The Land of the Midnight Sun

Traveling this far north during the summer has it's distinct advantages and disadvantages.  The most wonderful advantage, of course, is how much cooler it is up here than South Texas.  One of the most interesting adaptations we must make this far north concerns the Midnight Sun.

Not only do we deal with a four-hour time change, but time is also skewed by the lack of darkness.  For 74 days, the sun never sets above the Arctic Circle (between May 16 and July 28).  Even after July 28, the sun sets for only an hour until it becomes half day and night during the September solstice.  Total darkness begins around November 24 through January 18.

To give you an idea of what it's like up here, I crawled out of bed and took this photo at half past midnight (12:30 am)...

Midnight... in the land of the Midnight Sun

As you can see, it is light enough to read a book!  David is quick to add that using our black-out curtains would make our sleeping quarters much darker.  However, with my being claustrophobic, I like to have the windows open...

I am happy to report that we just celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary.  Perhaps the land of the Midnight Sun offers a testament to our longevity... compromise!  :)