“Armenia 🇦🇲 ~Arpi Lake and National Park”

• January 6, 2021
• By Pen n Daryl
• 2 Comments

The third time was a charm in this case. We made it!

Like other destinations in this snowy country, we have had to make many attempts to see ourselves all the way to the actual sites we desire to visit. Winter is a beautiful time to visit Armenia, and we are embracing it all! Getting to the sites in the snow and ice, is not as much as fun as being at the site, though! Daryl has done most of the driving, so I can take photos. When I drive, Daryl doesn’t take any photos, as we travel along. Daryl tends to get inspired to write, instead. It’s a balancing act for sure, between the two of us.

The last time we attempted to get into this National Park, the snow was too deep on the less traveled road, off of the main road. We had to turned around. Next, we looked into hiring a driver, so we could get through the snow in a bigger vehicle, but the feedback from our inquiry was; “everything is covered in snow, so nothing to see.” Now, firstly, from a locals perspective, this is mostly true, but from a tourists perspective, it is far from the truth. We waited, almost 12 days with no new snow and decided to go on our own, again, yesterday. When we turned off the main road, we discovered a snowplow had cleared the less traveled road, at least once, since we were there, before. This did not mean it was void of any ice and snow, but we took it slow, and I really enjoyed the adventure. Daryl was focusing very hard to keep us out of the ditches, so I am not sure he had as much fun. But, he did a great job, and no issues!

We did not go to the National Park to see Arpi Lake, as the main focus, because we knew the Lake would be covered over, but the surrounding mountains and the many small villages we drove through were what we got out to see. This region of the National Park is just below Georgia (Georgia shares the same area of reserve). Arpi Lake is also very near to Turkey. Apri can be found in the very high Northwest corner of Armenia.

It took us about an hour and half to reach the National Park from our no-name hotel, due to driving very slow. We did not leave till around 11AM, so the sun would have a chance to help with the roads warming up. Though there has been no new snow on this route, the majority of the drive was in the higher elevation, where the temperatures hover between 0 to 27 degrees. It actually has to warm top to the mid thirties to snow! What else was perfect timing for this day trip was the fact that overnight any moisture turned to ice, so the “Silver Thaw” made taking photos even more fun.

I’m not sure what others people call the “heavy frosted” look of a Silver Thaw, but when I was quite young, my dad was transferred for work from Oregon to Massachusetts. Our family lived on the East Coast for about five years, before he was transferred back to Oregon. I remember lots and lots of snow in those years in Massachusetts. I also remember hearing the term Silver Thaw for the first time. With all the snow, us kids had lots of fun, sledding, and plenty of White Christmases! One summer, back in Massachusetts, I remember my dad working very hard to clean and clear out a pond, which was behind our house in the woods. That Christmas, we all got ice skates. which only added to our winter fun! the Silver Thaw would be so harsh, trees and tree branches, along with telephone phone lines, would collapse from the weight of the ice. Here, in Armenia, the Silver Thaws haven’t been that severe, just enough to make the scenery pop in the morning hours, after daylight.

Our time in Armenia has reminded me a lot of my early years living in Massachusetts, as well as my later years, living in Colorado and Eastern Oregon, where snow was part of life. Daryl, being Texas-born and raised, and then a Californian, only visited the snow to go skiing. He does not like the cold very much; not as much as I do, during this time. I love the cooler temperatures and while I no longer would want to live in snow country, full-time, visiting it is perfect!

We feel very accomplished up here in the Northern Armenia. We literally have seen everything we came to see up here. Next, we will return to the central-Eastern area of Lake Sevan, to retry a few routes there, that were impassable, before, and then we will head to the all new territory for us, in the southern region.