Abrupt chaos, warm winds, and tripod tumbleweeds

On the run north to escape clouds around Whitehorse, our expected hour or so drive was interrupted out of nowhere about half way through with green and purple curtains raining down over us. We tucked into the nearest driveway and the entire sky filled with green curtains, arcs and vibrant pink edges.

While the aurora retreated into some quieter hours, we moved further up the highway for a better position with the weather for later in the night. Far to the north horizon, a spectacular lightning storm caught all our attention, the aurora still gently everywhere above us.

Almost immediately as we set up here, extended tripods that were not closely guarded were sent tumbling to the ground more times than I could keep count. It was quickly becoming almost comical. And at a temperature of 12°, these winds felt comfortable, almost late summerish, especially compared to the night around freezing two days earlier.

After a lot of patience and hope, the aurora gave us a second beautiful show. Curtains of green and purple again danced around us, and I think I loved the whole of the environment as much as the aurora itself tonight. It’s that magical part of the aurora chase - the wild and the power of nature.

On the way home, we fought the wind the entire way. I had not felt anything like that since a white knuckle drive in north Iceland 11 years earlier. But finally back and parked at home now, I relaxed my hands and surprised even myself at just how tense my hands had actually become.

A friend driving south that night messaged that their entire drive was just as intense, and that all the cruise ships to Skagway had skipped port because of the high winds, which was a nice little confirmation that it wasn’t just me wondering if I was being dramatic.