# A short mountain trip in our district (Rogaland Norway)



## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

I'm not sure this will be of interest to you, but I thought I would give it a try anyway. The first picture below is Frafjord. It's about 20 minutes from our home.

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The next picture is just driving through one of the valleys on our way to the mountains. I just wanted to show you what was underneath all the green.

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Well, we made it to the top above the treeline and stopped for a sort coffee break. All the local sheep farmers bring their stock up here to graze over the summer. They just picked them up last week and trucked them home again with their lambs. I guess I should have taken our picture too, but didn't think about it.

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We eventually got over to the next valley "Setesdalen" and stopped at the local museum. I had hoped they would have more old handcrafted wooden things, but unfortunately they didn't have much, so I'll just have to show you what I can. The first item is an old chest with chip carving. There wasn't any info about it, but to me it looks like it was done around 1800 or possibly earlier. Maybe one of you might know from the style. If so please let us know.

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This is an 1100 year old viking sword dug up in the area. (The real deal)



This next two pictures are of a snowscooter from 1964. Please note the modern streamlined design and the comfortable seating arrangement.

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This one is on our way to Setesdalen. I thought you might like to see a Norwegian style cabin. It's still under construction, but almost finished.

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Well, that's it. I hope it wasn't too boring. Next time I will try to show you some actual woodworking and in a more interesting way. That is, if I am still welcome. Hope you enjoyed it, if not let me know.


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## lew (Feb 13, 2008)

Mike,

You are truly blessed to be living in such a beautiful area.


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## Kindlingmaker (Sep 29, 2008)

This a beautiful country! To spend long hours wondering the land… Thank you


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## scott83 (Sep 1, 2009)

Very nice pictures. Thanks for sharing them. If I had lots of money and time, I'd just travel around to all the beautiful places in the world, and maybe pick up some samples of local woods. The chest, sword and cabin are all interesting. I like the way the engine doubles as a heater for the driver of the snowscooter. Could be bad if it ever threw a rod though…

Keep makin' sawdust!


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

thanks for the trip to norway ,
it sure is beautiful country !

sometime show us the local wooden work boats .


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## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

Great photos. thanks for sharing them.


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

Very beautiful pictures.
I enjoy every one of them.


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## GMman (Apr 11, 2008)

Looks like the 1st snow sled I had,now they have them with heaters and they ride just like a car.
But I enjoy the mountains and the lake better.
Great photos.


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

Mike, these are wonderful pictures. I enjoyed seein them.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Glad you liked it. We live in a community with about 13,000 pop. including outside the town proper, but it isn't far from much larger populated areas. A few years ago we lived in a different house in the same town (kleppe), and one morning I looked out our front room window at the field across the main road and there was a moose happily meandering through the field! It is an agro area, but I didn't think there were any moose around. That's one of the things I like about Norway. It's very settled, but still retains a lot of nature. Maybe being Norwegian is a state of mind Dave R.

That's a good idea about the boats David. We do have some nice wooden boats around. My wife's uncle who was a builder did a lot of work on a pretty good sized sailboat which is used by the sea scouts. That was quite a few years ago, but it's probably still around. I'll keep my eyes open for some interesting woodworking, including boats. In fact, I just remembered that a guy I buy imported wood from shares premises with a guy who is building traditional Norwegian wooden boats. He had one almost finished in the shop last time I was there. I'll bring my camera next time I go there.

Thanks for looking in and commenting on this post. Maybe I should have been a tour guide instead of a woodworker. I could do either just as poorly.


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## Porosky (Mar 10, 2009)

Mike, great afternoon break, thanks. Not much dirt in Norway. Dated a excahnge student one time from there, nice girl. healthy, blonde.


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## jockmike2 (Oct 10, 2006)

Beautiful country Mike. Not much lumber to be had huh. Pretty rocky. I'd love to fish the fjords there, bet the trout are big as logs.


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## 280305 (Sep 28, 2008)

Mike,
Thanks for the glimpse of your beautiful part of the world. I would love to visit Norway some day.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

*Poroskywood* Sounds like my wife, but I think you might be a little too old for her.

*Mike* I haven't seen any really big ones. My son caught a nice brown trout the other day though. He's an avid fly fisherman, even has his own web site, but I can't remember the site's name/address. I'm an even worse fisherman than a woodworker so I spend most of my free time in the shop. One of my grand kids can just stand next to the water and fish swim up on the shore and surrender. Go figure. He's pretty good at woodworking too.

*Dave R.* -the færing is a beautiful boat. They look Kind of like small viking ships. A few years ago we visited the Viking ship museum in Oslo. It was very interesting, but of course the boats aren't in great condition. The thing that really caught my imagination was the wooden ship "Fram" that Roald Ammundsen used for his polar exploration. This was a very strong ship built for the ice. It's still in great shape, although it's drydocked in it's museum.

