Getting The "Post-Christmas Blues"?

The holiday excitement has ended and a long winter has become a reality.

Winter days and nights can become dreary, but things are happening!

 If you are looking for "Something Different" to do, check out Hayward, Wisconsin this winter. The American Birkebeiner celebrates its 40th Anniversary  February 21-23, this year. A total of 10,000 skiers will ski the American Birkebeiner 50K Skate and 54K Classic races, the 23-kilometer Kortelopet  races, and the Prince Haakon 12K

Youngsters may also take part in a range of youth events. In 1206, Birkebeiner skiers, so called for their protective birch bark leggings, skied through the treacherous mountains and rugged forests of Norway's Osterdalen valley during the winter of 1206, smuggling the son of King Sverresson and Inga of Vartieg to safety. The annual race requires that adult skiers must carry a pack weighing the equivalent of this young child in memory of this rescue.....Wax your skiis and away you go!

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Leaders of the Pack

If you'd prefer riding in luxury, You can experience the Iditarod from your own personal front row seat in the sled of an Iditarod Musher .This opportunity is a sled-ride from the starting line in Anchorage, Alaska for eleven miles and be part of the race!..The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is an annual long-distance sled-dog race  in early March from Anchorage to Nome. Mushers and a team of 12–16 dogs cover the distance in 9–15 days. The Iditarod began in 1973 as an event to test the best sled dog mushers and teams, but evolved into today's highly competitive race. It may become cold, at times.Teams frequently race through blizzards causing whiteout conditions, sub-zero temperatures and gale-force winds which can cause the wind chill to

 reach -100 °F. Bundle up!

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Robert Sørlie (born 1958) is a two-time Iditarod champion Norwegian dog musher and dog sled racer from Hurdal.  In 2003, he became the only non-American to win the 1,049-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across Alaska, U.S. He won it again in 2005.

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Or, if you happen to be in Norway after Christmas, you could sign up for a vacation trip that includes mushing your  team dog sledding trip this winter, traveling at high speed across the Norwegian wilderness.  This is a unique lifetime experience that lasts usually a week, with different levels, for beginners, intermediate and experts. While traveling throughout the Country, you can get a day off , while tour guests can play in the snow (go skiing, snowmobiling, etc.) and the dogs can relax. Get a taste of what life was like in the old days, when dog sledding was a much more common mode of transportation for many.

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And where to stay overnight? Visit the Ice Hotel in Norway, kept at a constant temperature of around -4 to -7 degrees centigrade. With 30 bedrooms and two suites you will be cozy during the night with a sleeping bag that can keep people warm up to extreme temperatures of -30 degrees centigrade, and sleep on bed made from a genuine reindeer hide.

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" I got one!"

 While you are visiting Sami Country, try some native Ice-fishing! Traditionally, once you drill a hole in the ice large enough for your bait, you then lie on reindeer skin placed on the ice and look through the hole at  crystal clear waters to see your bait and the unsuspecting fish swimming by.

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However, there are warmer sports to enjoy this winter..Bring your swimming suits..The Blue Lagoon geothermal spa is one of the most visited attractions in Iceland. The steamy waters are part of a lava formation located in a lava field in Grindavík on the Reykjanes Peninsula, southwestern Iceland.

The Blue Lagoon is a unique place surrounded by lava fields that created in the past the perfect conditions for a natural Spa with geothermal seawater.  The water temperature in the bathing and swimming area of the lagoon averages 37–39 °C (98–102 °F)..

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Few people go on a safari, but you can rack wild reindeer and moose on your winter safari, up Nort!
Safaris aren’t limited to tracking the “Big Five” in Africa. During winter, you can enjoy several safaris that take you through Lapland’s wilderness, forests, and tundra regions to find Sweden’s own “Big Six” — moose, wolverines, wolves, brown bears, lynxes, and musk oxen. You may even get an “upclose” experience!

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Something for everyone, unless you have golfclubs in mind. If so, you’re going in the wrong direction! At any rate, the long days and nights of winter can bring opportunities..

Check out those northern lights!