Wild Caribou Chase

   I'm not sure where the wild hair came from but the past 24 hours I have been feeling confined and just want to get out.  Conveniently, I now live in the state that has more open space than any other state and if getting outside is what I want there really is no excuse except my own laziness.  Last night I looked at the aurora borealis forecast and was shocked that it was moderate (ever time I randomly check it is at a 1 or 2, which is considered low...) so at 10pm I packed an emergency bag and Gatsby and decided to take a drive north.  I drove for an hour, saw 9 moose-which scare the crap out of me at night, if you hit one of those things your car will be totaled so I drove a prudent 35-40mph most of the way, and saw the most beautiful display of the northern lights I have seen since I have been here.  It really is an eerie thing seeing the sky light up in radiant green streaks of light.  Unfortunately, my little casio camera is not high tech enough to document such things but hopefully I will get into the trip that Katie Clark talked me into putting my name on the wait list for to go for 2 weeks to the arctic and learn how to photograph the northern lights and polar bears.  Gatsby and I got home at about midnight and I swear he was looking at me like I have officially lost it.
     This morning I decided to continue this adventurous spirit and drive north to try and find the porcupine caribou herd (approx. 1000 caribou).  A nurse in my orientation went last weekend and told me that I would love it and they wouldn't be hard to find, just drive on I-2 for an hour and you will get views of them.  It sounded reasonable, and it didn't seem odd that I would be driving an hour to try and find caribou that were in a certain location...a week ago.  I did the drive and it was absolutely beautiful- clear skies, bright sun, beautiful mountains and views, but definitely not a herd of 1000+ caribou.  I did see 10-15 caribou down the slope but when I had my hopes up to see thousands, it just didn't seem quite as impressive.  I made it 10 miles from the Dalton Highway then decided that I would turn around because it had been over an hour since I had cell phone reception and Gatsby was getting a little tired of the bumpy roads.  Even though I did not see the massive amount of caribou that I had set out to see it felt awesome to just get in the car and see how remote Fairbanks truly is!  I was also able to find places that I want to explore in future expeditions- Murphy's Dome, and Wickersham dome both look like they will be awesome places to hike once the snow melts.  If nothing else, today made me realize that there are a ton of things that Gatsby and I can do to keep ourselves entertained...I just need to get out there and try it.

* if anyone has any recommendations on a good beginners camera that will allow me to document the landscape and beautiful views better than my tiny digital camera, it would be greatly appreciated!*