Northern Lights! The Real Thing!

Robert, Tuesday, September 2

Just before I was ready to go to bed last night I looked outside to see if I could see the northern lights. Nothing! I decided to wait a little and give it one more chance. There it was. The lights formed an arc to the north. I rushed back to the trailer and told Leslie if she wanted to see the northern lights, she needed to get her shoes on and grab her coat. At first she thought I was pulling her leg but she went along with it. We walked the short distance to the river’s edge where the trees didn’t block the view. As we stood there, both our eyes became used to the dark and the lights got brighter. While they never got to the spectacular stage, they did get quit bright. We watched them ebb and flow for about 30 minutes and then came in. It was late so we turned in. We stocked up on groceries as Fairbanks is the last “big” town for some time. First we drove across town to fill a propane tank. Our tanks are 40 pound tanks meaning they hold about 9 gallons of propane. When they are empty, they are easy to handle but after they are filled they are heavy. After propane we hit the FredMeyer and got groceries. We went back to the trailer and grilled a steak for dinner. It’s a little sad that tomorrow begins our trek south to the lower 48. Although we have been in Alaska for three months, there is still more to see and do. After dinner and after it got dark, I looked for the northern lights but there was nothing. We hit the bed as tomorrow we have to get moving.