Travel all over North America this winter has been a challenge. Â Polar Vortex, ice storms, and lots of snow have hit us, wave after wave. Â Shoveled paths and walkways are now becoming gerbil trails – critical connections points between A and B. Â In this photo, point A is the back door. Â Point B is the door to the backyard sauna.
When the highway patrol warns against any unnecessary travel, all flights from O’hare into Minneapolis are cancelled, and a friend reports that he counted 30 cars stuck in the snow on his way over to sauna, one can relish even more the ease by which one can “take a vacation” only steps out the back door.
A leisure sauna session after an intense big storm.
Winter storms limit our freedom to move, yet a backyard sauna becomes an even greater expression of freedom. Â Without having to drive anywhere, sauna presents an aura of being up North, on vacation with total freedom: the music you want to hear, the company you want to keep, the number of rounds you want to take.
BONUS: Â After shoveling out and lighting the sauna stove, more mental and physical freedom may be had by clipping on the cross country ski boots in the driveway and starting down the alley. Â Skiing down the middle of the neighborhood streets, its hard not to get cliche and think about life giving you lemons and making lemonade.
In this case, the weather is offering us a vacation “up North” and we are taking it.
