Mrs. K, the Musher

This is a story that the woman who rode in my sled wrote...

This morning I found myself in the Artic Circle in Finland with a foot in much pain. I needed to ride back to the main house in a dogsled, but I couldn't drive the sled and ride at the same time. I asked if anyone could help me and this wonderful lady came running up.

Her name was Mrs K, and she told me that she was confident that she could drive the sled and handle the five Siberian Huskies that were in front of it. I looked at the Huskies and the way they were tied was that there were two in front one in the middle and two in the back. The Huskies were very playful and I was wondering if she could really do it as they were nipping at each other. She told me not to worry that she knew what to do and that we would both be fine.

We learned that we needed to be sure to brake and keep the lines that the Huskies were tied with tight so that they did not start to play with each other instead of paying attention to the sled. I sat down on the sled and Mrs. K stood in back with both of her hands on the top rung of the sled to guide us. She had the foot brake and at times she had to have both feet on the skids that were stuck out of the sides of the back.

Away we went. The dog started playing immediately and got twisted. We had to stop and another person who handles the dogs came, untwisted them, and fixed the harness. Mrs. K said "we'll be fine", and away we went again. She took us on a long path that was a few miles with curves and downhills in the middle of the trees and the beautiful white snow. It was so quiet that all you could hear was the dog's feet  and the runners of the sled against the snow. When we had to turn we both moved slightly to the right or the left of the sled and it stayed upright. The dogs behaved perfectly for the way Mrs. K was driving. We got back to the main house safely without any incidents.

Mrs. K was a terrific musher and I was so lucky that she came to my rescue today. Anybody who knows Mrs. K is a very lucky person.

Thrill of a Lifetime!

I did it! I drove a dogsled team through the woods! It was awesome! Since there are two people per sled, a musher and a passenger, I initially did not think that I would get to drive because Chris was going to start. I did pay attention to the brief driving and safety lesson, though since there was a chance that we could switch at the halfway point.

After getting settled in my sled, one of the guides came over and asked if we would both be interested in driving since neither of the two remaining women on our tour wanted to drive. I agreed to drive, and I am so glad that I did! 

Selfie before I was promoted to musher of my own team!

We went for a 10 km (just over 6 miles) ride through the snowy woods. It was spectacular, but not the tranquil experience of the reindeer sleigh. The dogs were barking anxiously to start. They could not wait to run!

The sleds do not have very elaborate braking and steering systems. Basically, you stand on two narrow runners that come out behind the sled. There is a metal brake attached to springs on the back of the sled. To slow down, you step on it with one foot and the claws dig into the snow and ice to slow down the dogs. To stop completely, you step harder - maybe with both feet. To help the dogs climb, you can run behind the sled or use one foot, like propelling a scooter. You just need to be able to get your feet back on the runners. To turn, you lean to the side. Turning was probably the most challenging, but our sled always stayed on the course.

This picture shows the area where the dogs stay. You can also get a sense of the daylight. This is about as daylight as it gets at this time of year. It was a little before noon when this was taken. 

We had six sleds going. The guides rode snowmobiles and monitored our progress. My team of dogs was fantastic! Aside from one dog who started to wrangle his way out of the harness, they behaved great! The team ahead of me was a little more feisty and would get themselves tangled and jumpy every time we slowed or stopped.

It was such a thrill! I wish I had some pictures of actually riding, but that wasn't possible as you can imagine.

My team after the run. They took turns flopping and rolling in the snow.

When we returned, we were able to walk through the kennel area. We all enjoyed meeting the three puppies!

The dogs are Siberian Huskies. This one is four months old. Look at those blue eyes!

We ended again with warm berry juice and a fire, but this time I was not cold at all.

I can't believe it is our last night in Lapland. Tonight we have dinner and then a bus ride to see the area and search for the northern lights. It has been cloudy with snow showers today, so it's probably not good conditions for the northern lights. Our flight back to Helsinki leaves at 9:20 AM tomorrow.

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

The words of Robert Frost were going through my head as we headed into the woods in our reindeer sleigh. Cuddled together with a blanket over us and a reindeer pulling us through the dark, snowy night, I was filled with a sense of tranquility.

Chris and I were assigned to the front sleigh in our reindeer sleigh train. That meant that we only had the reindeer and the Sami herder ahead of us and the rest of the sleighs behind us. The reindeer behind us seemed to have a fondness for me, though and kept coming up alongside me. As I would look to the left, his large head with antlers was bobbing along next to me. Amazing!

You can't see our reindeer in this photo, but the one behind me is the one who walked beside me.

This is the reindeer who pulled our sleigh.

We stopped in the woods at a kota (Lappish tepee). Inside, our guides shared stories and information about the Sami people throughout Lapland. One of our guides was a Norwegian Sami from the northern region and the other was a Russian Sami. They both sang some traditional songs for us as well. We enjoyed warm berry juice by the fire while we listened.

He is a Russian Sami. He is wearing clothes made of reindeer skin that he made himself.

She is a Norwegian Sami wearing a traditional summer costume.

Then, it was time to load ourselves back into the sleigh for the journey back. The sky was cloudy, so we did not see the northern lights, but it was very peaceful and such a unique experience.

Santa Was Home!

What an amazing day in the Lapland wilderness! 

For starters, we saw the northern lights from our igloo last night! Even before the lights made their magical appearance, the igloo experience was awe-inspiring. With the clear night, I could lie in bed and watch thousands of stars twinkling overhead. I watched the Big Dipper move through the night sky. It was the perfect night to spend in the igloo! 

