Libby Henderson Photography & Travel Blog

Fairbanks

March, 2023

I'm so happy to be back to my second favorite place on earth.... Fairbanks, Alaska! (for anybody wondering, Walloon Lake, MI is my forever-favorite.)

My favorite travel partner and Solar Sister, Julie - drove into Chicago and we flew out together; stopping in Seattle, arriving in Fairbanks.... with so much drama.

Here's the long saga of the day's dramatic events. Read only if you want to! Or just skip to beautiful photos!

Departure day Thursday 3/16 into the wee hours of 3/17

Day started with a 5 am text saying our flight from ORD to FAI is delayed 2 hours due to “crew issues”. Up and online with Alaska Airlines. Discussed options. Decided 1/2 hour was enough to make the connection because the gates were next to each other and we were in first-class. *just wait.... we have reasons for first class! Two more delays, so we called them. No first-class available on the next flight, sea to fai. So we lose our first class.

At least the car to the airport was early, and the drive was easy.

At the airport, another delay. And another. Now leaving at around 4 pm. Booked on sea to fai leaving at 9 pm, seats in coach, row 16.

At the gate ready to board, our boarding passes were flagged—something about our second flight being changed, and our boarding pass didn’t work. Phone calls from the gate agent to headquarters and it “should” work now. We get back to the boarding agent, and we were flagged again. It said “already boarded” but we were standing right there! Omg seriously.

Finally left Chicago on route to Seattle.

Free complimentary wine time, and actually, a good dinner!

Arrive to sunset in Seattle. Beautiful.

This will be our last time in the Alaska Air lounge. They’ve changed the rules. Boo.

Gorgeous views of the planes and the mountains in the distance. Seattle is so cool.

Seattle to Fairbanks. Separate seats in coach. Both windows ...One on the right side of plane. We are hoping the middle seat person will trade with us!

…and it worked! At least we were together and on the right side of the plane!!

Next stop… ALASKA!! and 20 degrees below zero.

Middle seat claustrophobia sucks. And seriously. Darn near a panic attack going on. This is why Julie and I both try always to upgrade to first class. We're both claustrophobic and it just makes these long flights so much easier. I'm thinking I'm over Alaska Airlines.

RANT OVER!

On the way up here, we could see a faint aurora out the window and as soon as we landed, we saw tons of stars. We got home to our cabin at around 2:00 am and immediately got dressed for sub-zero and started shooting. It was faint, but there!

Sleep is overrated in the Arctic tundra, but still, we tried. At 5 am Julie woke me and said we've got beautiful activity! She was right!

This one was taken with my iPhone. Amazing!

Sometimes scary faces show up in the aurora formations. This one looks like it's a demon about to eat our house!

...and here's our guardian angel watching over us.

Friday, March 17

I don't think this phenomenon will last much longer, (above freezing temps are predicted) but I love the giant snow puffs in the trees.

This was taken out in our back yard - that still has probably 3 feet of snow on the ground.

After Julie did some remote work in the morning, we went to grab lunch and do some erands. Lunch at our favorite Thai Restaurant, Lemongrass Thai! Best Thai food I've ever found. I had GAENG PA-NANG, which is Pa-nang curry with rice in coconut milk with ground peanuts, kaffir lime leaves, and basil cooked with chicken. So delicious.

We visited our favorite tea place, Sipping Streams Tea Co. Sweet matcha tea was delicious! I also bought a few things to take home - specifically wanted to get their Thousand-Mile Tea blend. Here's the story from their website: This tea is the official tea of the Yukon Quest International Dog Sled Race. This high-energy tea is perfect for the Yukon Quest Musher or anyone who needs natural energy for 1,000 miles. In Arctic regions, tea has long been used by mushers, bush pilots, and villagers for health and nutrition. From Fairbanks, Alaska in the USA to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory in Canada, wherever the journey begins and ends, one cup is enough.

Groceries, a trip to the Love, Alaska sign (to reconnoiter for potential night photography) and then home for a much needed nap. Woke up to the slow sunset's beauty from our deck.

Another night of northern lights

Two nights in a row! Can we do two WEEKS in a row?

