# Pictures from JÃ¤mtland



## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

Questions sometimes pop up when I post pictures so I have started this thread. I thought about titling it Sweden but then again people up here are very independant so I will stick with JÃ¤mtland. This area has been torn so many times in wars between Norway and Sweden so the inhabitants have a very strong regional identity.
But it was the fences I was going to show you. These are the traditional way of fencing in JÃ¤mtland. GÃ¤rdsgÃ¥rd , as they are called, are built from very slow growing Fir trees.. These trees grow in hostile conditions and ,though up to a hundred years old, only reach the thickness of an arm. This means that the trunks chosen are very strong and hardwearing.
















The first video is interesting because there are also good shots of the area. A shame that the song is in French!!! But the gÃ¥rdsgÃ¤rd is not well made.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdP5kWpTwww"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdP5kWpTwww[/ame]
The branches that are used as rope are steamed to make them more flexible
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6WZV43MN0s"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6WZV43MN0s[/ame]


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## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

Interesting. Somewhat like locust here, although it will get as big as a mans head, it can be cut and used at around 4in dia for the same things.


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## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

Beautiful, practical and functional fences. I enjoy the pictures. Are the trees in hostile areas missed, once they are cut, please?


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## Doggonedog (Dec 4, 2014)

The pictures are excellent and very interesting. Thank you for sharing.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

i love it when you post pictures !!!


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## littlejoe (Jan 17, 2007)

Very interesting! Always good to see how things are done differently in other areas.

This country was largely unfenced until barbed wire. There are remnants of dry stacked rock fences. for what purpose I am unsure? THey didn't continue on, and had no natural boundaries. Often geographical features formed fencelines, such as impassible canyon rims, with brush stacked in areas where livestock could pass.

Cedar pickets and stacked rock often formed corrals. As a kid, there was a set of pens along the head of the Apishapa river canyon that Charles Goodnight had built, using cedar pickets and rawhide to tie them. There were still traces of rawhide after 100 years in this climate. Of course the rock walls last far longer.

Posts here are much better if they are cut in drier areas, that what rain we get runs off faster, causing slow growth and denser wood.

Using wood for pens or gates seems to be a thing of the past here, replaced by steel. I do remember a lot of fir wood gates...it was a tough springy wood, and full of splinters when it aged. I am supposing the posts in your pics are also fir? What kind of lifespan do they have in your climate?


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## Twp.Tom (Dec 29, 2010)

Very Nice post/fences Renee*; I am curious as to how they drive the vertical posts into the ground, I imagined that this must be done in the spring/summer, when the ground is soft and pliable. Around here most of the post-hole digging/pounding, is done when the ground is wet. LJ is right, wood has become a remnant of the past,everything has turned to metal, fences,barns,gates,roofs*. Please post more pic's*, Jamtland is very Beautiful*


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## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

I had to google locust trees Bill. Yes that looks like a good wood for the purpose. It said that the thorns of the honey locust were once used as nails!
Bret, these fences last for well, a long time. The climate here is not humid. Fences in my village are at least 70 years old. There are houses that have not been lived in for 70 years and they are intact- wood does not rot here. 
A high price is payed by the timber companies but not many people will sell . I myself have 3 acres and I allow my neighbour to carefully thin the ones that can be used. The fences are becoming a popular "status" symbol in finer villa areas. They have their new kitchen, bathroom, garden and now they need the fence. But the firms that provide such fences use poorer quality wood- the trees that are thinned out in the forests.
Tom, As the uprights are fairly thing it is easy to make the holes. We use a metal rod like a javelin. I fence that way. Don't know how heavy it is and I am not going to weigh it . If I do, I know I won't be able to lift it next day
You know the grass is always greener on the other side. I am sure Ohio is a beautiful state too.


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## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

Little Joe, here are some photos from a fÃ¤bod-the summer pastures where the women and children lived up in the higher land during the summer months. They tended the livestock and made cheese, butter , jams,etc, for the winter months. By law the animals were allowed to roam free in the villages. If you did not want them in your garden you made a fence. This is the same system I know from the moors in Yorkshire where I was born.
The fÃ¤bod I show here is the largest in Sweden. There are 50 buildings some of which date back to the 1600's. It is becoming overgrown -will soon be engulfed by shrub then forest. The council is desperately trying to encourage people to use it but the life is too hard for most modern people.
If I build gÃ¤rdsgÃ¥rd I can get a grant to put them up. I will put one round my farm. Several of my neighbours are also interested but not all so I cannot let my animals go free.


