March 17: Aurora Storm of the Century

Always an adventure when I go out. This time one of the two cars got stuck and had to be towed out. For once it was not me!

It was supposed to be a really awesome show again on this night.  The night before three of the other ladies in our group had gone to a location that had a few too many people and they also had a run in with some less-than-positive aurora watchers so tonight the ladies were looking for someplace more secluded and yet still dark.

Clipboard01

Our little group consisted of Mary, Pattie, Bree, Candy and myself in two cars. After some discussion we decided to head out to shoot at  Marys friend’s farm out on Chena Hot Springs Rd; she also happened to be driving the lead car with two passengers, Pattie and Bree, and I had Candy in my car following them.  Once we arrived at the driveway of the farm, I watched as Mary started to drive down the road that was supposed to be plowed.  I only got a few hundred feet before I decided I was go to back out before my car got stuck while Candy and I simultaneous agreed we could walk in.  However the lead car, a SUV-styled vehicle that was bigger and heavier than my little Freestyle, got stuck.

Thankfully Candy and I were (still) at the end of the road when a tow truck went whizzing by, just minutes after several attempts to dig the car out had failed. The driver said he needed to get fuel for his truck before attempting a rescue and the closest gas station was 20 miles away; we knew we had some time before he would get back so we took photographs for awhile. Candy and I hiked up the non-plowed road from the road to take shots since the aurora was already dancing.

Pattie, who carries a gun,  along with Candy and Bree hiked up to the farmhouse,  Mary was staying with her vehicle and close enough to see the road and I felt like I should stay closer to Mary since 1) I didn’t want her to be alone and 2) I also carry and wanted to be sure she was safe.  I found a nice spot just a bit away from her where I could still see her and her vehicle, which was turned off during the wait for the tow truck.  We got some shots and yelled back and forth about the amazing colors that we were seeing at just 9pm: “Did you see those purples?!” “Yes!!” And so on…..

After some time Bree came back to the car and was keeping Mary company so I had headed back towards the farm.  As I got closer to the house I could hear Pattie and Candy off in the near distance, but I had heard Bree mention an airboat among other things that were on the property that she had photographed to Mary, so I was trying to find those things and figure how to take pictures of them.

About an hour or so after we arrived the tow truck driver Stefan, from Romania, shows up to help us get Mary’s car out of the snow.  I noticed there was noise and/or lights so I headed back towards the car to see the rescue in action.  It turns out he got the tow truck STUCK TOO! I tried to get pictures of the attempt since the bright lights from her vehicle and the headlights/moose-lights from the truck made it hard to get pictures of the aurora.  Trying to take pictures with blinding headlamps shining at the camera is much harder than you might think!  I got one picture out of three different attempts to get a picture and it’s still fuzzy.  But there you go: Mary in her orange coat standing next to her car with the tow truck behind her. I like her coat a lot and have considered getting the same one!

DSC02229

Eventually the tow truck got out, then the driver used the truck to pack the snow down to make a path for her vehicle to get out and then he backed her car out LIKE A CRAZY MAN, but it worked!

Pattie and Candy had joined us by this time and we all jumped into vehicles and headed to the new location where we were treated with the most amazing light show I’ve ever seen.  Granted I’m new to this, but based on other reports for more seasoned chasers, it was definitely one of the best in decades or anyone’s recent memory.  The lights were so fast that I just watched them for much of the time since I knew I was not using the right settings to get such fast lights.  (I’ve learned about Aperture Priority since writing this and can’t wait for a chance to try it out with fast lights!)

Chena Hot Springs Road, images taken between mile 25 and mile 36. Fairbanks, Alaska.  Taken with a Sony a6000 and a Rokinon lens. These are some of my favorites, the rest are in my gallery.

DSC02099
   DSC02201      DSC02397  DSC02426 DSC02452 DSC02519 DSC02539 DSC02553 DSC02554          DSC02635 DSC02696
  DSC03011
DSC03043
  DSC03139
This entry was posted in Auroras, Life In Alaska. Bookmark the permalink.