"The Ballad of the Northern Lights"

 

"And the skies of night were alive with light,
with a throbbing, thrilling flame;

Amber and rose and violet,
opal and gold it came.

It swept the sky like a giant scythe,
it quivered back to a wedge;

Argently bright, it cleft the night,
with a wavy golden edge."

Poetry of Robert Service

"The Ballad of the Northern Lights", aptly describes the northern skies of Fort McMurray most cold, clear winter evenings. Much folklore exists surrounding the Aurora; to the Inuit, the dancing lights were spirits on their way to heaven. To Siberians, they were children playing soccer in the sky with a walrus skull. Some believe the road to heaven is hard to find so former lost souls light up the night sky to make the journey a little easier for those who are searching for the ultimate destination.

Displays can vary from just a few minutes to several hours and colors and movements are hard to predict. Sometimes the spectacle is like a bright dance, other times just a muted glow. Most often the lights are white and green but on rare occasions, red northern lights tower miles high above the northern skies. One thing is certain; no matter how many times you see the Aurora Borealis, it leaves you in awe, frozen in your tracks, gazing at the cross roads between visible and invisible forces of nature.

Formal viewing tours can be arranged with any of the operators listed below. Please click on the links below for more information.

Alta-Can Aurora Tours Inc.
(780) 452-5187

Aurora Adventures
(780) 799-3329

Aurora Tours
(780) 334-2292