Winter Alaska

Borealis Basecamp to Sheep Mountain Lodge

Mission accomplished. The cloudless sky delivered us the Northern Lights (and we didn’t have to get up at 2 am….the lights came early, from around 10.30 pm.

They were amazing. Not that strong..in fact when you look at them with a naked eye, you just see white streaks across the sky. Somehow the camera turns them green.

I could even see them (admittedly very faintly) from my bed!

Sorry for so many Northern Lights pictures but it was a very exciting experience. ( even if my fingers almost froze off).

Today was a travel day with lots of beautiful views along the way. A quick flight to Anchorage, followed by lunch at a lovely Greek restaurant

The group are all Americans. There are three siblings with their wives/husbands, and a grandmother, daughter and granddaughter (the grandmother is 80 and is amazing for her age). Our guide is of German descent but has lived in Alaska for more than 20 years.

After lunch we travelled beside the Chugach mountains and along the Matanuska river which ends in a glacier, one of the hundreds of glaciers in Alaska.

We reached our accommodation, Sheep Mountain Lodge, which is in the middle of nowhere. This is what it looks like and this is the view from my room

One of our group, Drew, taught us a new way to pop a champagne cork (Robyn, are watching this?). He sabered off the top by running a knife up the bottle seam. A clean cut…very impressive

Sunset at the Sheep Mountain Lodge…..

We’ve driving up the road later tonight to see if we can see the Northern Lights again. You’ll know the results tomorrow.

awaywiththebirds

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13 responses to “Winter Alaska”

  3. Glad you saw the aurora! I was worried from your previous dream riddled entry that you suffering cold weather delirium.

  5. They are stunning photos Sara – Thrilled for all of us :))) All the photos are brilliant.
    What an adventure you are having Sara :))xxx

  7. So pleased that you got to see the lights – they certainly look wonderful. How strange that the camera turns them green!
    Just got home from seeing The Lehman Brothers – an excellent play but probably a bit too long. Tell you all about it when you get home.
    Love you xxxx

  8. Your photos of the lights almost made it look like a green tornado !! Still looks awefully cold to me ! Xxxxx

  10. How fantastic – lucky you. It all looks so amazing! When does the walking start? Xx

  11. Are you insane Sara – it looks too too cold! I agree with James’ comment ‘tell her she’s dreaming’. re: Champagne bottle opening in sub zero temp – video buffered for 30 min – I think I can open a bottle faster than that!