Murphy Dome

What can i say other than it's been another great day in Fairbanks! Since i've been putting a lot of miles on the bike it was time for some upgrades. Just important things like a front fender, starting to get sloppy in the afternoon. A rear rack, have to haul gear and groceries some how. And the most important a handlebar mounted GPS, no explanation needed. I've been making bigger and bigger circles around Fairbanks, pretty soon i'll find myself in "the bush." I do have some pics from my rides but i'm waiting for some better ones, have forgot my camera on a couple longer rides. Been spending a lot of time in the Goldstream valley, which is next to the Tanana valley where most of Fairbanks is located. When i get out there and stop for a break sometimes there is nothing but silence, no wind, no cars, no planes and sometimes no birds. I've never witnessed such utter quite. Granted i've been traveling on roads or in the ditches next to roads, when no cars are going by, WOW! Pics of the rides coming soon.

As i mentioned a couple days ago i was going to be on Northern lights watch. Well two nights ago was overcast so no Northern light viewing was possible. But last night only a few clouds obscured the sky. I was able to head up to Murphy Dome with Ralf, he had an empty seat available. I'm not sure if i said before but Murphy Dome is a jumping off spot for people heading into the bush. And when we got up there i pointed out there was a lot more vehicles up there than last time i was up there. Ralf mentioned people usually head out to there bush cabins for the weekend, i couldn't remember what day of the week it was! Ralf pointed out "ahh, your on Alaskan time now." Time of day and dates matter, not so much the day of the week. Pretty soon the time of day won't matter either!

Well the Northern lights were nothing short of fantastic! Started to get some colors other than just green. They were also very bright and dancing quite a bit! I shot a lot of pics but i'll only show you some of the best ones. I was running a 15 second exposure time and with the cold temp and the wind whipping my batteries were getting eaten up fast. Alkaline batteries not so good in those conditions but that's what i had with me. Anyway, i think i've babbled enough. It's 5:30am and i haven't gone to bed yet! Enjoy the pics!