Alaskan Aurora Spree
Saturday-Sunday 8-16 November, 2025
The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, are magical to see even when they are not bright and colorful. Their appearance in the sky, constantly changing, makes you shiver with delight. When they intensify during magnetic storms, the aurora are absolutely breathtaking.
Seeing the aurora has been on our bucket list for many years, but we had been stymied by the practical challenges. The aurora are largely unpredictable more than a day or two in advance. We hadn't felt that we had the resources to attempt something that had such a high probability of failure.
Last February, we heard from a friend who traveled to Alaska to see the aurora. He stayed in Fairbanks, one of only three cities in the world that is right at the latitude where aurora are most likely to be visible. He worked remotely during the day, and had a wonderful time going out to see the aurora at night.
Suddenly, the stakes seemed much lower, and the impossible seemed possible. We could give ourselves an entire week to try to see the aurora, while expending only a couple of days off work, by working from Fairbanks. Plane flights and a week in an extended stay motel could be acquired with credit card points and thus no cash outlay. There was a good chance the skies would be overcast all week, and we would just spend the time in our room working and watching movies. But there was also a chance that we could see the aurora!
As it turned out, we were amazingly lucky!
The incredible Alaskan beauty that we saw is featured on the pages linked below:
Our Arrival in Fairbanks and visit to Chena Hot Springs
Eric's photo of the Chena River.
Incredible Aurora Borealis, during a strong magnetic storm.
Since we had been so lucky with the aurora, we decided to try to see another elusive Alaskan attraction, Denali
The Great One.
Our visit to the Museum of the North
Bowhead Whale Skeleton. Photo by Eric.
Map of Alaskan excursion.
We had an absolutely outstanding, magical experience. We could not have had better luck with the conditions. We had a warm and comfortable place to sleep and work, a warm and comfortable place to enjoy the aurora with a knowledgeable and friendly guide, and a car that could handle the Alaskan November weather and take us safely between those two warm and comfortable places. There are no words to describe the experience of seeing the aurora emerge above and around you. Our world is amazing and beautiful, replete with endless wonder.
Total distance driven: 1,146 km/712 mi
Geocaches found: 5