Most people, when they arrive at a major age milestone, seek warm weather.
Number One wanted to see the Northern Lights for his 70th birthday!
I forgot how cold a -19 (yes, that is a minus sign before the nineteen) really feels. I experienced that kind of cold previously, but it wasn’t by choice, as it was in early March 2018.
In order to view the Northern Lights, you have to go north–as in UP the mountain. Once we survived the jostling and bouncing of the snow-cat ride, the full moon lit the Seussian landscape of trees burdened under the weight of what looked like giant snow monsters, climbing to the sky.
We stayed on that %$%^*^$ cold mountain until 3:30 a.m. We saw faint white colors and some green streaks of the Northern Lights, but not the vibrant colors that you see in National Geographic pictures. Yet, it was a great “Anventure” as my granddaughter used to call adventures.
We can only, sort of, take the Northern Lights off our bucket list, because we are greedy and we want to see the colors in all their glory. (So, I guess we are going to Iceland for my 70th.)
The fun did not stop with the lights.
The hazy white in the background is not snow, but it is mist from the Chena Hot Springs. Number One was not brave enough to plunge into the hot springs in 13 degree weather. (Oh, 13 degrees felt warm and comfortable to us at this point) The snow creatures that the mist created, looked as if they were ready to pounce as they guarded the spring.
The buildings look like cupcakes frosted with a thick layer of butter cream frosting.
No, this is not a black and white picture. This is high noon in Northern Alaska in early March in full color. The trees fill an endless, forbidding landscape. I really don’t want to meet some of the inhabitants of that wilderness, they might think I said, meat, not meet.
Snow! The snow flakes were wet and fat and I was soaked, but our hyperborean adventure was fun and truly memorable. My dad knew his hats. This high-fashion, orange chapeau kept my head warm and cozy.
Hyperborean is my second new word. It means very cold. That is number two of my ten new words!