NORTHERN LIGHTS IN INARI!!!

We were so hopeful that we would be able to see the Northern Lights before we left the Arctic Circle area. That is one thing this area is known for! We really wanted to see them.

While having dinner in the Hotel Inari restaurant, we looked out the window admiring the sunset. It kind of looked like it could be the Northern Lights, so we took this picture, thinking this is as close as we would get to seeing them:

We had several people tell us that is was too early in the season, and too cloudy.....we would not be able to see anything! We just kept saying to ourselves that the trip would end perfectly IF we could see the northern lights. It has to be really dark to see it.

We had been told by a clerk in the Siida Museum earlier in the evening that she had seen a little display the night before. We were hopeful!!

At almost 10:00 p.m. we headed out to the 'country' where there were no street lights, etc. so we could have a really good view.....and hoped we knew what we were looking for! The sky was actually pretty clear (we were able to see the Milky Way). We stood out there in the chilly air until about 10:30, saw nothing, so we headed back to the hotel.

At about 11:00 p.m. we turned the lights off and hit the bed. We usually sleep with the curtain open a smidge so the morning light can wake us naturally. Dad was the last one in bed.....I reminded him we needed the curtain open a smidge. He grumbled a little and got back out of bed, looked out the window, put a shirt on and said he would be right back. Before I could even ask what he was up to he was out of the room.

When he came back he said he was getting dressed (not in PJ's) and going outside.....there was something in the sky and he wasn't sure if it was Northern Lights or not but he was going to investigate. I jumped out of bed too, of course, because I was not going to miss this 'party'!

Got outside in back of the hotel (where the hotel lights were not as bright) and there is was........big as day (or night) ..... NORTHERN LIGHTS!! It was a fantastic show.......greens, a little red, all dancing in the sky, and changing 'directions' quite often. When we thought it might be over, low and behold, it was back again in another spot. It was quite large and very impressive.

A hotel employee came to empty the trash and we (Dad....speaking in Finnish of course) told him what we doing! He was impressed with the display because he said normally it is not evident this early in the season...usually later in September!

We felt that it was Heavenly Father's way of giving us exactly what we wanted for the end of our trip. Today, Wednesday, it is cloudy! You can NOT see Northern Lights if it is cloudy. It has to be clear skies! And we also saw the Milky Way......great night for being outside!

P.S.: Couldn't take a picture -- not enough light. You just have to see them to appreciate them.