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## littlejoe (Jan 17, 2007)

Love seeing the pics! And that camp looks pretty homey!

The carvings on the logs remind me of the indian petroglyphs in my area. They tell a story of past. I bought a book called "the rocks begin to speak". The author had spent a lot of time in this area....I still don't know what they say...but they are very intriguing! 

Petroglyphs abound in some areas! Paintings have faded to very inlegible post... I'm taking a realator out Monday morn to take some pics and show the area I have decided to list. I'll try to show some of the pics on here.


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## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

Abit off topic (for me) but it is unbelievable what Magnus has achieved. This article was in the English newspaper today.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/travel/54268/faviken-magasinet-swedens-one-of-a-kind-fine-dining-restaurant.html


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## Guest (Dec 7, 2014)

Lovely photos !! Untreated wooden fence posts here in humid and hot Missouri have a life expectancy of one season...


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

Renee:

Your fencing bar sounds like mine--a long steel bar driven into the ground time after time until the needed depth is reached. Here I used it to open holes for steel posts in rocky ground. When it was wet I could move the rocks underground just enough to allow the steel post to go in. If I hit a large flat stone I had to dig it out with a shovel. 

Black locust grew well; I poisoned every honey locust I could find. The thorns ruined tractor tires.

Wife and I sold that place--the last place had no rocks at all that someone did not carry in. 

Ox


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

hope ya share more pics with us....i find it super interesting and getting ideas to try too.


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## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

I am sorry, we have harsh winters her and I do not have so much time for serious computer work.
After moving up here I have got a better understanding of the pioneers who left Sweden to begin a new life in the U.S.A. Life here was so difficult, a real case of the survival of the fittest. 150 years ago child mortality in this area was between 50 and 90 %. The villagers were nearly self sufficient. It took courage and determination to emigrate and the Swedish were lacking in neither.
Up in the high hills, 2500 feet above sealevel, there lives a family who did not leave.
in








The church records show that the area had been used for making hay since the 1500's but in 1804 Hans Andersson moved up there to live permanently. He lived there for 25 years alone with his animals.
This farm is now a cultural heritage. It is one of the last farms in the vÃ¤glÃ¶st land - the land with no roads.
In 165 Olof Erikkson married Karin Kjelsson and had the choice of emigrating or re-building the homestead in the high country.
In 1874 the council demanded that he staked his claim by walking around his property and on midsummers day and night he walked around about 4000 acres.. Now in the fifth generation, there are three unmarried siblings living on the farm. They are off grid but do have a generator. Otherwise the way of life is pretty much unchanged.
























Most travel is done in the winter months when it is easy to travel with horse and sleigh








But there is a wooden path through the worst bogs so that guests can come and visit the vÃ¤glÃ¶st land


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## CajunSunshine (Apr 24, 2007)

This thread is a treat! Love the practical and historical commentary to go with the awesome photos!

Thank you Renee!



.


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## handymama (Aug 22, 2014)

Fascinating, and so beautiful.


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## Ramblin Wreck (Jun 10, 2005)

Great stories with great pictures. You ought to craft a book about it all, but in the tongue of your birth country please Mam.


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## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

CajunSunshine said:


> This thread is a treat! Love the practical and historical commentary to go with the awesome photos!
> 
> Thank you Renee!
> 
> ...


Thanks, sistah It makes me so confy having you as my new sister


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## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

Ramblin Wreck said:


> Great stories with great pictures. You ought to craft a book about it all, but in the tongue of your birth country please Mam.[/QUOTE
> Not so many read Broad Yorkshire


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## handymama (Aug 22, 2014)

Omg, broad yorkshire? Like in the unabridged version of the secret garden? That's so neat!!!


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## CajunSunshine (Apr 24, 2007)

I just had to check it out...oh hey, I could listen to that lovely Yorkshire accent all day!!!!


