This was so disappointing (HH/BW Challenge Series)

We had successfully completed 18/27 nights in our challenge, and so far, this was the breakdown:

• 12 nights at Harvest Hosts:
  -4 at vineyards
  -3 at farms
  -2 at equestrian arenas
  -2 at restaurants/food stands
  -1 at a casino
• 6 nights at Boondockers Welcome properties

The Boondockers Welcome locations served as our regrouping stops. We could stay for multiple nights and therefore give ourselves a break from traveling every single day. Frankly, we were surprised we hadn't done more, but at the same time, we wanted to have as many Harvest Host experiences as possible. Each location brings something new and unique to the table, and we love supporting small businesses. However, after nearly a week and a half of straight Harvest Hosts, we were ready to settle in somewhere. We had packages we needed to get shipped, and so we set our sights on the area outside of Indianapolis, where pickup locations would be available. We found a Boondockers Welcome spot with gravel parking and 50amp electric. Score!

The plan was to run our errands and catch up on work, because that's what we do at Boondockers Welcomes. After a rainy drive day, the skies cleared, and we were gifted the best weather we've had all challenge. The sun was out but the temps stayed cool. We didn't even need to run our ACs despite having the 50amp hookup! It's amazing how nice weather can be such a huge morale boost.

Besides the calm weather, something else was happening in the atmosphere at this time. The NOAA was predicting one of the strongest geomagnetic storms in decades, and announcements were popping up all over social media that the northern lights might be seen as far as the southern states. Word was this would be a historical storm. We've heard it all before, enough to be complete cynics. The media just loves to publish articles exclaiming "You could see the northern lights tonight!" We used to get so many of those articles up in Massachusetts, and one time we spur-of-the-moment decided to pack overnight bags and head north to Maine. We saw zilch, but we made lasting memories anyway because this was Tanner's first overnight in a hotel!

The next time we chased the lights was in Iceland in 2017. The best night only gave us a 20% chance of seeing them, but we set out anyway. Once again, we came up short. Geomagnetic storms came in the day before we arrived and the day after we left, both resulting in aurora displays, but nothing during our stay. We were 0 for 2, and the disillusionment was real.

After that, we never chased them again. I kept my aurora forecast app on my phone, and once in a while it would notify me of a high KP index, but I just ignored it. And every time, I was right. No sightings occurred in the area.

We were ready to remain cynical amidst the hoopla of May 10, except that afternoon, we heard about sightings. Lots of them. Some as far south as India! This wasn't just media mayhem. This was the real deal. By evening, my aurora app started pinging. KP index was 9, the highest it can be, indicating one whopper of a geomagnetic storm. My app told me that if the skies were clear, we would have about a 50% chance of seeing the lights where we were, just north of Indianapolis.

Only, we had cloud cover. We weren't totally shrouded, but the clouds were supposed to increase as the night wore on, and eventually, rain would move in.

I suppressed my cynicism and began researching cloud cover in nearby areas. I plugged in points south, east, north, and west of us:
Columbus, IN: Worse cloud cover, and also south
Muncie, IN: Way worse cloud cover, 70% or more
Eastern IL: Also 70% or more
Northern IN, near Lake Michigan: 30-40%

The answer was obvious. Go north, which also happens to be the clearest skies. Around 9PM, we booked it the 2 hours up towards Indiana Dunes National Park. With any luck, we'd see the lights over Lake Michigan, which would be perfect because the lake would be dark, giving more visibility to the skies above.

The drive was on the interstates the whole way, so light pollution wasn't our friend. However, at points where the clouds parted, we were able to see the faintest whisps of green and pink, but we really needed to strain our eyes. Half the time we weren't even sure if our eyes were playing tricks on us. At one point we talked about getting off the highway and moving over to a county road, but the clouds rolled back in. We figured we should just get up to Lake Michigan as quickly as possible.

Along the way, I kept checking the aurora forecast for our destination. We could not have gotten a better chance, given our circumstances.

After a long drive of straining our eyes and our necks, we finally arrived to Indiana Dunes National and State Parks. Turns out, we weren't the only ones to have this brilliant idea. The park was hopping! You'd think it was the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend! Apparently in the hours between sunset and our arrival, things must have gotten pretty bonkers, because police were blocking some of the roads, forcing detours and traffic jams.

Uncertain that we could even get to the lakeshore, we first tried a couple of darker areas nearby...if we can call them dark. They were listed as nature preserves on the map, but they had a lot of street lights. In one last-ditch effort, we drove a little further north, to Beverly Shores. We found a "no parking" spot to pull over.

