A clear night sky.

My last stop was a few miles outside Ely, Minnesota, nestled among the Northwoods. I had read about a wood-fired sauna, built by Finns in the early 1920s. The purpose of my road trip was just that. Explore and find the Finnish sauna experience, over 7 days, in the upper regions of the United States.

But that night after my sauna, including a few cold water plunges, I walked back to my cabin. I smiled as I navigated the dark boreal forest trail, unafraid of the night. My senses were awake with only a headlamp to help me see. And after returning to my cabin, since my eyes had adjusted to the dark, I stepped out onto the porch to sit alongside the lakeshore with my camera and tripod to investigate what I could see. I wasn’t ready to let go of that feeling of euphoria one gets after a sauna – or the dark. So the clear night sky was the next best thing to hold onto.

Living in Chicago, an urban environment, I’m accustomed to the constant yellow glow of city lights. It is never too dark. We forget that, part of being human, our eyes actually can adapt to the dark. A simple small light is all we need. There is a street light that has been out for a few months near my condo in Chicago. I have not called the city to replace it. I’ve been enjoying the luxury of the darker section of my block, rather than an intense glare from a lamppost.

So sitting under the stars this night in the remote wilderness of the Northwoods, I was surprised at how far I could see. There was very little light pollution, other than what emitted from my small cabin. I realized then, I found the ultimate Finnish sauna experience, along with sitting under a clear night sky.