Edited to add: uh oh, I just realized this is a PLAYLIST...now we _can _hear it all day, lol. 

[YOUTUBE]W0n3Hhc-7JE&list=PLfMQaspXjGvtr6GcMNGF1fRiLg08Q2XjE[/YOUTUBE]


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## handymama (Aug 22, 2014)

Sounds like music!


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## CajunSunshine (Apr 24, 2007)

reneedarley said:


> Thanks, sistah It makes me so confy having you as my new sister



Back at ya! Long live _Joie de Vivre!_ 



.


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## Ramblin Wreck (Jun 10, 2005)

reneedarley said:


> Not so many read Broad Yorkshire


When I first wrote my response, I had written language of your youth, but since I'm quite certain you are still in your youth, I changed it to birth country for clarity.


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## FireMaker (Apr 3, 2014)

Thanks for the fence information. We have a multitude of balsam fir. Now I know what type of fence to make.


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## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

Ramblin Wreck said:


> When I first wrote my response, I had written language of your youth, but since I'm quite certain you are still in your youth, I changed it to birth country for clarity.


I was puzzled- the clarity was not at all clear. No worry, I am at ease with my age:thumb:
Here is a monologue from a childhood I remember well.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk7qCu9oSe8"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk7qCu9oSe8[/ame]
And , as a shepherdess, I love this song
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzyZcObUA0M"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzyZcObUA0M[/ame]


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## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

It is midwinter here in JÃ¤mtland now. this year is mild, temperatures between 21 - 5 F and only about a foot of snow. Now the sun is higher in the sky and I don't think we will have the "wolf " winter we normally endure.
Today I am devoting the afternoon to catching up on correspondence on the computer. winters are great. Opportunities to indulge oneself, hard work mingled with strong coffee and cream, hot chocolate, fresh bread from the oven with lashings of butter and cloudberry jam. 
I leave the village (hamlet) about once a week to go shopping for myself and the stock. Buying animal food is an eighty mile round trip so I usually invite myself in to friends' houses for lunch. One of my favourites is Anders. Anders is a sweeheart








When I write on the internet about people I have always their permission to do so. At first Anders was shy to being photographed but he came round








Anders is 83 years old and has lived all his life in the same farm in KlÃ¶vsjÃ¶ which is now one of the big ski centres in Sweden. so he has seen a lot of changes
We first met when he came with friends to m cafÃ©, the first year I lived in Sweden. He said he also had sheep- now very, very few people still have stock up here and he said I was welcome to visit him. Now I knew that if I were to learn Swedish I would hve to get acquainted with the locals so i asked him where he lived. His home was the weird house in KlÃ¶vsjÃ¶.
So I took him at his word and about a month later knocked on the door to Anders' weird and wonderful farm.
















Anders' grandfather built the house in 1890.
Anders had forgotten he had invited me but put on a brave face. Soon he was opening doors, taking me up an down staircases showing me contents of trunks cupboards and hidey holes , laughing at me photographing over a hundred years of treasures that had not been on display for 50 years. Our mutual language was the love of the past. Anders speaks the local KlÃ¶vsjÃ¶mÃ¥l, very similar to Norwegian and he had trouble with my Danish So most of his conversation that first day was "Titta, Titta" Look , look. 
Here is his barn. 
It was the first Post Office in the village. His grandfather was the postmaster. The cusks and other travellers slept upstairs. His grandmother had the village bake house and baked the traditional JÃ¤mtlandske flat bread. What a bustle there must have been there at the turn of the last century


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## qtkitty (Apr 17, 2005)

The intricate little details make those houses look so different and beautiful.


