Desert Veins of Fire
You hear stories about the aurora showing up in Death Valley, but you never really expect it. Most of the time, it's just a faint red smudge on the horizon. I've been fortunate to see it a couple of times before, but this night was different. A substorm just exploded out of nowhere. The whole sky turned this intense, unbelievable red. I looked down and the salt streams at my feet were glowing, reflecting the sky like they were filled with liquid light. It felt completely unreal, watching the desert floor bleed with the same color as the sky. It was one of those moments you know you'll never forget, a total fluke of nature that I just happened to be in the right place to see.
Jennifer and I have become a bit of aurora hunters, even in the most unlikely places. I’ve now been fortunate enough to see the Aurora Borealis in Death Valley three times, something that’s incredibly rare given how far south it sits. Seeing it there requires an unusually strong solar storm, and on this night, all the pieces came together.
As we were driving from Zion to the California coast, we realized there was a real chance and decided to make a detour through Death Valley. It turned out to be the right call. The red in the sky was remarkably intense, clearly visible to the naked eye, and what the camera captured was even more striking. I actually had to dial the reds back in processing because they were nearly overwhelming.
Knowing the park well allowed us to find a location that worked perfectly, where the auroral light could reflect in the shallow streams and across the surrounding salt flats. It was one of those nights that reminds you why staying open to possibility and taking a chance can be so rewarding.