Mission Accomplished: The Northern Lights!

by
An epic shot of me satisfying my quest to see the northern lights of Finland, taken by the outstanding @NordicOdyssey tour guide/photographer Herve. Not only is here your adventurous traveler and the lights above, but note the Big Dipper in the center-left part of the sky. A great touch!

What a thrill! It was a cold night out with my @NordicOdyssey tour group but the navigational and meteorological skills of our guide Herve paid off!

With a bright, nearly full moon shining in the middle of the sky, and clouds on nearly every horizon, these were not ideal conditions for a northern lights safari in Lapland, Finland. But we persevered and found the glory of our quest where others had failed that same night. Hail Herve!

Here’s our group admiring the view, yours truly in the warm, red Gore-Tex All-Condition hiking pants. Photo by Herve.

I’ve talked about wanting to do this since I was a young boy, on the floor of my home perusing the discarded, undelivered National Geographics and other magazines oriented toward scientific phenomena, that my Dad the mail man would bring home from the post office.

With my previously oft-stated preference for warmer climes, I know now that the nature of cold — air and water — is simply mind over matter, as the late great American baseball pitcher Satchel Paige would say. “If you don’t mind, it don’t matter.”

I certainly don’t mind any more, as I’m finding my stay in the Arctic region of Finland to be just grand.

Here are a couple of more pics from Tuesday’s excursion.

Another great photo by Herve @NordicOdyssey

And finally, my best feeble attempt to get a good pic with my Samsung Android phone. Ha! At least, I did get ONE of my own.

***

5 thoughts on “Mission Accomplished: The Northern Lights!”

  5. This piece and the photos are AWESOME!!!!! I never really paid attention to the photos I’ve seen in the past but from you, my friend. “I’m a believer.” Thank you!
    Also, I’m curious to see if you answer Kathie’s question above about climate change, since that is the focus of my life’s work. I hope I get to see an answer, though I’m not sure what platform it will be on? I’m glad your dream came true!

Comments are closed.