Back on the road.

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Tuesday
Back On The Road.We set out a little later than usual as it took us a while to make a plan for the day. We decided to head for Lillehammer which is situated at the end of lake Mjosa. Along the way we passed over the forested hills on a fairly narrow road that wound its way to the top, on the way down the other side we met some road works, we had to wait for a while until a convoy of vehicles came the other way, led by a convoy car. The car turned around and led us down the mountain, past the workforce who were laying new Tarmac. We were surprised how many of the workers were women.We found a Lay-by to have a coffee break, the sun is really hot today, not a cloud in the sky. Once we are down the hill, the road followed the lake side, it is mostly farming country around here. It is noticeable that the lake is very full, some of the jetties are under the water, we passed a few tracks that also disappeared into the lake.Once we reached Gjovik we parked next to the lake and had lunch, the wind here is strangely icy cold! We took Logan for a short walk, but it was even shorter than planned, because the access to cross a bridge is flooded. We turned around and walked back the way we had come. Back on the road we pretty much continued to follow the lakes edge to Lillehammer, we crossed the bridge spanning the lake and headed up hill to the Olympic skiing stadium used in the 1994 Olympics. We are able to park overnight here just below the ski jump. I did some washing, it soon dried in the hot sun. We sat out and enjoyed the view over the town and water below. After a while we decided to walk to a waterfall that is close by, some youths are playing in the water, then we walked to the stadium and climbed the 936 steps to the top of the ski jump. It was hot work but worth it for the view. We followed the track back down, in a couple of places we had to walk through the snow, a chilly experience in our sandals. Later in the evening some groups of youngsters arrive in minibuses playing very loud music, that sort that goes thump thump thump through a very large base, next followed what I presume was a party bus, the bass was so loud that everything in side rattled, including us. After about an hour they all went back down the road, there were just a few loud giggly girls left.Wednesday.Oh what a night!After we went to bed we heard the girls making their way down the hill and settled in for a good nights sleep. A little while later the THUMP THUMP THUMP was back, it was louder then before I think the whole party bus was one giant 'super woofer' we could here the revellers fooling about. I think we thought they would go away again, but the noise continued. I started to get angry, something that I usually resist, I imagined terrible things I would like to do to the vehicles if only I had a weapon. Then reasoning prevailed, 'If you are unhappy with a situation remove it from your life' (a great Buddhist teaching). So up we got, stowed our things and hit the road, it's 2.30 am, we climbed up the mountain and found a place to stay about 2 miles away. Due to the light nights, it was like twilight. We settled back into bed, in the distance we could still here the rave and nature was starting to have a rave of its own, as the birds had decided it was time for the dawn chorus! Eventually we drifted off to sleep.It was 9.00am before we were up. When we were ready we drove down to the Maihaugen Museum, an open air museum with houses that have been dismantled from their original places and rebuilt in Lillehammer. A lovely lady offered to give us a short guided tour for half an hour before she had a party arriving. She showed us the main houses and buildings, also a beautiful stave church dating from 1200, then left us to explore the rest of the site on our own. We asked her about the noise the evening before and she explained that the local high school students were celebrating the end of their courses before taking their exams and the raves go on throughout all of May. The museums houses ranged from 1700 right up to 2001. The farm houses had all the accompanying buildings, barns animal shelters stores etc. set out as they would have been, Some of them weren't open but many were. There was also a reconstructed row of shops and the railway station. A great day out! We drove back to the place that we stayed last night and enjoyed the peace and quiet.ThursdayToday is Norway's National day, a day of parades, national costumes, celebration and eating hotdogs and ice creams. We went into town ready for the festivities to begin. At a small park the children were gathering ready to march behind a band through the town. There are a lot of people here dressed up in their best. Once the parade had begun we walked into the Main Street to await the parade. There is a lovely carnival atmosphere, it's only 10 o'clock and many a hot dog and ice cream are being consumed! At about 11 o'clock the parade arrives, from the small one in the park it has grown considerably, there are bands, majorettes and school children who are marching behind their school banners. We were disappointed not to see the Billarettes. You may have to google it if you're not from Buxton. We think it's a shame that we don't have a national costume, even some people of other ethnicities were wearing their national costumes. After the parade we made our way back to Dream Catcher and had an early lunch before heading out of town, our plan is to drive over the mountains to Roros, a World Heritage town. The scenery is amazing, we have a 180 degree view of the high mountains. There is still a lot of snow up here at 3888 feet, but luckily the road is clear. The air must be very clean as everywhere is covered with lichens. We would have been tempted to spend the night up here, but it really is very chilly in the northerly wind, so we head down to a camper stop for the night, about 80 miles from our destinationAt the entrance to the stop there is an enormous stainless steel Elk, Joe Han, you would have loved it. Altogether a lovely day!FridayOn the way to Roros we followed a long stretch of the river Glomma and the railway, the scenery is all pine forest to begin with, this then changed into mostly silver birch, the higher we drive the shorter the trees are. At a coffee stop Logan picked up a pine cone and dropped it at my feet, wanting me to throw it for him, it's a long time since we played this game but he must have remembered. He's so clever, but useless at finding the cone if he doesn't see where it lands. A bit further on we spotted a vehicle pulled off the road which appeared to be stuck in a muddy patch, two youngsters were trying to push the car with mum sat inside. We reversed up the road and pulled off to tow them out, International 4x4 rescue! Les attached the tow rope to the cars towing hitch and Dream Catcher pulled the car out backwards. The family were very grateful and we all went on our way. At our destination we called at the tourist office where we picked up some local information and found out about tours around the town and visiting the copper mine. It's a bit late in the day to visit the mine museum as it closes early, everywhere is still on winter opening times. We walk around this very unique town exploring the streets lined with houses and buildings under preservation orders. One area close to the mine was called Slag Road! It is lined with tiny miners cottages. The church here is one of the largest in Norway, it seats 1640 people and was built in 1780 to replace an earlier one dating from 1650. We plan to take the walking tour tomorrow morning to find out more. Roros is also one of the coldest places in Norway, in 2010 the temperature dropped down to -44CAfter an ice cream we drove out of town to find a camping place, a pleasant spot overlooking a a pond and next to a small recreational area for local children, however there aren't many houses around here so it feels quite remote. We walked Logan for an hour and then settled in for the evening. Sunrise 04.06hrsSunset 22.10hrsDay length 18.04

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Photos

DSCN8116
I hope real elks aren't as big as this one.