#WayUpNorthTrip Day 10 has been impossibly beautiful.The E6 and ferry ride and Vesterålen all stunning and sunny. White sand, turquoise waters, jagged mountains and a dramatic cloud bank rolling in over the ocean. Wildflowers like bright gems, and pink & white fields of fireweed and meadowsweet.
I love the Norwegian road worker tradition of spraying happy summer greetings on their machines when they stop working for the vacation season! It always makes me smile to pass them and see the decorations. #WayUpNorthTrip
#WayUpNorthTrip Day 9. We slept with a roof over our heads, at a self-service hotel. Took a little shopping jaunt to Bodø (new hiking shoes!), then hit up the mighty Saltstraumen maelstrom at its peak. We've slowly made our way far north enough to have full midnight sun tonight!
#WayUpNorthTrip Day 8 was... unexpected adventures! Car didn't start. Fortunately it was just a flat battery! And fortunately we don't have any set plans, so we weren't late to a spontaneous boat ride & hike up to Svartisen glacier! Currently driving in slow midnight sunset and gasping at the views.
On the one hand, our trusty Toyota refusing to start this morning for our #WayUpNorthTrip is not great. On the other hand, we are on a campground with everything we need to enjoy the magnificent views while waiting on the road assistance the nice Toyota support people are sending our way...!
#WayUpNorthTrip - Day 7. We've been driving north for a week, and today we crossed the Arctic Circle on a ferry. There were three of those today, and driving roads with breathtakingly beautiful views. And sunny ! The day got so hot I literally walked into the ocean to cool down. (It was lovely.)
Having to go to the campsite bathroom in the middle of the night during our #WayUpNorthTrip is pretty rewarding...! 2:20 & 5:25 AM on Offersøy, with views of the sea and the Sju søstre mountain we're hiking today.
#WayUpNorthTrip - It's not every day I climb ~1400 steps before breakfast, but today I challenged my vertigo and made it all the way up to the views at Ravnfloget. After drizzly days it was particularly spectacular to see the sunny Vega Archipelago spread out so far below!
#WayUpNorthTrip Day 5: kayaking in crystal clear waters under gray skies, then a much more varied hike than expected. So many cool sights here on Vega, even with the piercing mountain tops still hidden under a secretive veil of clouds.
#WayUpNorthTrip Day 4: two ferries, lots of gorgeous views. We're now on the island of Vega, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site! It's been really interesting to learn more about that. After an early dinner of local fish we did a slightly drizzly walk through the most amazing wildflower meadows.
Animals seen on #WayUpNorthTrip Day 3:
Various sheep (including a black one), a mama ducks and ducklings crossing the road (the car ahead stopped on the E6 to let them pass), a couple of reindeer and a jumping fish. Plus the Oftenåse hike had a bunch of really adorable and amusing animal statues!
#WayUpNorthTrip Day 3 started with a gloriously calm and sunny morning, and then weather happened. We saw it cutting across the sky after we hiked up to the world's largest garden chair (...), and rain followed us as we went north by car and car ferry. Tonight we sleep indoors! Sunset: 12:38 PM.
all these fantastic travel experiences without stopping to think about what I can or can't do as an ostomate. I can change bags in the tent! I do have to get up several times a night to empty my bag, but it's fine. And it does mean I see the local sights at beautiful times of night & morning! 6/6
So this is my changing setup in our tent! Since we've got the car I've just packed up the stuff I use at home. I've got one box for supplies, and one for the bags/pouches (since I don't want the skin barrier plates to get misshapen). I brought daily changes, plus a whole bunch extra just in case! 4/
#WayUpNorthTrip One of my favorite things about going to Norway is crossing the border. This was yesterday, on the E14 from Åre. The border is marked by a little cairn, and you know you're entering Norway because a sign says so. Also the lines in the middle of the road go from white to yellow! 🇸🇪🇳🇴
#WayUpNorthTrip has brought us from the banks of Lake Orsa in Sweden to the edge of a fjord in Norway. We crossed mountains, saw dramatic weather, encountered sheep (with lambs!) on the road, and pulled over for a spontaneous hike involving several swaying suspension bridges...! Sunset: 11:18 PM.
#WayUpNorthTrip Day 1 was a success! We outran the rain, the restaurant we booked for dinner served truly delicious food, and our chosen campsite is well appointed and comfortable without being industrial sized and crowded. And the views...! Fields and forests and low mountains and lakes. Ahhh!
#WayUpNorthTrip so far:
In the local supermarket parking lot, looked at the forecast and decided not to go to Norway today! The alternative route through Sweden will hopefully let us camp dry.
At 4PM, picked between two routes, found tonight's campsite and made dinner reservations in Mora. 🥰
#WayUpNorthTrip so far:
In the local supermarket parking lot, looked at the forecast and decided not to go to Norway today! The alternative route through Sweden will hopefully let us camp dry.
At 4PM, picked between two routes, found tonight's campsite and made dinner reservations in Mora. 🥰
To be fair to whichever of the live update journalists who wrote that, they did dutifully link to a source saying just that!
www.britannica.com/topic/Osiris...
Morning kitties. Meenie glaring at us from the stairs because we had "breakfast" and went to "work" instead of playing with her, and Nora in the guest room bed. Or rather: her bed, where she spent all night alone.