Just after midnight, we started to notice a glow forming on the horizon. At first, I wasn't sure if it was clouds moving in or the lights or what. One of our tour mates came and banged on our door to make sure that we were awake. The light rose up, just over the horizon. It was not the bright spectacle of colors that you see in movies and pictures, but it clearly radiated in the night sky - mostly in white. For about twenty minutes, we could clearly see it, and then it began to fade. Later we could still see a light band a little higher in the sky. I do not have any pictures because they did not show up on our phones.

This morning, we could see the beauty of a winter morning as we made our way through the resort. The trees are covered with light snow with more snow cover on the ground and roads. After breakfast, we were greeted by a very joyful elf who led us to visit Santa and his reindeer. It was great fun to have Santa come out of his home to see us and then to invite us in for a visit. We each had an opportunity to tell Santa our wishes and have a picture taken. I made sure to tell him how good you all have been this year!

This is Aurora, the eld leading us to Santa's home.
Her basket is filled with food for the reindeer!

This is the view from the bridge leading up to Santa's.

This is the home of the elves, across the bridge from Santa.

Approaching Santa's Home

A warm welcome from Santa. He was waving from the window as we approached.

Next, we went to meet the reindeer. We were able to enter their pen and feed them. It was really cool to stand right next to them. Tonight we are going for a reindeer sleigh ride to see the wilderness at night and search for the northern lights.

It is bitter cold up here today. Currently, it is 11℉ with a Feels Like temp of only 1℉. Brrr! I might need to wear everything in my suitcase for our adventure tonight!

We also went up into the observation tower. All you can see are forests stretching into the distance. It's beautiful. There was a little glimpse of the sunrise/sunset which happens almost simultaneously as the sun does not come over the horizon.

We moved from our igloo to a log cabin. I feel a bit like Laura Ingalls in the cabin in the Big Woods. It is so cozy! Outside, it is pitch black already at 4:00!

The cabin has a sauna, so I did use that to warm up a bit. I did not follow it with a roll in the snow or anything. I can't say that I have embraced the sauna experience yet, but it is nice to have the option to use it.

Soon we will head to dinner. It may be a late night chasing the auroras in our reindeer sleigh!

Welcome to Lapland!

Wow! You will not believe where I am now! We made it to Lapland. Lapland is the northernmost province in Finland and also the name for the northern areas in Sweden, Norway, and part of Russia that is home to the Sami people. The flight from Helsinki was about an hour and a half, but the destination is worlds away. We are about 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

When we arrived at the airport in Ivalo, the sun was setting...at 1:15 PM! Actually, it does not really rise at this time of the year. The sun does not come up over the horizon. They have a few hours of light that resembles dusk, I guess. We'll see tomorrow.

There were mischievous elves loose in the airport!

Tonight we are sleeping in a glass igloo. It's entertaining to see Chris enter the igloo. It's like he is entering a hobbit door or something. He said it's like the Keebler Elf's resort home. The little igloo basically consists of a bed with a glass dome over it (not sure what they are going for with the decor...zebra print bedding and red shag carpet does not exactly say Lappish design). The night is clear tonight with an inky, black sky filled with stars. We are all hoping to see the northern lights while we are here, but apparently, they are very elusive, so we just have to wait and see.

It was this dark by 5:00!

Tonight we had a Lappish dinner of salmon soup, reindeer with mashed potatoes, and Lappish cheese for dessert. 

Lappish cheese (leipäjuusto) dessert. It was served warm with cream and sugar and berries.  The cheese is squeaky and chewy - like cheese curds.

Tomorrow we get to visit Santa and the reindeer!

Happy Birthday, Chris!

We started our day with a guided bus tour of Helsinki. We saw many sights that Chris and I had already found but added some that we hadn't visited yet. It was helpful to receive the tour guide's insights into all of the locations. We were able to get off the bus and explore a few sights too.

Inside the Helsinki Cathedral. This is the large cathedral in Senate Square. It is an Evangelical Lutheran cathedral, the official religion of Finland.

At the Sibelius Monument. This monument was erected in 1967 in honor of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.

These pictures are inside the 

Temppeliaukio Rock Church.

This church was carved directly into the rock and is located in the heart of Helsinki. You can even see the water that runs from the walls in places. The ceiling is copper. The acoustics make it a popular place for concerts. While we were there, a man was playing piano. 

Later, we visited BrewDog at Chris's birthday request. He has watched the television program and found out that they had a location that was close to our hotel. 

Notice the moose on the wall.

 A birthday game of Star Wars pinball.

Slow Day

Not much to report today. We trekked our bags across town to move from the apartment to the Hotel Lilla Roberts. It was a dreary, wet day today, but much warmer than yesterday. Soup for lunch at the market. Then we just took it easy until it was time to meet our tour group for a brief meeting and dinner.

Our tour director is Micke. He is Swedish but enjoys visiting Lapland. There are only eleven participants on our tour after four canceled this morning. I think it will be nice to travel with such a small group. Tomorrow I will try to learn everyone's names and see if I can get some pictures. We will do an official tour of Helsinki in the morning and then have time to ourselves in the afternoon. 

For dinner tonight, we went to Olo. This restaurant was not in the league that Chris and I usually explore. The starter was beef tartar. I'm sure it was a delicacy, but I will not be adding it to my personal favorite foods list. The entree was lamb, which was very tasty. For dessert, we had a lemon creme. It had yogurt and honey and was topped with something that made it look like we were being served a bowl of snow. It tasted very good - cold and creamy, but with a sourness from the lemon. (Yeah. I know. They are not going to hire me as a judge on Chopped with the way that I describe food.)

I'm sure tomorrow will be fun, but I am excited to head north to Lapland. The temperature up there is supposed to be cold. Hopefully, we will have some clear nights to be able to see the Northern Lights (maybe night doesn't really matter since I am not sure that the sun rises at all at this time of year. We'll see.)