My Balto Experience

When I was a kid, I was very much into animals. Anybody who knew me as a child can vouch for me. I was...a little obsessed. I just knew that I was going to marry Simba when I grew up, Todd the hound dog was my best friend, and oh yeah, I had over 101 dalmatian toys. In addition to The Lion King, The Fox and the Hound, and 101 Dalmatians, one of my most favorite movies as a child was Balto. I probably liked it so much because it is about dogs (I was obsessed with dogs in particular), but also because the story is so solid and heartwarming. Call me a romantic, but there's nothing sweeter than one risking their lives to save another (even if it's another species). And it never hurts to have that little tagline of "based off a true story." The fact that there was actually a dog out there named Balto that saved people? My innocent mind thrived off that junk.


                                (Of course I had to get a picture of him when I went to New York a few years ago)

One of my favorite parts in that movie is the whole bit about the Aurora Borealis. I always loved the part when Jenna used the glass bottles to imitate the lights. So clever and intuitive.

Well, this week in Scotland, I had the opportunity to see these Northern Lights. I got a facebook message on Tuesday from Daddy telling me to look out for them. Dundee might be the sunniest city in Scotland, but nothing's perfect. Tuesday was a disgusting day. It was cold, rainy, and super cloudy. You couldn't see a thing in the sky beyond the clouds. I was so disappointed. I was reminded of the time that there was supposed to be this huge meteor shower flying over Huntsville. This was when my room was "David's Room" where my bed was right next to the window. I stayed up most the night sitting in bed with my head pressed to the glass waiting to see the meteors fly by. But the night was too cloudy and I never saw anything but the thick winter clouds slowly roll by. The same disappointment accompanied me this past Tuesday.

But then! Then, on Thursday, one of my Canadian friends here at Dundee said that we might be able to see the Northern Lights that night! She proposed we hike up to Dundee Law (the super big hill in the center of Dundee) so we could see the lights more clearly. So at 11:30 (23:30 as they'd say here) a group of us walked up to Dundee Law in the freezing cold and in pitch black darkness. The ground was icy so we all were walking extra carefully. I'm sure we looked ridiculous creeping up the stairs and hills looking like babies first learning to walk. Eventually we made it. I thought being up there at sunset was beautiful, but being there at night! Astounding. Positively stunning. The city just surrounds you with millions of little lights. There's no way a camera would ever be able to capture the sheer beauty of it. You have to do a full 360 to get the whole experience. It's like driving over the mountain at night from Hampton Cove but higher, bigger, and it's on all sides.

The sky was another beauty in itself. It was as clear tonight as it was cloudy on Tuesday. You could see every star in the sky (and there sure are a bunch of stars!). Unfortunately, we never saw the Aurora. But I wouldn't call it a worthless trip. We got good exercise and we were able to experience unexpected beauty by just looking over Dundee.

We stayed up there for about 30 minutes and then took the hike back down. One of my German friends brought a flashlight with him, so I stayed close to his side. Otherwise, there would have been no way that I could have made it down those uneven icy steps and that slick holey hill without busting it.

                                                                (This is a picture of us slowly creeping back down the super slippery hill)

So I never got to have my Balto experience, but I haven't given up hope yet! One day, one day I'll see those lights and my inner child will grin from ear to ear.