The Whitepod

I suppose as a northerner I am somewhat drawn to snow.  Add in the unusually warm and whiteless winter we’ve been experiencing this year, and that kinda makes snow a little more enchanting.  Christmas was green and rainy.  We’ve only had one really good snow fall so far this year.  Of course, last year when I had to drive an hour to school twice a week, we had numerous snowfalls with an unbelievable amount of accumulation.  Go figure.

So after stumbling upon this place in the Swiss Alps…yeah, I am craving it, Whitepod.  Camping in the winter.  It’s located in Switzerland and sits above the city of Monthey. As an eco-friendly environment (they minimize daily water and electricity consumption, reduce waste production, and favor the use of renewable resources) it gives you the chance to experience the great outdoors in a totally unique way, in a pod.  At first, when I was taking a look at the pods, I was a little alarmed about not seeing any bathrooms.  I thought, “Oh well, it would just add to the whole camping experience to have to make a trek to the lodge to use a toilet.”  Okay, for the record: I was WRONG.  The dome shaped tents do indeed have bathrooms.  No worries.

Oh, the pods are also heated by a woodstove.  The bathrooms are heated by an electric heater.  Can’t have those pipes freeze up; otherwise, you’ll really be running to the lodge to use the john.  But, I thought the woodstove was a nice touch.  Makes the stay at the pod a little more hands on, and I’m all for that.

Whitepod has quite a few activities to offer: snow-trekking in the mountains, dog sledging/sledding, paragliding, skiing, snowshoeing, and snowboarding.  I have to include that one of the paragliding packages entails climbing a mountain and then paragliding down it.  Right now, I’ll just have to dream of doing that, because there isn’t a way I can actually do it right now.  Bummer.

I encourage you to visit Whitepod‘s website, or better yet…visit Whitepod.

Peak Time in Norway

Norway.  It’s one of those places I want to visit before I die.  No, the cold and the arctic chill aren’t exactly my cup of tea, but there’s a time to experience all that stuff, more specifically, the Northern Lights (also called the Aurora Borealis).  I love nature and all it has to offer.  It’s in a league of it’s own.

The smartest or most intelligent man or woman has yet to come up with the vast expanse of midnight sky, riddled with stars, the power of the crashing ocean waves, the stillness of freshly fallen snow, the ever-dependable change of seasons, the glory of the sun returning to its rest, or the magnificence of the northern lights.  We’re only able to copy these things in our own finite way, yet nature already possesses all of these wonderful things.

In Norway, the northern lights are typically visible from October to March, with the peak season being December to February.  Most auroras are a greenish color, but depending about the altitude, the atoms involved and the force of the particles entering the atmosphere, there are a variety of different colors it displays.

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”  Psalm19:1

David Eustace

I stumbled across this guy while working on a school assignment.  Scottish born photographer, David Eustace gives an amazing glimpse of Scotland from behind his camera lens.

I find his photography is breathtaking…refreshing…inspiring.  Check out his collection of “Scotland” photos here: Highland Heart.  It’s absolutely gorgeous.