The Aurora Borealis

Last night I finally got to see the Aurora Borealis!!! I was so excited, I've been waiting since I got to Alaska to see them. Unfortunately this is not my picture.. just a picture from online but this is what it looked it. My camera had a hard time capturing it. Not that it matters too much because it will forever be a picture in my brain. 

Danielle and I went out at 10pm to try and see if we could see anything from the lake. We started heading down and couldn't see much. It was still a bit cloudy but we could see some green on the horizon. We walked back to the house and Danielle didn't think we'd see them again so we went to bed. I woke up again around 11:40 and went and looked out my bedroom window and sure enough right above the house and across the sky was the Northern Lights. I couldn't do anything but stare and wonder. It was so beautiful. The sky was a beautiful green. It did not seem to be moving in huge waves like I've heard they do but they were definitely moving slowly. I watched for about 10ish minutes and then got back in bed. I woke up again several times during the night to look out my window and nothing had changed. AFter 2am the reports said it would be difficult to see them again so I stopped looking. To my surprise, Ron messages us this morning telling us that at 5am they were amazing and just lighting up the sky and moving like crazy. I was so bummed I missed it. But hopefully we'll get another chance to see them tonight! I am so blessed to have these amazing experiences. I thank God for it all!

Also, tonight after school a couple staff members are driving across some lakes to head to another village called Kokhanok for their carnival. It should be a great time and I promise to fill you in about it as soon as I can. Just keep your fingers crossed we don't freeze driving over on the ATV's and that we make it there safely. It'll be about a 2 hour drive. Danielle and I are not 100% comfortable driving this thing manually. Having to switch gears is not something either of us are accompanied with. So say a few prayers for us!! 

When looking at this map, we are traveling from Nondalton (up North) down to NewHalen (a bit South) then over to Kokhanok (East). First we'll be crossing Six Mile Lake and then Lake Iliamna. Just so you have a visual :)