01/22/2026
Seeing the northern lights has been my dream since I was a kid. I even did presentations on them in school for multiple years 😅
Now, I’ve seen them on full display in Iceland and Norway, and even got a little taste of them in Joshua Tree National Park in 2024. But every time they’ve come so far south in the past couple years, I have wished I was in Tahoe. Seeing the northern lights in Lake Tahoe, my favorite place, is the bucket list item I never knew was actually top of the list.
So when my aurora apps started going off on Monday night and I happened to still be in Tahoe for my birthday, I knew I had to try. I’d forever regret not trying. I’d already missed the flare right after sunset when I realized what was happening, but based on all my research there *might* be another between 1-4am. Clouds were predicted to be rolling in starting at 2am so I was praying there’d be a window I could see them.
We pulled up next to a couple other photographers around 12:45am. One left shortly after, the other was doing a timelapse and keeping warm in his car (it was bitterly cold, under freezing). I shot for an hour or so with Travis and Maverick standing right beside me in the freezing cold, seeing a bit of red glow in the northern horizon in my camera but nothing with the naked eye. It was a lovely quiet time spent together, but we needed to warm up.
With the car heater on, I kept taking test shots to see if anything was happening when I saw it. Very faint, even more so than when I was in Joshua Tree, but the pillars were unmistakable. It was surreal and such a gift.
Thanks Big Guy, I see you. What an awesome birthday gift ❤️
