The Northern Lights

This is going to conclude my catch up. 

I'm going to be regretfully leaving Fairbanks, possibly even tomorrow. Rain has returned the last few days, but is supposed to be sunny or partly cloudy this week, with rain coming in again next weekend. I really do need to move on. The weather really is cooling rapidly; they are predicting "rain mixed with snow" for tonight, and temperatures down into the 30s. It's time to move south.

Aurora borealis

The high point of my stay here in Fairbanks has to be seeing the Northern Lights. I'd missed them the night that we were in Denali. Renée and Cho had seen them, and I was so envious! Cho had an app that he used on his phone to alert him to aurora forecasts, so I downloaded that, and have been checking it religiously.

Unfortunately, good aurora sightings weren't until the end of the month. There were one or two nights where there was supposed to be "moderate" activity, but those nights were overcast. I was beginning to despair that I'd be able to see this phenomenon.

However, it DID clear, and I was treated to some amazing sights.

It's like nothing I've experienced.

The green color is completely silent. If you didn't look up, you'd never know it was there. It's like green mist high in the sky: shifting, streaming, disappearing.

It's eerie and magical.

The displays that I've seen stretch across the sky in broad bands. They are huge — impossible to get in one frame of the camera. Occasionally there have been more curtain-like forms, but I haven't seen the rippling color that I've seen in some videos. 

I'm totally not complaining. I just need more experience!

One time, it seemed like the whole horizon glowed with green, like after the sunset of a green sun. The band slowly lifted and expanded, like rising mist. I imagined the night sky above the Emerald City of Oz would look like that!

Some of the vaguely curtain-like displays. NOTE the Big Dipper just behind (thanks, Renée for pointing this out — I was concentrating so much on the Lights I didn't see that at first!)

I've seen the Lights now on a string of clear nights, and they have not lost their appeal (although getting up and out of the warm sleeping bag at midnight is harder, as it is getting colder at that hour!)

Every time is different.

Sometimes they're more active: the patterns change rapidly, so that by the time you point the camera at one place in the sky, they're glowing elsewhere. Sometimes they seem to just hang there. Sometimes they seem blown by an invisible wind.

They are eerie and deeply memorable.

I am so glad I have been able to see them; impressions I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

First frost on dandelion leaves

Final thoughts

I know that I have to leave. Winter is coming. Earlier this week when I took my morning walk, there was frost on the grass (at 9:30am!). This nip in the air will only get more severe. Here in the Interior, the temperature can get down to -70°F.

It's the only place I've ever been where the weather report gives the temperature as "In downtown Fairbanks, the temperature is 50° ABOVE" (like clarification is needed)!

I don't want to leave, though. I'd like to experience the winter here.

I've looked at real estate. $179,000 will get a 1/3-acre lot on the Chena River, not far out of downtown. That's prime property right on the river. Haven't looked into what building costs are here, or what building codes or regulations are, but there are shipping containers for sale or lease... I've seen some very interesting homes made from shipping containers!

I've also investigated at rental property. I could get a cabin here for $450/month (6-month lease from October 1 – April 30). Or a furnished room for $800/month, all utilities including high-speed internet included. It's an intriguing thought.

I'm so tempted, but I've committed to house-sitting in February, and it doesn't seem to be quite worth it to do it this year. It would also mean getting the car "winterized" — it's more than just getting an engine block heater...
http://www.city-data.com/forum/alaska/775829-winterizing-our-vehicles.html

I will have to think on this and see what my options are in the future. In exploring property options up here, one of the biggest realizations is that the nomad lifestyle has taken hold. I don't want to settle down anywhere right now. I'm sure this will change, but for now, I love the ability to stay where I want for as long as I like, then be able to leave and go somewhere else.

That said, I cannot explain the hold this place has on me.
It feels more comfortable, more "home" than any other place I've been.

I realize there is a trade-off between settling in one place and having the freedom to move around, but for now the ability to move is paramount. I can only hope that the friendships I've developed over the past years will outlast my wandering foot.

What's next?

I'm a little at odds. Having spent the last 18 months (and before that 35 years) thinking and dreaming of Alaska, now I have to start thinking, "What's next?"

I should see some other parts of Alaska. People keep asking me if I've been to Haines, or Homer, or Southeast Alaska. I'll be through some new Alaskan and Canadian territory on the way back to California.

I'm not sure of my schedule. It's dependent on weather, on how fast I travel and what there is to see.

I have options: I can continue with the original plan, which was to head to Anchorage, spend some time on the Kenai Peninsula, then head back to Glennallen on the Copper River, back up to Tok, Tetlin Junction and Whitehorse, then cut down on the Cassiar Highway to Prince George and Vancouver. I suppose I could easily spend a month there!

The other option is to go ahead and take the ferry (Marine Highway) south, but my preference is to leave this for another trip when traveling a bit lighter (summer backpack, and more pre-planned).

(Anchorage is a bit of a priority. After upgrading my Dropbox account, something happened with my laptop. I can't navigate in the "Finder" anymore; the windows freeze up. Everything is backed up, and I've made do with workarounds, but I'm nervous about correcting this without some hand-holding, so going to the Apple store in Anchorage — the only one in Alaska — is a priority stop.)

I'm feeling a bit of a letdown right now. When you've looked forward to something for so long, and then achieve it, there's an initial period of elation, followed by a warm glow. I've been enjoying that for the last six weeks, but now I need to leave. I don't want to, but I have to, so it's emotionally messy.

I need to do some long-range planning.

The best thing about this trip is that I do have such freedom. If the weather is too cold, on a whim I could head to New Mexico, or southern California. I can go to New York or New Jersey or Maryland and do the family history research I've always wanted to do. I can visit cousins in Massachusetts, Nashville and the Carolinas. I can head to Iceland, Greenland, Finland or New Zealand.

It's an exciting time, but NOTHING will compare with this trip.
It's been perfect, and I'm not done yet. I'm so glad I did not cut it short when the house burned.

And I'm glad I'm still on the road.

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The House

For those of you who want to know... we're in a waiting period right now. The downstairs is gutted; the charred decking is gone. Upstairs, the damaged asbestos-ridden drywall and kitchen cabinets have been removed. Presumably, it is drying out in the hot weather.

We went with the insurance company architect/engineer for the structural plans. Contractor Steve didn't like the first draft of the plans that came through, so he kicked them back for revisions (two more weeks). The plans for re-framing and roofing are now complete, but it looks like it will be the end of September before the permit can be issued by the county. So we are in a bit of a waiting period. Steve is lining up people to work on the place, but there is a delicate dance with the insurance company, which seems to have different ideas about how much things cost. He has a meeting on Friday (9/9) with the insurance adjuster to negotiate on this issue and get the names of some subcontractors who are supposed to be able to get things done for the "approved" price. 

It will be a balancing act between scheduling/availability, cost and quality of work.

The plan is to have everything ready to go when the permit comes through. It's hard to wait, but this is the nature of the game.

Stay tuned.

The next post will be from somewhere else!

Maple leaves