The Northern Lights can be maddeningly elusive. It’s not as if you can throw a switch and immediately conjure the breathtaking Aurora Borealis. About the best you can do is put yourself in a position to see ‘em when they do appear. That means heading north – and being persistently patient.
Make sure your camera’s battery is properly charged, shed your workaday world cynicism, and get ready to be blown away by these sublime solar winds. Here are some of the best places to see the show:
- Consider an Alaskan Northern Lights sojourn. Land in Anchorage and then head north to Talkeetna, this reporter’s favorite Alaskan enclave. If the weather’s right, you could well see the lights your first night here.
- Canada is a great perch from which to spy the sky, specifically remote Whitehorse, capital of the fabled Yukon Territory. What makes Whitehorse special is that the city is situated under the Aurora Oval, pretty consistently one of the best places on Planet earth to behold Aurora Borealis.
- Venture farther afield, to Iceland. Take a Super Jeep glacier ride, or dogsled over the frozen landscape. Bed down in an igloo hotel – and be bedazzled by the lights.
Whichever latitude you choose, better move quick. The Northern Lights are just about at their peak now. Come late March, they start to fade for the season.
Story by Jerry Chandler
(Image: ddkkpp)
