Last night, I was on the road for exactly four and a half hours...which, if you ask me, is way too many. But the most amazing part of the horrible drive was the faint hues of the Aurora Borealis...the Northern Lights.
Now, I have never, up until this point, seen the Northern Lights, so it took me a while to figure out what I was even seeing. At first I thought it was the moon shining ridiculously brightly over a long horizon of clouds. But that seemed strange since it was more like the entire north eastern horizon was glowing. And as I precariously drove down Highway 81 toward Platteville, I noticed that the glow was changing, growing, moving. Then it hit me...and my foot hit the brakes.
After nearly causing a few accidents, I pulled off the road to a gravel road, parked and got out. There I stood, in the middle of nowhere just staring at the sky. What a sight it was. It wasn't that bright or clear, but still...amazing.
So, if you're in a clear area tonight, be sure to look up that the north eastern sky and maybe you too can experience the wonder.
For the record, I'M JEALOUS!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's been one of my life goals to see the northern lights. I'm actually part of a email listserv that reports the solar flare activity that produces these northern lights. I've been getting the emails recently about a large storm facing earth, northern lights visible from middle US..... And on top of it, the Gemenid Meteor Shower...
So I race outside and look to the north, and see about 10 stars total, along with a yellowish haze. I then think, "Right, you wanted to see the northern lights someday, the nighttime sky fascinates you, yet you moved SOUTH to a LARGE CITY with LIGHT POLLUTION. Smart, Joyce. S-M-R-T Smart."
So anyway, I'm very glad you got to witness the glorious spectacle. Did you manage to pull out your camera and snap any pictures of it??? ;-)
Love you babe.
Negative on the pictures. I was camera-less...and cell-cam just wouldn't have done it any justice. Sorry!
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