We knew that seeing the Aurora Borealis or Northern lights was a possibility on this trip, but never an assurance. We watched for them night after night on this trip. As luck would have it, most nights we had rain. We were finally in Kaktovik with only two nights left on the trip and things were not looking so good. This particular night was not that dark and Don, our local guide, suggested that we go out about midnight. I was not very hopeful but Don was such a great guide that I was all for it.

We went out to the edge of town on the old original landing strip that the Air Force put in back in the 1940’s. We went up on top of Don’s bus, the Blue Bird.

The first five photos are Andrew’s photos. The first photo shows the lights over Kaktovik.

The next three are looking out over the lagoons.

The fifth photo was aimed at the end of the peninsula which is where the whale bone pile is located. Two trucks came out past us and hit their high beams on the bone pile. If you look on the left side of the spit, you can see at least one polar bear. There were actually three bears out there that night. I added the last photo which I took zoomed in on one of the bears.