When I want to see the Northern Lights, I plan my dream Aurora Borealis vacation to Norway, Canada, Alaska, or Iceland. Of the 6 times I have seen these magnificent lights, 3 have been in Missouri above my house! The best time was November 11, 2025. The Northern Lights were seen across much of North America that evening, as far south as Florida and Texas. This was due to a powerful G4-rated geomagnetic storm that was caused by coronal mass ejections (aka CMEs) from the sun. Our gift from that storm was the Northern Lights—green, pink and red, complete with pillars and a few emotional tears.
I am going to let the pictures speak for themselves. Taken with my iPhone 17 Pro Max, night mode from my neighborhood in O’Fallon, Missouri. I went out twice that night to capture the beauty of the lights!
Taken with an iPhone 15 Pro MaxFrom the front yardFiery Red from the back yard A little green Aurora as it was fading away
The most powerful geomagnetic storm in 20 years delivered the most amazing auroras across the globe last night. It was an extremely rare G-5 level event that followed a series of strong solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CME for short) from mid-week.
Experiencing the aurora was a bucket list night for me and a lot of other people. The pictures on social media from Europe, Canada, China, and the US (as far south as Florida!) are insanely breathtaking. Never did I ever imagine that I would see an aurora in my home state of Missouri. And, I will never forget it.
People go in search of auroras. The aurora hunters and enthusiasts travel thousands of miles at the perfect time of the year, to the areas of the world that are known for their gorgeous display of green, pink, purple, and blue, only to be let down because the lights fail to make their appearance on demand. I know, I spent three nights trying to track the aurora in Iceland last year. It’s disappointing.
Little did I know that I’d be able to see them right from my front and back yard before 10 pm on May 10, 2024. As you can see from the pictures, they were pink, red, and a little green. The red is a result of the intense storm (and being further south). And while our northern hemisphere gives us the aurora borealis or northern lights, the aurora australis brings about the southern lights in places like Antarctica, Tasmania,and even Australia.
I’m exceptionally lucky. Last night was my fourth viewing of the aurora. My first was in 2018 on an airplane to Alaska, somewhere over Canada. They were vivid green and I watched them move throughout the sky at 39,000 feet at the end of August. It was such a peaceful moment because most everyone on the plane was asleep. I woke my boys to take a peek, but I felt like the lights were dancing just for me.
The next time was on a plane to Iceland in April 2023. Unfortunately, I wasn’t sitting by the window so I had to awkwardly crane my neck over the gentleman who had the prime seat. The third time was two days later in Reykjavík. Even with the city lights, they were visible to the naked eye. I have posted pictures in a prior blog post if you’d like to take a look. It was a perfect day—we had just returned from an incredible excursion in the southern part of Iceland. I ran out from my hotel room, in my robe, to the rooftop to catch a glimpse. Last night I was also in my robe. Therefore, I think I either need to be on an airplane or in my robe to see the aurora!
There’s a chance the northern lights will make a return over the next couple days. Please come back to Missouri, Aurora!
-My home town- The Old Courthouse with the Gateway Arch in the backgroundWe had the pleasure of hosting Suke and sharing our Thanksgiving traditions. Suke is the son of our Japanese friends and lives in Tokyo. Right now he’s studying at a California university and we had the honor of having him in our home this holiday weekend!
How did I not know that the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, aka St. Louis Cathedral, which sits in the Central West end of the city, rivals churches I have seen to-date?
I always knew this cathedral was there; however, I’ve never taken the time to visit. What a terrible miss on my part. It took a visitor from another country, who is spending Thanksgiving with us, to request a visit for me to finally discover this gem. Let’s just say that I was BLOWN AWAY! Completed in 1914, named for Saint Louis, and designated a basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1997, it’s an astonishing collection of mosaic art work.
My head swirled as I entered and looked up and around. There was a man from North Carolina admiring the details next to me. He commented that he’s been all over the world and this is one of the best cathedrals he has visited. I told him that I’ve never seen so many mosaic tiles outside of Church of the Savior on Blood in St. Petersburg, Russia (Russian: Церковь Спаса на Крови, Tserkovʹ Spasa na Krovi). He agreed.
I had to look it up because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. According to Wikipedia, the basilica contains 41.5 million glass tesserae (tile) pieces in 7,000+ colors. The tiles cover 83,000 square feet and it is, indeed, the largest mosaic collection in the world outside Russia. Holy moly—right in my home town!
The mosaic work was done by several people/companies including a father/son team who dedicated their lives to the art.
It is #6 on TripAdvisor’s things to do in St Louis, following the Arch, the Zoo, Missouri Botanical Gardens, the City Museum, and Busch Stadium. While I don’t disagree those are must see attractions, THIS BASICILA is a treasure of epic proportions—and I, too, have seen a ton of churches around the world. I may not be Catholic, but gosh, was this a spiritual moment!
There is a crypt with the former Cardinals of the St Louis Archdiocese, an organ with a story too long to tell here, and a museum to learn more about the mosaic art work. We didn’t have time to explore these 3 in detail (as we had reservations to go up #1 on the list—the Gateway Arch), but I will take a guided tour next time.
Look at that all the mosaic tiles plus marble and brick on the inside and granite on the outside. The Cathedral seats 5,000 people (including the galleries) and has 3 impressive domes, two spires, and a Tintinnabulum, a small bell that designates the church as a minor basilica.
Christina’s Journey Journal 