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## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

Anders' farm is in KlÃ¶vsjÃ¶ and as it is February I will take a little side spring.
In Northern Scandinavia the easiest time to travel was during the winter months. A horse and sleigh could move much more efficiently over the snow than over the bad roads and tracks during the summer months. Also life on the farms was not as hectic at this time of year. 
Markets flourished at strategic points throughout the countryside. Farmers filled their sleighs with skins, dairy produce, homemade textiles, dried meat, fish, sausages and grain to sell or barter at these markets. Traders drove from one market to the next, exchanging skins from Norrland, for meat and fish from JÃ¤mtland, axes and tools from Dalarna, to iron ore form RÃ¶ros in Norway. 
And it is from KlÃ¶vsjÃ¶ that these travellers set out 2 weeks ago for the market last weekend
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ4xdGc32Rs"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ4xdGc32Rs[/ame] 
This year was the 162nd official market at RÃ¶ros. I say official because their had been markets there since medieval times but they only became legal when the king finally manged to get his share of the taxes from the tradesmen! By the 19 70's most of the traditional markets were dwindling and disappearing. People had cars, a wage each week, shops where one could buy everything that one needed. The annual markets were nostalgic memories of the past.
The market at RÃ¶ros was a shadow of itself and would soon have disappeared. In 1981 two horse enthusiasts decided they would travel the 100 miles to the market in the old way- with horses and sleighs. From that small beginning the tradition has grown and grown. Each year more travellers have joined them from North and South, from Norway and even further afield in Sweden. When they arrive outside RÃ¶ros they group (this year there were nearly 200 horses) And we from KlÃ¶vsjÃ¶ have the honour of leading the entourage through the town. Here is a video from the opening ceremony in 2014. I was actually there but I can't see myself
The temperature was around 9 degrees F so it was very pleasant.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntru9MtHAGk"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntru9MtHAGk[/ame]
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehH1w-bMnQw"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehH1w-bMnQw[/ame]


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Who has the self-loading hay wagon in one of the first pictures? Does the owner use it on others' land?


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## newfieannie (Dec 24, 2006)

puts me in mind of the good old times with the horse and sleigh. before we had a car. that was how we got around winter time. (in the summer we had a cart and my bro. put rubber tires on that after a bit) most in the town didn't even have that. dad always had horses. good thing too because there was no ploughing of streets like you see now. not much of a street either. more like a cow path. it was wonderful though with the bells ringing out. our brother use to drive all around town for hours. everyone knew us so there was always someone calling out.

I remember when that same brother was teaching me to drive (after people started getting cars in the town and dad bought one) I backed into the sleigh. good thing the horse was in the barn. sure brings back old memories.~Georgia


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## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

Darren said:


> Who has the self-loading hay wagon in one of the first pictures? Does the owner use it on others' land?


 Now where I live there is plenty of land and very few people. Population density is 2 per square mile and that is including one big and several smaller towns. There are 150 inhabitants in the parish of KlÃ¶vsjÃ¶. (In the parish where I live there are 190 and 80 refugees from Eritrea and Syria)
So Erik, who is working the hay is one of the two farmers in the whole parish who has cows. He takes hay from all the village and he and the other farmer have their own dairy where they produce cheese, yoghurt and butter (from unpasteurised milk) for tourists and the local ski centres


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Man, that is just all about embracing the snow! I got cold WATCHING it! Where's the shiver smiley?

Mon


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## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

Oh, I think most of us are looking forward to Spring but the ski centres are making the most of the Grande Finale. This weekend there are the the world championships for mentally disabled at the local centre. We have a small market And I was there today and will be there again spinning wool. Here is the view from where I was sitting (outside)








That was the French team practising. Tomorrow there is the competition.
I took the lift up the slopes to get more photos.
























One can scarcely see my spinning wheel.


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## Wren - TN (Dec 22, 2013)

Beautiful!


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## tamarackreg (Mar 13, 2006)

Thank-you very much for posting pics of my ancestors lands!

The stories behind them are interesting too.


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## Groene Pionier (Apr 23, 2009)

Fantastic pictures Renee! I love the Scandinavian countries, unfortunately I only traveled to Norway of which I have fond memories..! We are 'only' 2200 km apart :S
Thank you for taking the time to post the pictures!


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## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

Just shows how busy I have been. Snow on the last photos. Mind you, there are still patches of snow on the top fells - I don't think they will disappear this year. The majority of the villages around me have small museums and in the summer they have little cafÃ©s as well. This year there was no-one who volunteered to run the local summer cafÃ© so I had a go. Quite interesting but it has certainly kept me busy. Here are some photos of the museum buildings.