We were outside checking the sky and the date until about 10:30 pm and it wasn't looking good. Julie checked at midnight and 2 am, nothing. I checked at 3, and VOILA! Clear skies and northern lights! We took a few shots in the yard, then drove to town to see what we could capture with a few foregrounds we wanted.

Backyard purples and greens

The campus at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks - and the Museum of the North

iPhone shot at our cabin

That's me at the Musher's Cabin

This LOVE ALASKA sign is right by Pike's Waterfront Lodge. We tried twice last night, but the first time it was cloudy; the second time the stars were out but the aurora was fading. We'll try again when there's a bigger aurora storm. You can barely see the green blobs in the sky here! TONS of light pollution here, as this is in a very congested area of hotels and the airport. The sign is actually across the frozen Chena River from where I was standing. Stay tuned!

Saturday, March 18

The temps fluctuate here so much! For example, this morning it was 1 degree F and now it's 30 degrees. It also fluctuates wildly from in-town to up here on the ridge. Driving up, we went from 15 degrees and just a few minutes later up here on Chena Ridge it is 30! The break-up will happen early this year, they say.

We ran errands again, needing to add air to our tires. OMG what a fiasco! We went to 5 different gas stations and nobody has air! Even though there were a few signs for "free air" -- Finally we stopped at a Jiffy Lube and said - can you do us a favor! And they were so kind! They did it for free. Safe now for more driving!

Then we went to Big Ray's - a store that carries all kinds of wonderful extreme temp. Alaska gear. I found boots I'd been hoping for! They're rated to -44 degrees! And a cute hat with ear flaps.

Then we had lunch at our favorite Indian/Pakistani restaurant in Fairbanks called Spice It Up. Homemade fresh naan bread and butter chicken. Yum!

Tonight we have plans to go aurora chasing with Ronn and Marketa; they always find the openings in the clouds and fantastic viewing spots. And WOW did we find the spot! Here's a sampling of some of the amazing stuff. It was going all night and skies stayed clear where we were on Quartz Lake, southeast of Fairbanks. There was a brief period of Lady Aurora really dancing which was the best thing ever - and I wish I'd done a time lapse! But alas - not this time.

Sunday, March 19

Slept in, but not enough.... then went to the University to see if we could spot Denali. It was a bright, clear, warm day, almost 40 degrees. From up high where the University of Alaska-Fairbanks is, we could see the Alaska Range and got some rather hazy shots.

The "Loader" came today and quickly cleared off the entire driveway and parking area of all the snowpack from the winter. It was loud and amazing to watch! Something that doesn't happen at home!

We had a problem with our rental vehicle, one of the tires kept getting low.... so today we contacted the rental car company and they had a nice Ford Explorer for no additional cost. Went to lunch at the East Ramp Pizza, which overlooks the airport - then got our new rental car. All set for aurora chasing tonight!

Sunday night/Monday morning's aurora was EPIC

There's no tired like aurora chasing tired. SUCH a true statement. I was wiped out and was actually hoping for no aurora so I could sleep! Shhhhhh don't tell Julie! But alas, I couldn't sleep and then we were checking every hour or so! This first pic was my first test shot at around 2:30 am. See the pillars shooting up? That's what we're looking for to exhibit active aurora, not just a green band. We knew she was heating up a little, but we actually thought it would be just a small, weak show.

The three shots below are all iPhone 14 pro max shots, enhanced only a little in the iPhone's photo software.

I think this is one of the most beautiful shots I've ever taken.

We could see it with our naked eyes, but with long exposures and fast moving aurora, you never know if you have captured it until you look over all the photos! And I did capture this one!!!!

All the experts talk about the different colors, and this one with it's dark purples is mystifying.

Usually the colors are green (of course) and light purple/pink. But this! Just amazing!

Typical center pink of an aurora burst.

Looks like green and pink raining down on the forest.

Very early in the aurora's evolution on this night

3:19 am - just a low band of green was visible from our location. If we had a better, low horizon northerly view, there was probably some structure and activity. Brightening to this color green.

