Snow Mobile and Ice Fishing

The second day was reserved for Snow Mobiling!

We meet early with a small group so we could all get out helmets and go over the safety rules.

Then we were off! first we had to drive across the lake

Once to the other side we regrouped then headed through the forrest

At the mid point we stopped for a sack lunch

Ksusha was riding with the tour guide. on the way back he let her drive!!!

Okcana drove our snowmobile on the way back. When we got to the lake we stopped again to regroup before crossing. I had to have a rest

We made it back and the evening, of course, was filled with more sledding!!!

The third and final full day was for ice fishing!

We met our guide in the morning

We would be riding in the sled.

The ride there was crazy. it was just above freezing so alot of water on the the top of the snow. he gave us a bear skin to cover up with on the ride. When we got the the fishing spot the skin was completely covered with ice and water

We drilled our holes and started fishing

Ksusha was rather serious about it and even caught 2 fish!

Okcana got one

i got nothing.

It started to get cold on the ice so Okcana covered up with the bear skin

They went to explore a bit

Then we headed back to camp. Again the evening was filled with sledding. We went to bed early so we could wake up at 6:00 to get a ride back to the train station. The ride back to Tver was boring and dull. We all agreed though it was an amazing trip and a highlight of my time in Russia!

Dog Sledding!!!

Finally the day we had all been waiting for came! Dog Sledding!!! This was about 90% of the reason we wanted to come on the trip.

After a short drive to the kennels we were ready to go!

First we had to meet the dogs

This one was named Monty also

The poor dog

Next we had to get accustomed to the sleds and the rules of the game

You step on the mat on the back if the dogs are going to fast. when going up a big hill get off the sled and run beside it

it was pretty simple

My and Ksusha's team of dogs. the leader was called Welt

Once we got on the trail it was obvious that the team I had was full of energy. they kept wanting to over take everyone in front of us. It was just crazy!

We stopped for a break and again my team was so excited! They just wanted to run and run and run and run

We got to the end and I ended up crashing the sled. :) then we ate lunch in a little hut, it was bear stew.

Finally the main activity of the day was over.

Now time for more sledding and relaxing!

Kalevala and Sledding

The train ride back to Kem, Russia was 15 hours. It was rather uneventful. We had some serious strength competitions on the train!

After she beat me at arm wrestling I laid down to rest and cry a little

We arrived in Kem about 10:00 pm and there was a guy waiting for us in his car. he picked us up to drive us to the resort we were staying in. It was a 3 hour drive so we arrived about 1:00 in the morning. We just went straight to bed for the evening

The next morning we ate breakfast and had some time to explore before we were scheduled for a tour of the area

This area used to belong to Finland at one time. so alot of the names are Finnish

One of the oldest buildings int he area, 200 years old

Its now a small museum inside.

This is a stove. They would cook in it use it for warmth and at night sleep on top of it

A photo from a book they had there of logging. If you look closely you can see the trees are being used as rails to pull carts on

We wondered around a bit

A church

The tour was over and we went back to the resort. I had some unwanted visitors waiting to talk with me and offer me a job. After dealing with that we went sledding!

Finally it was time for dinner! The restaurant had a cool interior and great food!

After dinner it was bed time! we had a big day tomorrow!

Ksusha had the loft above everything. She kept look out and guard duty all night

Murmansk, Russia

We got to Murmansk and it was rather chilly when we got off the train

It was just about lunch time so we headed to the apartment we rented for the evening to drop our things off then go eat.

We found this monument near by.

First we headed for the Nuclear Ice breaker, Lenin.

We where just able to get on the next tour and check out this boat.

The inside was rather ornate

These were the turbines

Me driving the ship!

We then headed for a museum we had seen that was about Murmansk and the area in general

I hadnt realized it but Murmansk was one of the most bombed cities in WWII. it was almost completely destroyed during the war

They had this sweet little motorbike to!

It was still rather early, but dark already. We hadnt seen the one thing we came there to see, Aloshya! We took off walking to get there it wasnt to cold, -10, so we didnt mind. Then we got to where we could turn off the road and take a trail to the top of the hill. We walked and walked and walked. The wind kept getting stronger. We were all miserable. We were about to give up and go back when we saw the statue in the distance. After trudging through the snow for an hour we finally made it!

The 3 of us were so happy! Screaming and yelling hoorah we made it!

It was really a nice place well kept and with a great look out over the sea and back over the city

We followed the road back and hopped on a bus. It let us off somewhere..... there was this 

We finally found our way back to our apartment and slept like babies all night!