We have a very lazy and relaxing morning. The only thing we have to do is be down at breakfast on time, which starts around 8 AM. We dig into the buffet breakfast and then take the time to build our pack lunch. And build is the right word. We get some bread and the select our cold cuts and cheese and then stack up the sandwiches using the wax paper strips that they supply to separate the open faced sandwiches. At least we have our lunch ready now.
We are not really in any rush this morning, so we decide to enjoy the good weather and just hang out for a while. We finish packing our bags and load them in the car and then just go and hang out on the front lawn reading and admiring the view over the lake spread out in front of us with the mountains in the background. At around 11:30 AM, we decide that it is time to head off.
We make our way back down the dirt toll road to the main road, where we turn east towards Oppdal. Our first stop is at Vang, 3 km before the Oppdal town center. Vang is one of Norway's largest burial fields and contains over 750 small graves from the late Iron Age (600-1,000 AD). We park our car and go and check out the fenced off area.
As these are graves that have been dug and abandoned a long time ago, it is hard to identify them in the grassy area and amongst the various stones and boulders. But they have done a pretty good job of setting out trails and putting markers and explanatory boards at strategic spots. We wander around just a fraction of the area and check out only a few of the burial mounds. But it is still a very interesting place.
From here we head into Oppdal, where we spend a couple of hours doing some grocery shopping, wrapping some presents and checking our emails (as we have been out of touch over the last few days). The town is certainly geared to catering towards the many tourists that must pass through. We head out at around 2 PM and drive north on E6. We are making our way to Røros. After about 30 minutes we stop at a nice roadside picnic area to dig into our packed lunches.
We carry on north along E6 until we come to Støren, where we turn east onto route 30. We are now back in familiar territory. We had driven through here late one night in June when we were on our way to Røros from Trondheim and were looking for a place to stay. It is quite different during the day and in nice weather. Not quite as dramatic and forbidding without the rain, low clouds and dark, dusk light.
We drive along route 30 and we decide to start looking for a place to stay - a bit early for a change. We come upon one of the campsites that we had tried to stop at on our last visit, and this time they have a cabin free for us. We decide to take it. It is now just after 4 PM. The cabin is pretty nice and they have a decent shower and toilet block. We quickly settle in.
For the rest of the afternoon, we just hang out and relax in the warm sunshine. We spend some time washing the thick layer of grey dust off of our car. We open a beer and sit in the sun and read. We just relax and take it easy. It is a nice change. We cook our dinner (which we enjoy with one of our dwindling bottles of wine) and then take it easy for the rest of the evening.