My trip to Arctic Finland

I just got back from a wonderful trip to the northern part of Finland. Can you use a map to find the spot where Finland, Norway, and Russia meet? That's where I was! That part of Finland is so far north that it is beyond the Arctic Circle.

I went to Arctic Finland to see the Northern Lights. The Northern Lights, also called the Aurora Borealis, is a beautiful display of colored lights that you can see in the night sky only in the northernmost parts of the globe. The lights are caused by tiny charged particles way up in the atmosphere interacting with the Earth's magnetic field. You can't always see them, and at particular times they are brighter. When I went, there were a few clouds in the sky, but I still got a pretty good look. Here's a picture I found on the Internet of what the Northern Lights look like:

Six different views of the Northern Lights.

While I was in Finland, I also got the chance to learn about the local culture. The Sami people, also known as Lapps, live in the far north of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Traditionally, one of the staples of their economy has been herding reindeer. This Sami woman was kind enough to let me try on a traditional Sami hat.

I visit the Sami gift shop and try on a Sami hat.

I also got to try riding around in a sleigh pulled by reindeer (just like Santa, although my reindeer didn't fly and there weren't any toys in the sleigh). It's a very comfortable way to travel through the snow, and it wasn't so cold since I had my hat and scarf.

Here's a photo of me in front of my sleigh.

Here I am in my sleigh. 

Here the reindeer is pulling me.

Sometimes, the reindeer don't go fast enough for my taste. I have become something of a thrill-seeking bear over the course of my travels. So for the last day I was in Finland, I traded in my sleigh for a snowmobile.

I struggle to reach the controls of my snowmobile. 

I'm ready to go into the wilderness of northern Finland!