My dad and I where driving to Ontario Canada that night from Des Moines for a fly in fishing trip. We first noticed a green Aurora band on the Northern horizon after sunset near Pine City, MN. As it got darker and we drove north, the more intense the Aurora became. We stopped for gas in Virginia/Eveleth area long enough to make a call back home to see if my mom could see the lights and she could see a green and red arch with no problem in Southern Iowa. We could not see any reds, just crazy pulsations of green/yellows straight up to the Zenith (actually to every horizon). I guess we where actually to far north, so the reds where hidden by the Greens/yellows below it. Started driving towards International Falls and it was getting very hard to focus on the road. The lights where out of control along with a few STEVE's and SARs. I finally decided to stop the truck so we could watch all the fun. First thing I heard was wolves. Then looked straight up for a show of my (our) lifetime. And we where seeing easily over 200 Perseids an hour, if not more. While the light pulsations are just incredible. Unfortunately, no cell camera and my main camera was packed away and I forgot my tri-pod. So, I was glad to see Stan Richard posted some Aurora pics taken just north of Des Moines that night. Note, the reds are easily visible. One just needed to be 500mi south to see all the colors in this Aurora. I think the storm was just a G3 storm, didn't have nearly as much solar info back then as we do now. But very glad to see these pics. My, dad and I will never forget what we saw and heard. Truly unforgettable. The animated image is from someone who took a video of it in St.Paul, MN.