At this point we knew the chances were great of it "popping" to overhead, fast-moving amazingness

3:46 am - the green was spreading upward and forming more and more structure

Coronas

4:45 am - there were overhead coronas everywhere. So much movement and color that photos don't do it justice.

This was spectacular! Greens, purples, streaks, blobs, even green-glowing snow. 5:00 am and it went on like this until breakup started. What a night!

Monday, March 20

I was sooooo tired! Slept until 1:30 pm and finally feel human again! We ran out on this 38-degree day to a different vantage point down Alaska 3, the George Parks Highway, and to check out one of our favorite north-view pull-offs to see if it was plowed. Mt. Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley) was out in all its glory!

I used up some leftovers after we bought these gorgeous oyster mushrooms, combined it all into a delicious chicken-mushroom-pasta dinner. Complete with italian pizza bread and spruce tip soda.

Just to show you the massive snow piles on the sides of the road - here's the road sign to our cabin. It's crazy! But most of the roads are very well-maintained down to snowpack. It's too cold here in winter for salt to do much good, so they often spread sand or gravel to help with traction. Otherwise I don't think they see the actual road surface until June in the back roads locales!

Late Night Chasing

Watching the data and the auroracams, we decided it was time for a mini-road trip to North Pole. We found the aurora there - even though we didn't find the perfect location. It was just ok - especially with the small show that happened. Below are the 'best of'.

First iPhone shot showed structure and pillars. It was not very strong, but we walked out onto the frozen lake anyway.

It was like someone kept turning on and off the BZ switch! All in all, tonight's aurora was very pastel and mild. Still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!

Tuesday, March 21

Catching up on sleep, and a delicious meal at the Chowder House, consisting of cream of broccoli soup and these delicious crab rolls.

Did a little day-drinking (haha!) at the Ursa Major Distillery in Fairbanks.

Wednesday, March 22

Another catnap - then off to meet Aaron for some serious aurora chasing into the wee hours of Wednesday! We drove up the Steese Highway to mile marker 60 - which is past Chatinika, Poker Flats, and the Cripple Creek Campground. WAY down a road to nowhere. It was so dark - and then the sky absolutely exploded. I keep saying "it was the best ever" but this really was!

Into the morning of March 22....

The road was light-painted by a passing truck

Julie observing the beauty in all directions

Not sure what to call this but - wow!

We call this "aurora rain"

What do you see in this corona? Perhaps a faerie?

I see two dolphins playing in this one.

This happened at the end of the night, back home.

A quick dinner, some pretty sunset shots, and trip to Fred Meyer for supplies, then hopefully some rest tonight.

Gotta love a local newspaper that, along with weather forecasts, gives aurora forecasts and even some Sourdough Jack humor.

Thursday, March 23

The first glimpse tonight was through the clouds...and this is what we got. The aurora looks rather blown-out but it was strongly lit and definitely there.

We tried to sleep, but then woke up at 3:45 am to .... amazingness! Feel free to oooooh and ahhhhh!

Today's adventure included Borealis Basecamp for lunch and a little explore! What a great place.

Crispy pork belly sandwich

Corn chowder

A trip up the Elliott Highway wouldn't be complete without a stop at the Hilltop Truck Stop for PIE! And the Fox springs to fill up drinking water.

Last stop for the day at Sipping Streams Tea Company for a matcha tea. Yummmm.

I don't want to jinx it but.... the storm of the century is upon us!

Aurora alerts from everywhere, data is freaking amazing, and we're in ALASKA! Whoooo hoo!

Wee hours of 3/24

This is IT! Game on - we have huge aurora predictions I've even heard a possible G4 storm, KP8.33. WHAAAATTTTT?? I have never ever ever ever heard of this! If it pans out, and IF we get clear skies, we are in for a lifetime show.

UPDATE: It panned out!!