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## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

I have brought up an old topic as I want to reply to Cindilu about Tom's video without spoiling the thread.
JÃ¤mtland, the province we live in is about the same size as Massachusetts but with a population of 113000 as compared to Massachusetts nearly 7 million!
The market Tom filmed is in our main city with a population of 44000.
From medieval times until the 1950's when cars started to gain popularity, the markets were the only way these isolated communities were able to barter , or buy, commodities. 
The markets were mostly once a year in the winter months. Roads were bad on non existent so travelling farmers earned a living visiting the various markets in Northern Scandinavia to sell and barter. Dairy produce was taken North from this area to exchange for dried meat and skins. These could be bartered for fish and salt in Norway. Mora is still known for its' knives. Dalarne was the place to get a hoard of spinning wheels and flax.
Ãstersund is one of these market towns. Now we have supermarkets- and can buy anything we need from day to day. Why, we can even go online and get goods without moving from the sofa.
We still have the markets more as entertainment but also as places where we know we can get good artisan culinary delights and traditional craftmanship. 
We are very few people in the area and very little happens here so if there is a market, a fayre, or some entertainment ,EVERYONE turns out from miles around.
Here are some photos from the market in Norway, about 100 miles from our hamlet. !4 horses and sledges take the trip to the market as they did in the old days. We took the bus!

















At the market there were about 200 horses. Here they are waiting on a frozen lake for the opening ceremony









And in RÃ¶ros


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## cindilu (Jan 27, 2008)

Wow wow and wow Renee. I am so glad you brought up this thread because I had missed the entire thing. And I LOVE all of the pictures of farms, fencing and the life I can see you so clearly love for very good reason. It is like going back in time to a much slower pace where people actually connect with each other again. Ya'll know my love for snow and it is sure beautiful there. I cannot even imagine a place where you get around on horse drawn sleds but it just sounds like awwwwwww to me. Thank you for bringing this post back... 

Another thing I noticed was all the old timers that had made comments we just don't see here any more. Glad for the newbies, but I also miss the oldies, lol.


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## tamarackreg (Mar 13, 2006)

What an awesome place to live!!!

Thanks for the pics and keep 'em coming!


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## cindilu (Jan 27, 2008)

We also want wedding pictures, lol. I think I read on another thread you guys got married? I am in and out of here and mostly out. Life got super busy. But you guys are having fun in winter wonderland it seems.


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## WolfWalksSoftly (Aug 13, 2004)

Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us.:clap:


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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

Can't believe I missed this thread the first time.LOL

Wonderful pics and absolutely beautiful!


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## MoTightwad (Sep 6, 2011)

Thank you for the history and the lovely pictures. I love geography and this was a super lesson for my reading today. Altho I do not like snow, the pictures were super lovely. You sure do a good job of photographing all the country side. Keep up the enjoyable notes.


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## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

MoTightwad said:


> Thank you for the history and the lovely pictures. I love geography and this was a super lesson for my reading today. Altho I do not like snow, the pictures were super lovely. You sure do a good job of photographing all the country side. Keep up the enjoyable notes.


 Sorry, I am a bit late in answering but thank you for the kind words-


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## reneedarley (Jun 11, 2014)

We did a bit of local sightseeing yesterday. JÃ¤mtland is self sufficient and exports electricity.
We drove down to take photos of the hydro electric dam in the village -drove over it too.


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## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

Sure glad I wrecked on the bridge I did lol


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Wow, I'm still dizzy!

Mon


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## tamarackreg (Mar 13, 2006)

Nice pics! Keep 'em coming!

We have a similar dam here, with a 2 lane going over it. Friends suggested we should ride our horses across it.........


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## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

Wow...don't look down. 

Stiffened in the stirrups. Relax the reins. Breath...keep moving...


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## tamarackreg (Mar 13, 2006)

It's not the dam, Jack and I have done far more challenging things. 

It's the dam traffic that adds an unknown and hazardous / deadly variable. 

When the people discussing it heard my reservations they knew it was bad.

Now if I can get them to close it to traffic (lol).....LETS RIDE!

Renee - Appologies for thread hijack. Please continue posting pics of your homeland, and that of my ancestors!


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

I hate bridges! Worst thing I ever had to do was drive over the Mackinac bridge...then drive BACK over it to get home! Only way I could do it was stare at my hood ornament while my tires were on the bridge.

Mon


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