Northern Lights from Chena Hot Springs ~ Alaska

One of the best places to see the Northern Lights is an hour from Fairbanks at Chena Hot Springs Resort, as there is little light pollution. To get the best views, there is a snow-cat that will take you 2 or so miles to a butte. You can leave at 9 or 10 and get back at 2 or 3 am! Luckily they have two large yurts with furnaces and hot drinks so you can take a break and thaw out a bit. The biggest problem is the camera, as they freeze too but if you take them in to thaw you risk fogging the lens… inside and out. That knocks out the rest of your night!

It was very dark when we arrived at the top, as the moon had not yet risen. We all tried not to use flashlights, as they ruin other people’s photos. SO I fell into deep snow right off. I held up the camera by the tripod! But I was worried that I’d be hopelessly wet. Actually, it is so dry that the snow didn’t stick to me or melt into my boots. It sort of seems like fake snow, but it is just that dry. One kid wanted to make snowballs and his mom was trying to explain that it was too dry. Poor guy didn’t understand why they couldn’t just add water, and the mom was at a loss as to how to explain it to him!