*Chuck* It's certainly worth a visit and I hope you have the opportunity. The weather is a bit tricky though, so it might be a good idea to have an umbrella with you just in case, (now you know why it's so green here).


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## reggiek (Jun 12, 2009)

Beautiful country…awesome pics. I am always curious about how our breathren LJ's enjoy this hobby in other lands….it is a real treat to see your resident country up close and personal like that. Thank you for sharing a bit of your "home" with us.

Had to edit this quick as I just read your tag line…for being an American in Norway….


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

Thanks for a little glimpse of the homeland ;-)) Mom is into rosé mulling, but chip carving is a bit to intricate for me ;-))


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## degoose (Mar 20, 2009)

A journey through time and space. One day mate.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

*Bob Z.* Chip carving is fun. I've done a little, but I have to admit I'm not that good at it. Guess a lot of practice helps. Glad to hear about the rosemaling. Maling translates as painting. I've done a lot of it (on houses) since I moved to Norway. I have actually tried rosemaling myself and I even have a cutting board with my first try on it. It isn't very good, but maybe I'll post it anyway just for the heck of it.

*Dave R.* You obviously know more about boats than I ever will, but it's always nice to learn something new. I buy Wooden Boat magazine every month just for the stories and the woodworking part. Great mag! I don't know if that cabin will have a sod roof, but there are plenty of them around. In fact there's a home just down the road from us with one.

*Larry* Hope you can make the trip mate. Would like see you in person.


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

I might try it sometime, but I have too many interests and things to do. I'll never live long enough!! Today, I have a bad cold and just fiddling on the computer. Mom says it takes months for her paints to dry and she is in very low humidity Idaho. How can you use paints on a cutting board for food?


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## TopamaxSurvivor (May 2, 2008)

BTW, that is one fantastic trunk you posted!!


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## webwood (Jul 2, 2009)

wow - thank you so much mike - i still have relatives there and would love to someday make the trip - i see now why my family settled where they did in the wisconson penninsula as it resembles the terrain alot
erik


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Wow mike this was a nice trip with beautiful country (some like Oregon) your definitely not in Kansas.


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## Sawdust2 (Mar 18, 2007)

What nice pictures.
My family name is Storesund from a fjord near Bergen on the west coast.
I've flown a Cessna 206 from the States to Oslo but it was mid winter and all i got to see was snow covered land from the south tip to Oslo. CCCCollldddd.
We then took the plane from Oslo to a small airport about 100 miles SW of Oslo where there were barriers that had to be lowered (radio remote) to keep cars off the runway as we landed.

Lee


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## scrappy (Jan 3, 2009)

Fantastic pics and a Great break for the city(phoenix) that I live in.

Thanks for posting. The narative was good too.


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## Splinterman (Mar 13, 2009)

Hey Stefang,
Very nicely presented…...enjoyed the tour.


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

*Bob Z.* I originally tried rosepainting to decorate some of the traditional stuff I was making. I quickly found out that it takes a lot of time and practice to become proficient, and I decided I would rather spend my time on woodworking. A more talented person could probably learn it pretty quick. As for the cutting board, you paint on one side and only use the other side for cutting. You hang it on the wall with the painted side out. Here's a shot of my one and only attempt.

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*Erik* Coincidentally I was born in Superior Wisc. Although I haven't any Norwegian genes.

*Jim* I've never been in Oregon, but I envy your trees. I hear it is beautiful there too.

*Lee* You should come in the summer. That's the best time to see Norway.

*Scrappy* My Daughter-in-law's mother visited family in Pheonix a couple of years ago and she said she would really like to live there. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Here is a shot I forgot to include. There are literally thousands of these waterfalls in Norway.

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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

mike ,

genes are overrated ,
all of mine 
have glue 
stuck to them !


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Good to hear from you David. Don't you guys ever sleep over there?


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

every time i go to sleep ,
i just wake up .
and all there is to do is clean my shop ,
( i'm 1/3 done in 6 days ) .
i bought maple to go along with the rosewood ,
so didn't pay my satellite bill .
before i start to work with it ,
i want to have the tools and supplies 
where they work ,
and i can find things !

it is good to be back .


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Good to have you back. I'm looking forward to seeing some more projects from all that nice wood.


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## rtb (Mar 26, 2008)

Mike, thanks so much for the visit, you have shown us what I always enjoy the most, some of the beauty thats not included in tour books,


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## stefang (Apr 9, 2009)

Yes RTB, sometimes we are more interested in the everyday things that we can more easily relate to. I am anyway. Actually these pictures don't really do Norway justice. It's a lot more beautiful than most could believe. I plan to make a more interesting post on this in the future, but I don't want to overdo it by being too persistent. I especially hope to incorporate more woodworking by some local folks and also I would like to show some of the farms around here, as I know there are many LJ members who are farmers and they might enjoy that. The area we live in is especially representative of Norway with many fjords, mountains, and beautiful beaches all within a 5-30min. drive. Thanks a lot for taking a look.


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