By this point, it was after 11PM CST, which meant it was actually after midnight for us. Technically. We had only been back on Eastern Time for one night, but we felt the jump, both forward and backward. That coupled with the fact that my afternoon had consisted of 3.5 straight hours of meetings and I was battling a migraine all day, I was ready to lose all hope and sanity. Anthony convinced me to stick around a little while longer, but the clouds were coming in fast. I set my camera on a long exposure to see if anything would show up, but it was all just clouds.

We finally called it a night, and as Anthony drove back, I went onto social media to see the latest sightings. We felt like the only people in the world who saw nothing. Even my mom in Massachusetts saw a "pink glow with some green" in her back yard. Thousands and thousands of people commented underneath the Live Storm Chaser posts, and I caught a few that made my heart drop. One photo taken 7 minutes away, on Lake Michigan. Another taken from Gary, IN. Then, two of the Live Storm Chasers themselves, getting beautiful ribbons of light, right in Muncie, IN, the very place we considered going but deemed it "too cloud covered."

Most of our drive back was rainy, the perfect weather to match our mood. We couldn't help but wonder if the auroras made an appearance over our RV. So many sightings were in that general area. If we had just stayed put, would be have had better luck?

That's the problem with these types of phenomena. We did everything "right," but we missed out big time. On the other hand, so many people just needed to go into their yards and look at the sky. It's all a toss-up.

And so, since we didn't get to see the northern lights, I made do with the photo I did get. I know. So realistic.

We got back to the trailer after 3AM and needed to be up early to pack and head out. More geomagnetic storms would come in throughout the weekend, but we would be further south each day. I made the command decision to not chase anything. I didn't care if they were issuing another G5 with KP 9s and all the solar wind. I was staying put.

450 North Brewing Co., Columbus, IN

We positioned ourselves in the parking lot so, on the unlikely chance the lights appeared, I could potentially get a killer shot of them over the rig. Facing north, all we saw was farmland, which was good. It would get really dark at night. But, we didn't come here for the potential of seeing any auroras. We came for – what else?! – the food!

As you can see, though, even the grounds are unbelievable. We had tons of space because the business has two parking lots. There are a few buildings, the main brewery/restaurant and a couple of smaller spaces for events. There is also a beautiful flower garden, and on the far end of the restaurant, a patio with cornhole. Inside, to the left is a gift shop and tasting bar because this place is also a winery. To the right are the restaurant tables and the main bar. The place was hopping because it was a Saturday night, and the whole atmosphere was great.

We ordered food to take back to the rig: A 3-cheese pizza, garlic knots, and a salad. All the food was yummy, but given the other places we've eaten during this challenge, it had big shoes to fill, which it didn't quite do. Still, if we take away the comparison points, the meal was very satisfying. And in case you're wondering, yes, we did also get dessert, but we won't say how much because it's embarrassing. Desserts are the MVPs of the challenge! We must try them all!

The predicted G5 storm began to dwindle as the night approached. The meteorologists said that, if any northern lights were going to happen, they would now likely be later in the night. We didn't have high hopes, but just in case, we set our alarms for 3:30AM and 4:30AM to see if anything had changed. The KP index kept getting lower and lower. Our chance of seeing the northern lights? 0%.

At least before we went to bed, I was able to capture other aspects of nature's beauty. The sunset that evening was glorious, and I also took some beauty shots of the flowers in the garden. I was happy to get my nature fix any way I could.

And on the last day of the weekend, we ventured down to Kentucky once again, this time right near the border of Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. I swear, our Ohio border crossing tradition is taking on a life of its own these days. After 7 months, I had a lot of pent up excitement.

But alas, our home for a few days was in Kentucky, though not too far from Cincinnati. We booked this place through Boondockers Welcome, but they do also have a listing on Harvest Hosts, so I feel okay about sharing some photos of it. It was so beautiful and pastoral. Our parking spot was perched on a hill, where we got to see yet another fantastic fireball sunset against the clear blue skies.

Hills are also good for viewing the northern lights, and despite having some trees in our northward view, the vantage point could make for some successful sightings.

That, of course, is dependent on the atmospheric happenings. Once again, a low geomagnetic storm was predicted, this time probably only a 3 or 4. I checked my forecast app sporadically during the couple of hours between sunset and sleep, and the highest chance we got was 4%. I set a long exposure just to see what I would capture, but the only glow in the sky was light pollution, possibly from all the way in Cincinnati.

We will agree with Live Storm Chasers, though, that this aurora event really brought people together. It was reminiscent of the solar eclipse in some ways, where we could all marvel at nature's magic together and forget about all the crap in the world for just a little while. Plus, after all of the extreme weather the Midwest has been having, this was a welcome reprieve for so many. It's crazy that nature can deliver terrifying tornadoes one day, and then the next day, produce something almost too gorgeous to believe. Depictions of Hell and Heaven both painted on nature's canvas.