Presque Isle Beach

Two major geomagnetic storms hit Earth last Friday. This meant that there was a possibility of seeing an aurora or the better known as the northern lights in some latitudes of the northern US. I was hoping that a quick drive to Erie, PA to get out on the beaches would mean I’d be able to see them in Pennsylvania. On rare occasions they can be seen from up north away from city lights. It’s a phenomenon I’ve never seen so I was excited. I spent the afternoon checking the weather forecast. I saw it was going to be cloudy but I was going to take a chance. I messaged a buddy of mine to see if he was up for adventure! He was! We left Pittsburgh a little after 9pm. I saw the moon was really bright as we got closer to Erie the cloud cover was really thick. We arrived at Presque Isle State Park and found the gates to the peninsula closed! Bummer! We decided to take a walk and low and behold found a way down to the beach and we didn’t even have to cross the closed gate. Public access, sweet! The minute we started walking down the beach it was surreal. The sound of the crashing waves, the smell of fresh air, and the beach all to ourselves. Granted it was a little past midnight! The clouds were thick, I knew there was no chance to see the aurora this night but that didn’t stop me from making photo’s. The moon shone through the thick clouds making some interesting colors. Fog slowly rolled in over the lake.  Overall it was a really nice night to be out. I enjoyed the sights and sounds on the empty beach.