Finding the Northern Lights

We heard that the Northern Lights would be visible in our area in October last year, so we planned a trip with the mission that we would not go home until we saw them. 

We optimistically packed blankets, water, hot cocoa, snacks, and our telescope one October weekend. With a guiding map app, we were off excitedly at about 9:30 p.m. and drove about 5-10 minutes to where we were told the Northern Lights would be visible. 

We found our way to the place through dark alleys and rocky roads. At some point, we lost our internet connection and started to feel that we should not be out there, thinking that something might jump out of the road and slam into our car and that we should turn around and go home. It could be the introvert in us kicking in or the fear of the unknown. But with good faith and we don't give up, everything will be well since our car has gas and is full of food. ^-^

Once we realized we could be in the wrong place since we parked in a very lit area, I texted a friend who told me she was also searching for the Northern Lights. Luckily, she was already around the area and agreed to meet us. We followed her and ended up in a farming community, far away from the city light, and it was dark. Thanks to the full moon, which gave us light, that's why this was the best place to see the Northern Lights. 

We parked, set up the telescope, put blankets on the ground by the sidewalk, served food, and patiently waited for the Northern Lights. We were told that they would not be visible to the naked eye and that we would have to take pictures of the sky everywhere to see them. That's the only way to determine if the Northern Lights are where we are. With four cellphones, one mounted in the telescope, we took and checked pictures for three hours but did not see anything. It was not helping that it was very cloudy. 

At 1:00 am, we still couldn't see the Northern Lights, so we started packing. Besides, my friend has left, and it looks like we were just the only ones in the area.  But that's when the sky started clearing out, and we decided to stay a little longer with caution to take more pictures because you may never know. Besides, we did not want to go home empty-handed. After 10-15 minutes of taking photos, we finally saw these images below from one of our cell phones:

                       

We were so happy that we stayed another 10 minutes, hoping to get more pictures of the Northern lights. But it seemed nature was telling us to head home already because it started getting cloudy again, and we wanted to quit while we were ahead. So, we headed home. But wait, we did not; we went to a place closer to home, thinking we might see the Northern Lights around our area. Besides, we couldn't just go home and go to bed with all the excitement after seeing those pictures. So we parked and took more photos of the sky for 10-15 minutes, and no northern lights appeared on our phones. So we decided to really head home. 

When we got home after unpacking the car, we had early morning snacks and were in bed at 3 a.m. Luckily, it was the weekend! Of course, we shared the photos with family and friends, announcing that we had seen the Northern Lights. We plan to go on a trip to see the Northern Lights with our naked eyes, hopefully soon.

What a relief! All those packing, driving, and the time spent taking/checking pictures paid off. That confirmed the saying, "Good things come for those who wait." Thank you, Northern Lights, for showing us your wonderful colors. Until next time ...