Something to Declare

Yet Another Try For The Lights

December 12, 2025

First, attribution (and apologies) to Jay Ward (producer) and Alex Anderson (director) of the1950s animated series, “Crusader Rabbit,” which I watched as a little kid. It was sort of like the Rocky and Bullwinkle of its day. In one episode (I remember clearly), the protagonist had an adventure in the Yukon, where the local town was called “IfAnyoneCan” (ha ha!).  Amazing how some of this stuff stays in your head for 70+ years!

(Ahem!) The reason I bring this up is because the Yukon is where I’m next headed. For those of you who don’t know, my Bucket List includes viewing the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights.

I’ve made three previous attempts at seeing The Lights, one of them being in our own Central Park (where there was a prediction that the solar wind would make the Aurora visible as far south as New York City). This has been the case in the past, viz.:

BUT NOT THIS TIME! My trip to the Park was fruitless.

Another time was in February 2017, when Stef and I did a trip to Iceland, again hoping to see The Lights. We stayed at the Ion Adventure Hotel in Nesjasvellir (pronounced “nays-yas-vattler“) (below, top). The hotel boasted about having a “Northern Lights Bar” (below, lower left).

There was also a lap pool with an incredible view (above, lower right). 

The hotel assured all guests that they would be notified anytime the Aurora made an appearance. Well, the Northern Lights Bar did serve a lovely cocktail: rye whiskey, Björk (local birch liqueur), bitters and an orange slice.

The “Rye Smile in a Birch Forest” was sort of like the Icelandic version of a Manhattan. Yummy, to be sure, BUT NO NORTHERN LIGHTS!!!!

Another time was when I visited my friend Susan Musante, who was then living in Anchorage, Alaska. I flew to Anchorage, and we then traveled north, past Wasilla (where, contrary to the declaration of former Governor Sarah Palin, you couldn’t see Russia [!]). We visited a Russian Orthodox church (a remnant of the time before the U.S. bought Alaska from the Russkies (“Seward’s Folly”), and the Susitna Salmon Center (below, top), before arriving at Chena Hot Springs, near Fairbanks.

There we bathed in the hot springs (above middle), where the water was steaming, and people’s hair became festooned with icicles. We also visited the Aurora Ice Museum, and sat at a bar where they served drinks in “glasses” made of ice (above, bottom). BUT NO AURORA! 0 for 3!

When Stef and I visited Scandinavia this past summer, we heard about tours to northern Lapland, where you might have a chance to see The Lights. But further research revealed a company called Fresh Tracks Canada, which arranges tours closer to home, in and around Whitehorse, Yukon.

Fresh Tracks notes that the area around Whitehorse is essentially a desert (no clouds and little precipitation) and is geographically located such that the Aurora is seen frequently.

I asked Stef if she would like to come along, but she demurred. Something to do with the temperature, as I recall: In December and January, the thermometer hovers around 30 below 0 Fahrenheit. Oh, and did I also mention that, at that time of year in the Yukon, the sun doesn’t come up till around 11 am, and it sets around 4 pm. Five whole hours of daylight!

So I recruited my son, Matt, to accompany me. He had been my travel companion on a previous trip, some 20 or so years ago, to Scandinavia:

We leave the day after Christmas, flying to Vancouver, and then to Whitehorse, returning to NYC on January 1. There will be opportunities for touring the vicinity, a wildlife preserve, a hot spring, and taking an airplane ride (“ice flying”). And, each night (which begins in the afternoon), we will don our rented cold-weather gear, go out to an open space;  there we’ll lie down, make snow angels, and look up to see (we hope) the shimmering Aurora Borealis!

And, if it’s another disappointment? Well………….Matt is, after all, a therapist.

I’ve said that this is my VERY LAST TRY to see the Northern Lights;  of course, I’ve said that before…….

Stay tuned!