Fairbanks and vicinity general subjects' photos (Anchorage, Salcha: houses, camping, dangerous)

[cjs123]

Ray, I do hope you will share some of your photos here (no doubt you got some beauties last night), and that other people will too--whether of the lights or anything else. This thread has been pretty quiet since you started it, and my trip chattering will soon be over.

Last time I checked the forecast it was 'quiet' or 1 out of 10 for last night, and the lights were in just about every direction including overhead! Never did look at Ovation because the lights were already here.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by cjs123

Ray, where you were do you turn right/east heading northbound on the Steese?

Where I stay you take a left, then make a couple more turns, etc--they do offer nightly tours and have a couple of mini vans they use to shuttle folks, but no actual busses come in here--though if they have a good-sized tour group they are making a lot of trips back and forth.

How fortunate you found that person's wallet. What a place to lose your wallet, keys, etc. Yikes.

I was out chasing the lights night before last; this last night I shot most of the pictures from my room, and some of what I remember best I didn't shoot, I just watched. Last night's/this morning's Aurora reminded me of 2011. Photos (mine, anyway) never quite do it justice, though they are wonderful to have.

I will post some of my photos in the near future. Have a bunch to work on in my computer, and will probably take more tonight if the lights show.

Once I drive to the top, there is a parking area to the right, but I don't go that way. Instead, I take a left and then a right on the first road. Anyway, I just hang around that road about 20 yards from the power lines, and hear the noise of the busses and people parked just below by the Steese. If the Auroras show behind my car, I just take photos in that direction. But most times the Auroras show on the North. I sit in my car looking out the windshield until the lights show, the tripod already set-up in front of my car (I use the camera's viewfinder to level the tripod in the dark), and keep the camera inside the car. When I see the lights, I just grab the camera, set it on the tripod, and press the shutter button. Sometimes, when I shoot toward the South the camera picks some of the tail and headlights from the busses and cars near the Steese, but I edit those out of the images when I get home.

If you shoot RAW, you can always take your time to process the images with CS5/6, or LightRoom. But don't feel bad at all about your images; they are beautiful (Northern Lights are nothing but so).
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By the way, the guy just lost his wallet with money and credit cards inside. He may have had his driver's license inside, but maybe it fell out of the wallet when it hit the road. I had to go through a lot of hoops this morning trying to figure how to contact him, since there was no address nor phone number in his wallet. I decided to call the AAA insurance using the data on the card, and talked to a "real person" instead of a computer somewhere. I told the lady the reason for my call, and she matched the data to the guy, after which she called and put him on the line with me. The funny thing is that he had no idea he had lost his wallet until AAA told him on the telephone.

After we talked on the telephone and he told me his USC student ID number, and name (I matched both against the ID in the wallet), I met him and a young lady at Walmart. He could not believe that I was in fact returning his wallet and money, and even showed me his passport. He pullet $100.00 from the wallet and handed it to me, but I refused it because I was happier just by seeing the sigh of relief on their faces when I handed them the lost items. Well, if he would have handed me $1-million, I would have taken it

[cjs123]

Nice to hear the wallet situation turned out well. I am sure the owner will not soon forget the efforts you made to reach him.

So you wouldn't turn down a cool mil, huh? Somehow I think you have a lot of company.

I've never shot in RAW format--probably should have looked into that long before now.
No doubt many here look forward to seeing your photos.

Moseyed into town for a bit and then headed back up the hill. Took Goldstream both directions; I love that drive. Even took a tiny side trip down Yellowsnow Road. As you know since you live up around here, that is not a euphemism--I just wanted to stop and photograph the sign and then kept going a little ways, but didn't go too far since I've already gotten turned around once in the hills and didn't feel like doing that again today.

I think a nap is in order; woke up way earlier than I thought I would and it's getting tough to keep my eyes open.

[cjs123]

Checked out this morning; though I am nocturnal I had fallen asleep, and was awakened by a radio call alerting me to a faint aurora around 4:00. This concluded another great visit.

Twilight yesterday


Aurora around 4:30


Very early dawn; Aurora still faintly there


Dawn; last photo from Cleary Summit


Though I felt really sad driving away, I am looking forward to the Arctic Winter Games Closing Ceremonies tonight. Figured it was a good idea to have something planned so I wasn't just sitting around moping.

[RayinAK]

Just remember to keep in touching some with us in this forum. I will be posting some of my photos within a day or so (maybe later this evening). Took a few photos of the dog race taking place on 2nd. Avenue, but the lighting was not the best. Anyway, so of the photos may be OK, and will post them here.

Are you leaving tonight?

[RayinAK]

I apologize for all the spelling errors above. I let my Mac spell for me as I type, and often forget to go back and re-read what I write before I post

From the Open North American today:




From two nights ago:

[cjs123]

Terrific photos, Ray--I especially love the Aurora shots.

I fly out tomorrow around 8 PM; they bumped the flight up over 90 minutes, darn it. Still, I have most of the day to bum around.

The AWG closing ceremonies were neat; it was really something watching all the athletes walk in and fill up the floor of the arena.



It was only an hour long which surprised me, but some of the participants had flights to catch so they moved things right along.

After that I headed to McCafferty's and finally caught some live music; it was a treat listening to the entire two-hour set and a great way to wrap up the evening.

I've been up since around 4 AM so I'm ready to call it a night.

[RayinAK]

Lots of photo-taking opportunities today at 2nd Avenue. I decided to stay home and rest

This one from yesterday's race:

[RayinAK]

[cjs123]

Nice!

I enjoyed the brunch at Pike's this morning and went to the UAF Museum in the afternoon; good to see it again. I heard about the doings on 2nd Ave but decided to just hang out over on this side of town.

Now I am at the airport waiting for my flight to Anchorage. My lovely hosts gave me some home-made blueberry jelly, which was confiscated by security because the jar (while small) was oversized. Darn it. They also gave me some smoked salmon which I was allowed to take since it wasn't liquid, so hopefully I'll get it through Anchorage and all the way home. I understand the rules; it's just aggravating sometimes. I didn't even think of the size of the jar. Of course the most important thing is the wings stay on the plane and everyone arrives home safely.

Have about a 5.5-hour stopover in Anchorage and plan to head to the Spenard Roadhouse; I like the Beartooth Grill but they close a bit earlier and I'd like to be able to just hang somewhere for a couple of hours and maybe get a snack (I couldn't eat the snack I bought at FAI--barf) before beginning the 5.5-hour flight home.

Just got informed we will be leaving here a little late but obviously with my connecting flight leaving around 2:00 a.m., it's no big deal. Hopefully the slight delay won't affect anyone else, either.

Can't believe how warm it was today; this is the first time I've seen the water on the river. Saw someone show-machining on the water, though it is probably called something different in the water vs. on land. Looked fun!