Happy Thanksgiving!

A few photos of things I'm thankful for this week 

1 - The Aurora: I fired up the sauna at my dad's house after dinner last night. The sky was only glowing a little when we finished, but Corrie and I stayed up a bit longer and about midnight the Aurora became pretty active. 

The Big Dipper over my dad's shop

There were a few bursts of red. I just barely caught this one. 

The Black Friday crowds in Tok! (Corrie standing very still watching the Aurora)

2 - Empty roads and someone to share them with: I drove up to Fairbanks with Corrie on Sunday afternoon. It's a beautiful drive on a clear day, but it was still nice driving and talking through the snowy night. Wednesday night we drove on to Tok on more empty, snow-covered roads.

Snow building up on the back of Corrie's car. 

3 - Sun Light: It's only a couple hundred miles north, but the sun is noticeably lower in the sky in Fairbanks than it is in Anchorage this time of year.

"High Noon" in Fairbanks

"High Noon" in Tok today

The sun shining on the trees at the north end of the yard

 4 - Wood stoves: After going outside at 30 below zero to take those pictures in the shorts I've been wearing I decided my dad's wood stove should really be on the list.

A warm house and nearly unlimited hot water