March magic

The weather has been such an intimate part of my nights in Whitehorse. It has given the aurora chase a new meaning for me, and I have found so much more love for the process and the journey because of the challenge and opportunity from the weather here.

Our weather moves very quickly and changes very quickly. It adds such a special dynamic to the aurora chase, a further depth. The feeling of reaching clear sky after a drive or seeing the aurora appear in a break in the clouds is an incredible feeling. It’s a real magic that differs so greatly from wide open clear skies. It is a mystery and one that matches the mystique of the aurora herself.

For all of the nights of having our location determined by the weather, this night was not one of those. We left town under clear sky, and drove west under clear sky the entire way out.

We arrived to a beautiful, almost invisible-to-the-eye, arc of aurora across the northern horizon, and yet, it seemed almost inconsequential against this surreal beauty of the stars, the mountains and frozen lake.

That timing couldn’t have been more perfect. The time to soak up such a sky was just enough, and then the aurora danced, and danced, and danced.

Finally as our night with the aurora wound down, the moon rose in the south east. A warm glow creeped up in the sky, and the softest orange light began kissing the sides of mountains.

While we drove back to town, we couldn’t help but to stop at the edge of the highway to gaze at the rising orange moon through binoculars, and further along stopping to say an early morning hello the wild horses.