Neon Sea Snakes Lighting Up the Midnight Sky


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North America » United States » Alaska » Anchorage
April 14th 2006
Published: April 14th 2006
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The Aurora Borealis exploded in the skies over east Anchorage tonight, lighting up the skies over the Chugach Mountains in the most intense display I've beheld yet in my 7 months here in Alaska. I was going out to get some beer when I saw a flourescent green curtain flicker open in the sky, then another slowly burn into existence beside it. A girl walking by stopped in her tracks and gasped, turning to me, "Did you see it?"

I changed directions and ran into the university lake park across the street, where there are no lights to
absorb the green glow of the Auroras. When I reached the park I had to wait a couple of minutes before they
became active again, but I was not disappointed. Literally like phosphorescent sea snakes did they
slither across the midnight sky, eastward, into the still-snow-capped Chugach Mountains. They funneled
into one strong channel into a cluster of peaks, as I've seen them do in the past, and they intensified,
burning like gushing flouscent tindrils of smoke blowing off an invisible incense stick, chanelling down into the rugged mountain tops. The show expanded and continued to persist for so long that it looked as if a cosmic volcano had erupted in the mountain range and a plume of radioactive fumes were shooting up into the sky.

Southeast of the "volcano" a full moon began to rise through a valley so bright and intense that it literally created a silhoutte of the craggy peaks, casting an eery celestial dusting of light on the patches of snow melting away on the lower reaches of the mountains. Combined with the northern lights raging in full glory in the sky above, it was about
the most surreal site I have ever beheld.

The auroras died down again for a little while, then returned with a vengeance. They began dancing with
such ferocity, covering such a great distance in the sky, that I had to find a decent patch of icy snow to lay down in. Laying on my back, I witnessed the show of my life. The dancing neon serpents formed a pointy crown directly overhead, swirling into a whirlpool vortex of green, white and orange (first time I've ever seen orange) that was so terrifyingly gorgeous that I actually had to divert my eyes for a second.

When that ended, I stood up and took in yet another massive band of green sky brushfire catch on and burn
up on the horizon. When that died down, after some impressive tornado-like swirls, I decided to go back to the my room (just now) to get a beer and write down my thoughts. None too late, because a rowdy group of punks began shouting and splashing their way into the park. One of the idiots actually had a pistol with him and let off 5 shots at the full moon.

Besides for the pure stupidity of bringing a gun in there, they were extremely loud and goofy. I am convinced that there is no instrument or vocabulary available to modern man that is capable of measuring the idiocy of adolescent Americans.

Anyways, I'm going to give it an hour, then go back check for more Neon Sea Snakes...

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