BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF “NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND” BLOG
Sometimes the quest is part of the fun–as long as you’re with someone whom you love, eat two Burger King chicken sandwiches each, have hot chocolate ready in thermoses, and have the hope of late night milkshakes (which ended up not happening).
The night started out with us being able to see dim versions of the Northern Lights from our Chicago North Side backyard, but we wanted to view them in all their brilliance.
So, my son and I drove 42 miles north to Illinois Beach State Park: Clouds! Clouds! Clouds!
Then we drove 38 miles south to an Evanston beach (later passing my alma mater—Loyola University Chicago—and many of my younger years haunts)…Cloudy with a little tinge of pink aurora in the clouds.
Then we drove 6 miles south to Montrose Beach until we found Northern Lights success! I wish we would have started out at Montrose Beach, but that’s part of the randomness of Northern Lights hunting and the vagaries of clouds that unexpectedly drifted further south from Wisconsin.
Even with the clouds, the Northern Lights put on a great show. And we touched Lake Michigan (cold) in all three spots. It always feels wonderful to be so close to the sand and our inland sea. It’s also wonderful to see so many people enjoying the chase for the Northern Lights.
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Check out my article, Thoughts On Chasing the Northern Lights and Other Celestial Phenomena in Chicagoland . . . and 30+ Tips/Resources to Help You Find Them, for more on the Northern Lights.
Copyright (text/photos): Andrew Morkes
Looking for some other great nature destinations in Chicagoland? If so, check out my book, Nature in Chicagoland: More Than 120 Fantastic Nature Destinations That You Must Visit. It features amazing destinations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Click on the title to learn more. The book has 306 pages and 210+ photos and is only $19.99.
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ABOUT ANDREW MORKES
I’ve been writing and editing for more than 30 years. I’m the founder of College & Career Press (2002); the author and publisher of “The Morkes Report: College and Career Planning Trends” blog; and the author and publisher of Hot Health Care Careers: 30 Occupations With Fast Growth and Many New Job Openings; Nontraditional Careers for Women and Men: More Than 30 Great Jobs for Women and Men With Apprenticeships Through PhDs; They Teach That in College!?: A Resource Guide to More Than 100 Interesting College Majors, which was selected as one of the best books of the year by the library journal Voice of Youth Advocates; and other titles. They Teach That in College!? provides more information on environmental- and sustainability-related majors such as Ecotourism, Range Management, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Built Environment, Sustainability Studies, and Sustainable Agriculture/Organic Farming. I also served as a member of the parent advisory board at my son’s school for five years.
In addition to these publications, I’ve written more than 70 books about careers for other publishing and media companies including Infobase (such as the venerable Encyclopedia of Careers & Vocational Guidance, the Vault Career Guide to Accounting, and many volumes in the Careers in Focus, Discovering Careers, What Can I Do Now?!, and Career Skills Library series) and Mason Crest (including those in the Careers in the Building Trades and Cool Careers in Science series). I’m also the author of College Readiness: The Vault Guide for High School Freshmen and Sophomores and College Readiness: The Vault Guide for High School Juniors and Seniors.
My poetry has appeared in Cadence, Wisconsin Review, Poetry Motel, Strong Coffee,and Mid-America Review.
Here’s a list of the environmental-focused titles that I’ve written:
- Nature in Chicagoland: More Than 120 Fantastic Nature Destinations That You Must Visit
- Wind Turbine Technicians (Great Careers Without a Bachelor’s Degree series)
- Environmental Scientists (Cool Careers in Science series)
- Renewable Energy Careers (Cool Careers in Science series)
- Environment (Getting Started series)
- Solar Power Technicians (Careers in Infrastructure series)