We waited for sunset then darkness at "our spot" which is basically a pull off of one of the main highways here, but it's a loop and goes back behind trees and hills so headlights from passing vehicles don't mess up our photos. It's a beautiful spot to see the sunset (and a lovely sun pillar!) *above*

------------------------------------------------------------------------

We knew, according to the data, that as soon as it was dark enough we'd see aurora. We were right - so this shot (below) happened. You see the faintest piece of sunset at the bottom, the bright crescent moon, Venus, and aurora! *below*

This is also still twilight but looking north not west. The colors were shaping up to be epic - blues, greens, purples, magentas, pinks.....

iPhone 14 ProMax 24mm, f/1.78, 3 seconds, ISO 10000

EARTHQUAKE!!!

From the University of Alaska-Fairbanks Alaska Earthquake Center -- Magnitude 0.6 - 10 miles S of Ester

March 24, 2023 01:40:46 AKDT (March 24, 2023 09:40:46 UTC)
64.7089°N 147.9142°W Depth 14.8 miles (23 km)

At around 1:40 am, Julie and I were standing out in our yard watching and photographing the aurora. The photo at the left was taken at the time that the quake hit. Now, this was a tiny quake, 0.6 in magnitude but we were outside and only 3 miles from the epicenter; and it was dark -- suddenly we both looked at each other and said, "what the heck was THAT?" We both experienced a short "shift" in our vision it seemed. It was so bizarre!

Otherworldly. These coronas tho!

Another fave iPhone shot from tonight - The Big Dipper in an Aurora bowl

Dontcha just hear Prince in your head when you look at this, singing "Purple Rain"?!

Shapes and movement!

Look at those colors!!

I've been an "aurora chaser" for around 8 years now; it quickly went from being a bucket list desire to a complete obsession. But as an aurora photographer who has been to Fairbanks 4 times, Iceland, northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, northern Michigan and the U.P. as well as Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia - I have never, never, never seen anything like this week. With last night as a fitting culmination, this will go down in my personal history books as the best time of my night-sky life! Those of you who knew my late husband Mark know that he would be just as excited and happy for me even from afar. It was a spiritual, magical night where I felt like I could reach out and touch the hand of God - or at least my sweet Mark looking down on me and smiling!

We are now on 8 nights in a row of aurora, and counting!

Saturday, March 25

More aurora tonight! Unbelievable 9 nights in a row! This was taken on our deck, just under the eaves of the house. So nice to be able to walk outside and look up to these spectacular lights.

Too tired to stay up much longer - but according to Julie and the data, it was strongest when we captured this shot!

Day trip to check out a spot in North Pole, then we went to Pagoda - a Chinese restaurant in North Pole that got great reviews. It was definitely fantastic! The General Tso's chicken was tasty and the portion size was 3x normal! Leftovers for days! The cast iron tea pot is on my list of wants. I'm thinking maybe I'll thrift-store search for something like this!

Julie and I have both decided we're in love with matcha tea lattes. We've been enjoying them made at Sipping Streams, and we've been learning about how to make it the right way. New hobby! I was in the market for one so....this is perfect. So many health benefits, and delicious too!

Sunday, March 26

We got aurora-skunked for the first time this trip .... and probably will be the same for tonight. I think we'll come home!

The photo at the left was a test shot from last night to see if there was any green glow at all. Nope, just a quarter-moon, a bunch of stars, and a bit of haze. The clouds cleared off and the solar windspeed was great - but the bz stayed north so there was absolutely nothing!

Monday, March 27

Wondering why I've been quiet the last 3 days? Well I'll tell you anyway! I injured my knee and couldn't walk for a couple of days. Did I do it climbing a mountain in Alaska? Dropping down slopes for the best photo? Or even walking across the icy driveway? Nope. None of those. I twisted it wrong in the house and sprained it. Good grief do I feel stupid! But Julie to the rescue - she ran around town to thrift stores and pharmacies and found me a cane, an ace bandage, and a great ice pack. She switched rooms with me so I could be all on one floor and not up in the loft. She did all the laundry and made the beds. She brought me things while I lay lame on the couch all day! I couldn't have asked for a better travel partner for so many reasons!

Luck was on our side - and although we were socked in with clouds each night that I was injured, we were supposed to get a snowstorm today and it never happened. It was around 40 degrees in Fairbanks, and no new snow. So no flight delays!

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