I can still make out the faint scent of the campfire when I put on my winter coat and wrap my scarf around me to go to work. It’s been 2 weeks since we returned from our trip to Finnish Lapland, but the smell of the campfire is the invisible reminder of our time there. Long after I pack away my winter coat and scarf and the smell of the campfire fades away, the moments of the trip will stay with me.
The thing that strikes me most when thinking about Lapland is that every sense was overwhelmed by our experiences. I’ve never heard a silence more beautiful than the day we snow shoed through the forest. A symphony of snow crunching under our feet broke the quiet with its own unique melody and lulled my baby in my arms into an easy sleep. Dog sledding brought a different set of sensations…the feel of the wind in your face as the dogs seemed to float just above the snow, pulling us through fields and forests. The dogs moved with an excitement that was palpable, responding to the Finnish commands of their musher at the sled. Each bend and hill left you shifting; feeling off balance, then centered, then off balance again, all the while trusting in the dogs to lead the way. The journey was rewarded by cups of hot berry juice around the fire as the dogs settled in to rest for the day.
The thing that strikes me most when thinking about Lapland is that every sense was overwhelmed by our experiences. I’ve never heard a silence more beautiful than the day we snow shoed through the forest. A symphony of snow crunching under our feet broke the quiet with its own unique melody and lulled my baby in my arms into an easy sleep. Dog sledding brought a different set of sensations…the feel of the wind in your face as the dogs seemed to float just above the snow, pulling us through fields and forests. The dogs moved with an excitement that was palpable, responding to the Finnish commands of their musher at the sled. Each bend and hill left you shifting; feeling off balance, then centered, then off balance again, all the while trusting in the dogs to lead the way. The journey was rewarded by cups of hot berry juice around the fire as the dogs settled in to rest for the day.
Snow Shoeing Path
Dog Sledding
Senses, awake and buzzing, are still not prepared for the first time an aurora dances through the night sky. The auroras are temperamental and have a funny way of appearing in their own time, despite forecasts attempting to announce their arrival based on assessments of solar storms or cloud cover. In the moment when you aren’t expecting it, they appear. It’s hard to process actually, other than being filled with an overwhelming sense of wonder. The auroras shimmer and float through the sky, graceful and chaotic all at once. For several moments after the auroras first appeared, I stood still, afraid to disrupt them in any way. In those moments, it was as if I could feel the buzz of their energy, but in some way they could also feel mine. In the quiet reverence of those moments, I felt overwhelmed, so small in this world, but also so connected. Even now, I feel the words aren’t adequate to describe it. Yes, we have pictures to hold on to individual moments, dancing swirls of light frozen in time by the camera. The pictures will be there to remind me, but so will the sound of snow crunching beneath my feet, the taste of a warm drink on a cold day, and of course the scent (no matter how faint) of a camp fire.
Many thanks to my talented husband Jason for always capturing our beautiful adventures.
Photo credit for all photos: Jason Brandt, 2016
Photo credit for all photos: Jason Brandt, 2016
If you'd like more details about our full trip to the Lapland, check out the previous post.
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