I’m a list-writer. Seriously, I have lists for everything…goals, travel, budget, business, life. Sometimes they’re in spreadsheet form, but mostly I rely on pen and paper. I try to keep them up in front of me, but they can fall to bottom of a pile. This week, while prepping for our upcoming trip to Alaska, I stumbled upon a list from 2010 of “50 things I want in life”. It was an exercise that my friend Pickert had me do. The funny thing is that, even though I haven’t seen this list in quite a while, many of the things have been accomplished. Which brings me to Alaska.

Number 31 on the list is “see the Aurora Borealis”. For a long time, I’ve wanted to witness this mystery. There’s a lot known about the Northern Lights, but it still remains unresolved as to the exact when & why of it. Something to do with electromagnetism, negative ions, solar flares, and fairies (just kidding about the fairies). I love that as much has been discovered about the Aurora, we still can’t accurately predict when they will be visible or what colors will show up. Last year, Val and I booked a trip to Alaska with Planetary Society guides to learn a bit more, and hopefully, see some lights.

Even, if by chance, I don’t see the Northern Lights and I don’t get to check this one off the list, I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to dream.