The Aurora Borealis on Wednesday morning were absolutely stunning! Did you see it? If you didn’t see it in person, I’m sure by now you’ve seen some images from it. I was lucky enough to be in Ely, MN that night, and the air was about as clear as I’ve ever seen. I’d gotten ready for bed and was all but asleep at midnight when I checked my email and saw a Red Alert for aurora in the northern hemisphere. Padding my way to the door, I put on my glasses and looked to see a huge shimmering ribbon stretched all across the sky!

I quickly got dressed and rushed out to chase the dancing colors. To start, I went to an overlook in Ely, over Miner Lake. The light was gorgeous there, but I wanted to get away from the city lights. My next stop was Shagawa Lake, less than a mile away. The light was beautiful there too, though it had backed off a bit. I stayed there for a while, laying on my back to watch the shimmering curtains as my camera snapped away a short timelapse. When the colors kept coming, I decided to head out to one of my favorite hikes at Kawishiwi Falls, just up the Fernberg, east of town. It turned out to be an amazing night!