25.02.2016
Missed out yesterday as too tired. The distance travelled was not so much as in the first few days, the difference being the Norwegian roads combined with the maximum speed limit on open roads of only 80 kmh. So overall an average speed of about 55 kmh for the trip is the result. You have to cheat a little to achieve it as well.
Anyway yesterdays drive was a ten and a half hour one and the weather gave its very best all of the way. Had everything from bright and sunny, hail, snow and slushy rain. Knew what to expect so that is not a complaint, just hadn't wanted it all at once.
I was headed for a place called Stinkjer which is about 150 km NNE of Trondheim but about 67 km before it was already dark and the slushy rain had set in well and truly, so I dived onto a lay-by with loo (get those here), quite respectable ones too, just at the side of the E6. After about 19:30 all goes quiet with very little traffic so "taint so bad as it sounds.
Hence the lack of an "Out of my Bedroom Window" image for the day.
Woke up with the van covered in snow and with two monster trucks as neighbours.
26.02.2016
Hit the road at 07:30 in driving snow but not a lot of traffic. made good time and kept to the stop and stretch rule every two hours. Today all it has done is snow. Destination was Mosjøen in the part of Norway designated as North Norway? Mine is not to reason.......
One thing was brought home quite early, and that is that even with spiked tires one is not exactly safe from all disasters. On at least three occasions the van went very independent and brought on a few severe cases of the "Buttonhole Syndrome", one of our Mum's favourite sayings, "making button holes", never mind about the rest. Anyway served to keep me awake and concentrated.
Of note three things:
i)   Past by an Elk on the way, lady one and very happy she was as well, in the middle of a field at a stack of plastic rolled straw balls the farmers build for winter, and had found her way into one of them. You could almost see her belly swelling up. Didn't look as though anything was going to move her on.
ii)  On a frozen lake at the side of the road a small herd of Reindeer had laid themselves down for a midday siesta and seemed quite content.
iii)  I have maintained for a longtime that all of the warning signs "Beware Elk" were a con to make the tourists think they actually still have them here. But all of the snow puts the lie to my theory. When you see all of the tracks in it that the animals have left, mostly overnight obviously, it is quite an eye opener. Elk, Deer and Hare at least. me being the wild life expert of course. Just a shame one hardly ever gets to see them.
What was of interest though as I checked into my first non wild camp site on this run, the bloke at reception said watch out for the Elk on the roads, lot of them about at the moment. We shall see.
Tomorrow I finally hit the 66°33'N marker. Nothing really special about it, just gives me a personal little kick. The weather forecast is sunny through to midday and temperature not forecast as more (or is it less?) than -9°. As long as I'm in the van I don't really care.

​This is tonights "Out of my Bedroom Window"