The hunt for the Northern Lights in Fairbanks, Alaska

• The hunt for the Northern Lights in Fairbanks, Alaska

2014 marks the peak of the 11-year cycle of solar activity, which brings a huge amount of aurora here on Earth.

I had a love / hate relationship to the northern lights for a few years. I have traveled several times to different ends of the world to see it, and every time a beating. Clouds, snow, blizzards, low solar activity - apparently, all this prevented me to see the light.

Therefore, when at the last minute there was an opportunity to go on a trip with Jared and his team at Gondwana Ekoturs in Fairbanks, to try to see this light show, I was set on an epic journey filled with adventure, in which just wanted to show off. After 8 days, I thought I would start to get bored, but a miracle happened ...

Our home away from home called Taste of Alaska, is located in 280 acres of natural wooded Fairbanks. There were a lot of open space, as well as a wonderful cozy atmosphere inside the house.

A typical morning scene - it was possible to observe moose standing in front of the house, peacefully sipping morning coffee.

It seems that Alaska taste was also home to the representatives of a rather eclectic art, such as this little piece.

In forested areas nearby you can actively move around only with the help of snowshoes almost every day.

You need to be alert from the moose in Alaska, because they are everywhere (and probably this is the most dangerous animal that can be found in the wild).

One of our trails on snowshoes.

Chena Hot Springs and Aurora Ice Museum are local attractions in Fairbanks and is open all year round, with a bar inside and a few incredibly beautiful ice sculptures.

That kind of interior. The bar on the left - I can recommend to you the ice appletinisy.

Or, perhaps you would be interested to play the xylophone, carved out of ice? Or to see the frozen ice in a rose? What I list was created 15-time world champion cutting ice Bras Steve and his wife, Heather, six-time world champion, whose work is filled museum.

One of the most impressive moments Chena- Hot Springs are their greenhouses. Alaska imports about 98% of their food, to grow which is not an easy task when you think of its geographical position. This is an alternative. While there were around 10, and the salad was nice and toasty as a temporary secretary, during his visit in the mid-70s in the greenhouse.

hot springs themselves are a good place to relax after a long day. It is a strange feeling of climbing into a giant whirlpool in the snow and surrounded by ice-covered boulders, but it soothes.

Night after night, Jared and I in turn, heading out to check whether there is an aurora. Night after night, it never appeared. We waited and waited, and the best thing we saw was it was a lunar halo. Nice ... but not the Northern Lights.

The activity lasted for a variety of excursions, such as on this day, we decided to go camping on deers.

What is the difference between the horns over the door and antlers? Any ideas? Horn may fall.

One morning, Mount McKinley was visible on the horizon ... a great idea to start the day.

Another part of the trip made it possible to go dog sledding. We spent the morning in the adventure on the feet, taking part in getting the true experience of riding a sled.

The dogs did not seem to object to the cold, but I was against it.

These dogs were very beautiful, and some had the most exquisite colored eyes I had ever seen.

Jared absorbs the best steak in Alaska.

Everyone should try the king crab and Alaska. This photo - before and after, as were the crab legs gnawed.

Shinji, who arrived from Japan, showed a real interest in the Alaska pipeline.

Fairbanks Center, where you can always be hydrated in Mecca Bar.

We even made a stop at the Fairbanks Curling Club ...

... where we hung out with the locals ...

... and find out once and for all, how to actually play curling. It's a pretty relaxed game that requires a large amount of elegance along with gentle touches. I may look in to the club and make a note there when I get home.

When it was our last day in Alaska, I decided to fight again, but Lady Aurora to avoid me. My third attempt to photograph the northern lights. I began to think that once a failure ... but things have changed. According to the testimony of satellites launched an unexpected solar storm, and KP index began to rise. Evening came and I continued to watch each solar chart and now I can confidently say that the aurora was seen in Fairbanks.

I jumped out of our hotel, and that's what I uvidel- dancing northern lights in the sky.

I could not believe it - I changed my ticket for the flight and stayed one more day, and we spent all night driving around Fairbanks and photographing one of the most incredible natural show I have ever seen.

Northern Lights is impossible to describe in words. Observation of these dances and opening bright ribbons in the sky forced to lose the power of speech, even the most seasoned veteran.

Sometimes there were moments of pink and purple, which can be seen on top of a green color.

Evening scene in a parking lot ... Cleary Summit is one to remember.

This guy, even though he was probably very cold, definitely enjoying the show.

Regardless of where in the sky you looked, aurora did not go down in sheets.

One last frame of the night, when perhaps a slap would have removed the smile from my face ... the long wait, which is definitely worth it.