Aurora Borealis

One of my high priority goals this summer was to see the Aurora Borealis one more time while I was still in Alaska. Just when I was beginning to think my luck had run out, last week the northern lights graced the skies with their elegance more spectacularly than I ever could have hoped for!

Aurora and fall colors

Aurora over my cabin 

At one point, the lights exploded, illuminating the night

I'm still learning how to find the best camera settings for photographing them, but I think I'm getting pretty close. The last image in the set above was featured on the US Department of the Interior's social media, and received over 22,000 likes on Instagram! Nothing like a little validation for some encouragement. 

This time, I also worked on trying to edit them to more lifelike colors, since the 10-second exposure of the camera picks up more light and color range than is visible to the human eye. The photo of the aurora over my cabin, and the last photo of the set have more true-to-life color, but the other two photos were too beautiful to edit down. :) Regardless of the camera's interpretation of the colors, the lights were as bright as I've ever seen them. My friend and I laid out in the deserted parking lot for over an hour watching as the bands of color danced above our heads.

The Future (is now)

Sunset over Savage River last week

At long last, my days in Alaska are coming to an end. Today is the beginning of my last week working in Denali National Park, and the last week of one of the best summers of my life. I think it goes without saying that I am devastated to leave -- and not just Denali, but this entire beautiful state and the communities of which I have become a part over the last 4 years.

Where do I even begin?

I came to Alaska at a critical point in my life, a point at which I was open to all the possibilities of existence in the world. And beyond just learning to fend for myself in this rough and wild place, I also grew into myself as an individual, an adult, and a woman. I came to Alaska to be closer to the roots of the connections between humans and nature, and that is what I found.

Seasons of adventure

The last two weeks have been busy beyond belief. Last weekend, one of my friends from college and her boyfriend came to visit for a few days, and they happened to come on our week of the craziest weather yet this year. It was the last week of August, and over a period of 3 days, we experienced all four seasons in one. But that didn't stop us from tackling all the adventure the weekend had to offer.

My first rapids!