Nellim Finland (December 6-9)

We arrived in Ivalo in early evening and took a shuttle bus to our hotel in Nellim. This was Melanie and my third visit to the Ivalo/Nellim area. Our goal was to provide the boys with a chance to try a variety of winter sports including snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and dog sledding. We also were hopeful that we might see an auroral as well. Our stay in Nellim was enjoyable – however the weather was not very cooperative for seeing auroras as we had several days of overcast skies. We did manage to see several shorter displays that momentarily peaked through breaks in the clouds.

Neither the boys nor Melanie had tried snowmobiling before – having lived in Wisconsin through high school I had gone multiple times many years ago.

Everyone enjoyed snowmobiling but a slower form of transport seemed to be enjoyed even more especially since the huskies were much more friendly and entertaining!

Although our opportunities to see auroras was limited we still enjoyed our stay in Nellim.