Picture Gallery for Thu 2005-05-26 10:30:48 UTC

	Pajala.
	An owl statue in Pajala.
	Me, having jury-rigged Matt's GPS close enough to the window to allow it to lock onto satellites.
	Typical Lappish scenery. The river is the Torne, which we unwittingly followed for a fair distance. It flows just north of Kiruna and we have to cross it every time we go from Esrange into town. The icehotel which has made the Kiruna region famous is made from Torne River water. The Torne flows through Pajala and then shortly afterwards turns south to the Gulf of Bothnia. This southward part of the River forms part of the border between Finland and Sweden.
	Entering Finland. This is taken from the bridge over the Torne in Pello.
	The customs house in Pello.
	Not sure what this was supposed to be, but it turned out to be a picture of a crosswalk sign in Pello.
	The bridge over the Ounasjoki in Rovaniemi.
	The world's northern most McDonald's restaurant.
	Marie, Gaelen and Matt take some lunch.
	The KKK Supermarket?
	Rovaniemi.
	Looking over the Kemijoki at Rovaniemi in the background on our way out of town.
	One of the frequent signs in Finland warning us of reindeer husbandry.
	The souvenir tower outside Ranua Zoo. It being a Tuesday afternoon, a significant fraction of the zoo's clientele appeared to be school children.
	Entering the Elainpuisto (Zoo).
	A sleeping otter.
	The animals at Ranua Zoo can be feisty. Fortunately we hadn't brought any spices with us, so we weren't worried.
	Beavers.
	A Kurki (Crane)
	Kurki (Crane)
	A mouse.
	Page 1 of a four page treatise on Linnunpöntöt.
	Page 2.
	Page 3.
	Page 4.
	Tunturipöllö (Snowy Owls).
	Tunturipöllö (Snowy Owls).
	Tunturipöllö (Snowy Owls).
	Huuhkaja (Eagle Owl).
	Huuhkaja (Eagle Owl).
	Lapinpöllö (Great Grey Owl).
	Lapinpöllö (Great Grey Owl).
	The Owls.
	Viirupöllö (Ural Owl).
	Viirupöllö (Ural Owl).
	Lehtopöllö (Tawny Owl). There's one here, but it might take you a bit to find it. (It did me.)
	Lehtopöllö (Tawny Owl).
	Maakotka (Golden Eagle).
	Maakotka (Golden Eagle).
	Maakotka (Golden Eagle). Between the previous picture and this one, the eagle put on an impressive aerial show for us.
	Piekana (Rough-legged Buzzard).
	Piekana (Rough-legged Buzzard).
	Kanahaukka (Eurasian Goshawk).
	Kanahaukka (Eurasian Goshawk).
	Examining the birds at the zoo. Note the nice boardwalk.
	Two owls of some sort. I didn't get a picture of their sign, so I ca'n't say what they are.
	Helmipöllö (Tengmalm's Owl).
	Helmipöllö (Tengmalm's Owl).
	Hiiripöllö (Hawk Owl).
	Hiiripöllö (Hawk Owl).
	Metso (Capercaillie). The weirdest sounding bird ever. Listen and be dumbfounded.
	Metso (Capercaillie).
	Some sort of hawk. Again, I forgot to take a picture of the sign.
	A moderately ticked off pheasant trying to kill or maim a couple of zoo workers. They had been putting food and water the pheasant's cage, which required the pheasant to be placed temporarily in a dog carrier. It was not amused by the whole thing.
	The pheasant trying to find a way into the neighbouring cage.
	Having failed with the zoo workers, it came over to us to see if we were worth bothering with...
	... We weren't.
	Ed checks out the Vesilinnut (Water Birds).
	Vesilinnut (Water Birds).
	There were a large number of these barrels sporting these linguistically opaque signs. We eventually figured out they were essentially fire hydrants.
	Kopri (Raven).
	Kopri (Raven).
	Villisika (Wild Boar).
	Villisika (Wild Boar). This one had an enclosure of his own.
	A villisika lying on a pile of rocks.
	Ruskea Karhu (Brown Bears).
	Jääkarhu (Polar Bear)
	Jääkarhu with tyres.
	Jääkarhu with tyres.
	The Jääkarhu gets more comfortable.
	Lying down.
	Ruskea Karhu (Brown Bears).
	Ruskea Karhu (Brown Bears).
	A Ruskea Karhu on a rock.
	A Ruskea Karhu on a rock. I accidentally bumped a bench, which made the bear pick up its head.
	Susi (Wolf).
	Ilves (Lynx).
	Susi (Wolf).
	Working on a staircase to a new, unspecified location.
	Ilves (Lynx).
	Ilves (Lynx).
	Ahma (Wolverine).
	Ahma (Wolverine).
	Ed contemplates the adventure track.
	Gaelen leads the way through the adventure track.
	Gaelen, Matt and Marie encounter some problems along the way.
	Matt slides down to victory.
	A major intersection in the zoo.
	Finland spent a brief time underwater.
	Ed checks out the rock zoo.
	Reindeer calf.
	Taking a drink.
	The calf again.
	Metsäpeura (Wild Forest Reindeer).
	Kuusipeura (Fallow Deer).
	Kuusipeura (Fallow Deer).
	Metsäkauris (Roe Deer).
	Hirvi (Moose).
	The Moose can but what?
	Hirvi, probably taking a break from destroying trees.
	Hirvi, probably taking a break from destroying trees.
	A supikoira (raccoon) with babies.
	A supikoira (raccoon) with babies.
	Another raccoon joins in.
	Supikoira (Raccoon).
	Red fox.
	A really fluffy naali (arctic fox).
	Naali (Arctic Fox).
	It's the year of the reindeer?
	The end of the zoo.
	A strange looking house inside the zoo.
	Simo.
	Getting gas in Simo.
	Kemi.
	Kemi.
	A rather surprising sign.
	A well equipped park.
	The Gulf of Bothnia.
	A heart in the stones.
	Some sort of monument.
	A hydro damn across the mouth of the Kemijoki.
	Entering Haparanda/Tornio.
	The Torne River, again.
	An orthodox church.
	Crossing back into Sweden in Haparanda/Tornio.
	Haparanda Church, one of the ugliest churches in Sweden, according to Gaelen's guide book.
	Fog. Most cars around Kiruna have large fog lights. Our rentals, sadly, don't.
	Överkalix behind the trees.
	Looking west along the Arctic Circle.
	Within an arcminute of the Arctic Circle.
	The Arctic Circle Centre.
	The Arctic Circle Centre.
	One arcminute further north than the last time we checked.
	One arcminute further north than the last time we checked. According to the literature, the arctic circle moves around a fair bit. The Arctic Circle Centre didn't appear to be all that mobile, which made us a little suspicious.
	The Arctic Circle Centre.
	A log points us in the correct direction.
	Cosmetic scratches received by my water bottle after I forgot it on the top of the car when we pulled out of the Arctic Circle Centre. Despite hitting the pavement and rolling through some gravel, it suffered no serious injury.
	The Kalix River.
	The Kalix River.
	A urinal for frogs and men.
	A confusing road sign.
	The old, one lane bridge over the Kalix River. Circumstantial evidence suggests it's primarily used by reindeer now.
	The Kalix River. This is the last picture from Tuesday, because at this point my camera ran out of juice.