Chasing the Northern Lights in Cape Breton

It was a chilly fall night about 25 years ago.  Myself and some friends were driving on the dark, lonely highway towards Main-a-dieu on Cape Breton Island when something in the sky caught my eye.  Without thinking, I hit the brake and stared wide-eyed in fear at the strange dancing lights in the night sky ahead of me.  Silence fell over us until a voice from the back seat yelled "let's get the hell out of here".  He didn't have to tell me twice.  I turned around and with tires squealing, I sped in the opposite direction. We were convinced it was some kind of alien invasion or otherworldly catastrophic event.

Having never seen anything like that before, it was only natural that fear would be the initial reaction.  Now I know what I saw that night and when an opportunity arises to experience that again, I race towards it, not away from it.  

I now know what I saw that night all those years ago; I witnessed the incredible Northern Lights, otherwise known as the Aurora Borealis. 

Being a rare occurrence this far south, my sightings of the Northern Lights were limited to Instagram photos and tourism brochures for far-flung destinations.  I always wanted to go to Iceland or Northern Canada to see the lights and often looked up information about these destinations.  Those brochures always came with plenty of awe-inspiring images. Until recently, I never witnessed them again in the night skies above Cape Breton Island. 

It was just over a year ago that I discovered a Facebook page and associated app that was tracking sightings of the Northern Lights over Nova Scotia. Of course, I started to follow the alerts closely.  Every now and then, excited group members would post that the levels were alleviated and conditions were ideal for sightings.  Almost every time I saw these alerts, I'd get my camera gear ready and head out to a dark place to watch...and watch. Usually, it was too cloudy or there was just nothing there to see.  Sometimes I'd see members posting pictures of their sightings and realize that they'd been out earlier or later than me.  

Finally, I got my chance on May 10th.  The alerts came as usual but they came with the added alerts from local, national and even international news that the Northern Lights would be visible in many places that are normally too south to see them.  A solar storm was brewing and it was set to ignite the skies with a spectacular show that would be seen in many places all over the world.  Cape Breton was highlighted on the map as one of those places that had a high chance of witnessing this show. 

I got my camera gear ready, dressed warm and headed to a dark spot to wait and watch.  My first stop was Dominion Beach.  For a while, I saw nothing.  I wasn't sure if it was my eyes playing tricks on me but the sky started to turn a funny color.  I snapped a picture and posted it to the group; they were convinced it was the Northern Lights.  It wasn't quite dark enough to know for sure if that was what I was seeing.  I left and drove to Victoria Mines and set up in my Dad's backyard. I focused on the sky to the North. And there it was. The distinct green, purple and pink streaks flowing through the night sky.  I stood there in awe taking in the beautiful spectacle in front of me.  

My excitement was overwhelming which many people would find strange.  "It's just some lights" some would say.  But for a person like myself who thrives on new experiences and has deep a connection to the natural world, this was something that could not be taken for granted.  I get overly-excited over the littlest things.  Well, they're big things to me even if they are mundane to everyone else.  That's just who I am. 

A text alert on my phone snapped me out of sky -viewing mode.  A friend had seen the alert I posted earlier that day on Facebook reminding everyone to look north and she was wondering if I had seen the lights.  I sent her some of my pictures and she excitedly decided to head out to see them too.  I know I have a true match in a friendship when someone gets this excited about these little things that excite me.  It was 11:30 PM, close to my usual bedtime.  But in case you don't know me by now, my motto in life is "plenty of time to sleep when I'm dead....the time to live is now".  I never turn down an opportunity. I jumped in the car and met my friend in River Ryan where we got the Grand Finale of the Northern Lights show.  The green and purple lights danced over Lingan Bay for several minutes before stopping altogether.  Another example of how life often takes unexpected turns; for a day that started in the most mundane of ways, it ended as an unforgettable night.