twenty minutes and was truly a mesmerizing experience.

One by one, the aurora hunters gave in to the cold and returned to the warmth of the bus, where Julian greeted us with a cup of hot chocolate and a cookie.

At 1:30, Julian announced we would start heading back to the hotel as it would take us at least forty minutes to make the drive. Even though the expedition was much shorter than last nights, no one complained as it seemed everyone knew it wasn't going to get better than what we had already witnessed.

Brenda is already talking about a return visit in September!Read more