Ice road hucksters
Posted by Guano & Associates | Posted in | Posted on 4:37 PM
Most of Luleå and the surrounding villages are situated on spits of land between fingers of the Gulf of Bothnia, part of the Baltic Sea. As such, sometimes, getting from one side of town to another requires a long drive to the next bridge and then backtracking. One of our friends, the Näslunds live in Boden, about 25 minutes north of our house. Since they are on the same side of the shore as us, it's easy to get there. However, if you want to go from their house and on into town, you have to drive farther up the road, cross the bridge and then come back on the other side. There is a ferry that runs back and forth during the summer and during the winter, there's an ice road.
While it's not the craziest thing we've ever done, it does remind you how different things can be up here. I forgot to report about this one, I think. Last January, when we made the trip to Kiruna to see the ice hotel, we considered driving farther north over to Norway. As we left town, it started snowing heavily and a sign announced the highway was closed at the border. So, I pulled over into a snow-covered parking lot to figure out what to do. ´Dan and Kylie had revealed how afraid they were of driving on an ice road and how unsafe they thought it was. When we pulled into the vast parking lot, stopped, and turned off the engine, they both took their headphones from their ears and their eyes from the video iPods to ask where we were. Not thinking, I said that we had accidentally driven on to a frozen lake bed and we were trying to figure out how to get off safely. Suddenly, they sat up and looked worried. I rolled down the windows and said, "can't you hear the ice creaking beneath us?" Kathy jumped right in when they showed their disbelief, "can't you see the sign over there that shows snowmobiles aren't allowed here? That means it's unsafe to walk on!" The sign is really to tell the snowmobiles not to go bombing throught the parking lot, but not because they're in danger of falling through imaginery ice! About this time, the kids started to panic and wondered outloud what we were going to do. I suggested that we should stop moving, I'd get out and walk back to town and go get help. When I opened the door to go, I think both of the kids were about to cry! So, I said that we would go very slowly and try to leave... they shouldn't move suddenly and not keep very still in the back. As we drove out, the snow creaks and squeaks under the tires very loudly, so I told the kids it was the ice cracking below us. They bought it without question until we got out on the highway and we told them what had really happened. I thought the funniest part was that they didn't even notice the streetlamps in the middle of the parking lot, the whole reason they were able to see the snowmobile signs in the first place! I guess this is one of the joys of parenthood, having a couple of rubes to play simple practical jokes on.
While it's not the craziest thing we've ever done, it does remind you how different things can be up here. I forgot to report about this one, I think. Last January, when we made the trip to Kiruna to see the ice hotel, we considered driving farther north over to Norway. As we left town, it started snowing heavily and a sign announced the highway was closed at the border. So, I pulled over into a snow-covered parking lot to figure out what to do. ´Dan and Kylie had revealed how afraid they were of driving on an ice road and how unsafe they thought it was. When we pulled into the vast parking lot, stopped, and turned off the engine, they both took their headphones from their ears and their eyes from the video iPods to ask where we were. Not thinking, I said that we had accidentally driven on to a frozen lake bed and we were trying to figure out how to get off safely. Suddenly, they sat up and looked worried. I rolled down the windows and said, "can't you hear the ice creaking beneath us?" Kathy jumped right in when they showed their disbelief, "can't you see the sign over there that shows snowmobiles aren't allowed here? That means it's unsafe to walk on!" The sign is really to tell the snowmobiles not to go bombing throught the parking lot, but not because they're in danger of falling through imaginery ice! About this time, the kids started to panic and wondered outloud what we were going to do. I suggested that we should stop moving, I'd get out and walk back to town and go get help. When I opened the door to go, I think both of the kids were about to cry! So, I said that we would go very slowly and try to leave... they shouldn't move suddenly and not keep very still in the back. As we drove out, the snow creaks and squeaks under the tires very loudly, so I told the kids it was the ice cracking below us. They bought it without question until we got out on the highway and we told them what had really happened. I thought the funniest part was that they didn't even notice the streetlamps in the middle of the parking lot, the whole reason they were able to see the snowmobile signs in the first place! I guess this is one of the joys of parenthood, having a couple of rubes to play simple practical jokes on.
This last photo is actually taken from the rest stop on E4, Grundvik, I think...but not sure.Most
Many genes are known to skip from grandfather to grandson. Grandpa Bill's adage of 'Why tell the truth when a lie is much more fun,' just resurfaced in his grandson.
Dad
Glad you're back...especially for this post!