I've experienced the Northern Lights 4 times, each different and totally unexpected.

1) While traveling from Montreal to France on a student ship in July, 1960. We were north of Newfoundland. The sky was not completely dark and the colors were magnificent. We saw icebergs on that crossing too.

2) While visiting Vassar College in NY in the fall sometime in the early 60's. Not spectacular. Just some red clouds at night, but surprisingly south.

3 & 4) In July of 1971 crossing all the northernmost states from New York to Washington on a family camping trip. The weather was unusually frigid that summer. In Michigan, the lights were many colors that kept undulating and changing. In North Dakota, the lights were white only and looked like dozens of

moving searchlights shooting straight up from the horizon... kind of like the old fashioned Hollywood opening.

Ironically, I didn't see any while in Anchorage during December. The lights would have been flooded out by the city lights, I know, but the local paper also said that none was forecast.

Carrie, in Brrrdonia, NY