And it was almost an entire repeat of yesterday here in Marble Canyon!! Right after dark last night we went back outside to check on the Big Dipper and the North Star. I didn’t bother checking the Aurora App because we were not even close to it the night before. It was darker last night. The sky was full of even more dazzling stars. You have to stay out a few minutes for your eyes to adjust to be able to see more.
After a moment I thought I should take a picture to compare it to the night before. Plus I thought there was an ever so slight of a glow to the sky behind the mountain range where there is no population. Sure enough! The aurora was present!! Checked the map and its intensity is just north of us but happy that we could see what we did!! Bonus. I went out a few more times before bed to compare and watch the intensity change. Wow. Amazing world in which we live in.
Awoke this morning to hearing the loons out on the lake. Two coffee morning again. Cooked breakfast outside again. Observed the same ducks today doing the same things around Turquoise Lake. The loons were close to the far shore at one point. Thought about climbing some rocks to get to the other side of the lake for better visibility of them. I kinda knew they would be gone by the time I got over there so didn’t go. Jett got a few good walks in today as usual.
The rest of the day I was able to get some ‘accounting’ done. During this entire trip I have been trying to log and account for almost every penny spent and I had slacked over the past few weeks. I created a number of categories and use three different Excel spreadsheets. One tracks everything spent. Another tracks money spent on just accommodations and rain days. Lastly money spent on just fuel is recorded on my third spreadsheet so that mileage, MPGs, foreign exchange conversions and gallons consumed can be tracked. The last two also serve as double checks for the same two entries on the first spreadsheet. My accounting friends would be proud! (S.S. - you know who you are!)
These financial numbers will come in handy to see where we spent the most money (fuel), where we can save (eating out) and how much money will I need for the next trip to Alaska! Some of these numbers are shocking. I have spent that much money on ‘what’? Wow!! When I thought we were being good. LOL However spreading the numbers out over the period of time we have been gone it’s not so bad. I’m under $28 night on average for accommodations but know someone who did $21! I can do better.
Time to wrap it up for this evening. We have to do some prep for our departure tomorrow. Should be another spectacular drive in store for us!
Sunset: 7:53 pm
Sunrise: 6:21 am
Wildlife viewings:
Loons and Wild Mallards
Eagle
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