Journey: Karhunpesakivi – Pitkajarvi Lake – Saariselka – Tankavaara – Sodankyla – Pyha- Luoston National Park
After a lovely relaxing evening reading with the pups, our morning walk was to see a bear den in the woods. To be honest it’s likely a tourist gimmick as no evidence of bears living there but Jasper checked just in case and then we all ventured inside. Pretty nice den, if the van breaks down we can all fit in here 😊 We continued to the top of the trail for the scenic view before heading down for our second coffee of the day. I’m still struggling to get up and out before 10 🙈
I then drove a little off route to Pitkajarvi Lake…Mark is already bored of lakes so didn’t get out to look at it…in fairness there are hundreds, but it proved a nice lunch spot and a couple of reindeer walked right past the van. For the first time the dogs actually spotted them and Ernest was desperate to go play, he was still barking long after they had wandered off.
We nipped into Saariselka which in the winter is a thriving ski resort but in the summer mostly a supermarket, so we stocked up and drove on to Tankavaara which has a nice woodland trail next to the gold mine and a bit of war history along the route. We could hear the tannoys coming from the gold mine and realised they were holding the gold panning championships!
Our next stop was a little art gallery in Sodankyla where a local artist had painted a series of works detailing the Sami culture and stories from his life. There was also a reindeer photography exhibition and I loved the shot of just his nose peaking out behind a tree. We see so many reindeer along the roadsides and lots of babies this time of year, it’s magical.
Having put it off yesterday I braved the cold and went for a short run along the river while Mark made dinner and then we found a lovely spot to camp and went for a bedtime walk in the Pyha-Luoston National Park. Mabel caught a scent and I stupidly decided to follow her off route so she could enjoy the tracking. The videos demonstrate my complete inability to discipline, and instead my natural reaction to try bargaining, bribary and pleading with a dog who chooses not to hear or understand me when fixated on a scent. Needless to say we never found a creature, but I did get wet bog feet and Mark was really pleased with us both when we finally returned 😜 Come on though it was fun 🤣
Now for our bedtime hot chocolate and reading (The Happy Brain – another neuroscience book, this time about happiness)
SofaWolves 