In January 2018 we visited Fairbanks to see the Northern Lights, with decent results. We’re back to see if we can do even better in February 2026, and it’s currently night two in the Aurora Borealis Lodge on Cleary Summit. While the lights made sporadic appearances last night, they were faint enough that we chose to photograph them from our warm room instead of venturing out into the much-below-freezing temperatures outside (it bottomed out around -20F overnight). We’re in Alaska for eight nights, so with any luck the universe will give us at least one evening of bright lights and no clouds.
Today’s daytime activities were limited to a short hike in the balmy -10F midday temps, and a drive back to the main highway where an incredibly cold Thai lady had set up a trailer with a kitchen in it and was serving up giant plates of pad thai and pineapple fried rice, both very welcome warm dishes in the freezing temps.
What a great picture!