Today started with an early morning. We all grabbed
breakfast from the hotel, which was a nice spread of delicious foods set out in
a buffet style. After dinner we all bundled up and made a decision on what
today’s plans would include. We had the option of going downhill skiing,
snowboarding, snow shoeing, or dog sledding. Cam and I went on the opposite
groups so we split our blog up to fit both events. I went dog sledding with
eight other students, both professors, and good Ol’ Lawry. We got to hop on our
bus and go dog sledding just outside of Lillehammer. The view along the way was
incredible! We have had non-stop snow since we arrived in Lillehammer. It is a
pretty, thick, fluffy snow. It is making the trees and the surroundings look
gorgeous! The houses that we passed had several feet of snow on top of their
roofs and many seemed to have snow built around their house so tight it was
questionable how they got in and out. We arrived at the dog sledding area and
were greeted with several loud barks and howls of twenty-four Alaskan breed
dogs (most of them were or similar to Huskies). We huddled into a Sami Tent
provided for us with a fire inside to keep us warm. It was very cozy and we
were willing to stay a night inside of it. We chatted and drank coffee, tea,
and a hot fruit drink with a side of homemade “Christmas biscuits” (gingerbread
cookies). We went out to the dogs and greeted them and made new furry friends.
We then listened to a quick lesson on how to drive the sleds and how to harness
the dogs. We all assisted with harnessing them although it was harder than it
looked with them bouncing all around in excitement. Finally, we got into groups
of two and the first group went out on their hour-long journey. After they
returned, the second group went. It was an amazing experience! It was still
snowing and the wind hurt our faces and made it hard to see. But it was all
very worth it. Half way through we got to switch places (one person drives, one
person lays in the sled). Bonnie and I, however, could not switch because I
ended up not weighing enough to break. In the attempt to switch back, the dogs
took off, leaving Bonnie on her belly and me without any control of the dogs.
The guide on the snow mobile had to come rescue me and get us back on track.
Shortly after, Aaron hit a hill and was tossed from his sled and in an attempt
to regain control, he fell again. (There is video proof!) Afterwards we said
goodbye to the dogs and huddled back in the tent to warm up.
The bus
took us to a National Cross Country Ski Tournament so we made a stop to see
that. Unfortunately, we missed it. But we got to still see the awards being
handed out. There was one athlete who, jokingly, came out and stood on the
First Place step even though he came in 32nd place. We later discovered
that he was Oystein Pettersen, a Norway Gold Medalist in Cross Country. No one
knew at the time so we missed our chance to rub elbows with someone famous.
We headed
back to the hotel and enjoyed some down time before walking back to the Olympic
Museum (since it was “closed” yesterday). We enjoyed our tour of the history of
Norway’s Olympics and were pleased we actually got to see it. We ended our
night enjoying Fish Cakes at Nikkers restaurant in Lillehammer. Overall,
everyone seemed to have a fantastic free day and had it well spent with no
regrets. Everyone is heading to bed early. We will all feel a bit sore tomorrow
after today’s adventures.
Terrece Oldenberg
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