So Far: Day #3

I glanced at the trip odometer this afternoon before we reached our last stop and it read about 1100 miles. So far.

Today was the last long driving day for a while. We left Kansas City this morning and we're putting our feet up in La Junta, CO tonight. We're in our seventh state and our third time zone. So far.

We've come a long way (sorry) from the first cross-country trip we did. Now we make sure to get out of the car for lunch; so far we've found good local restaurants (thanks to Yelp). We'll also have some picnics along the way. Today's was Blue Sky Brewery and Eats in Salina, KS. No pictures of the food or the beer. Sorry!

We detoured after lunch to see Monument Rocks. If you saw these picture without captions, would you think they were in Kansas? I wouldn't have. 

And of course we had a geology professor moment. 

"They're Cretaceous rocks...."

Stay tuned for more of these when we get into the Rocky Mountains.

This is more what I'd expect on the prairie.

"That's definitely not a cow."

After Monument Rocks we headed to Lamar, CO for dinner. I did get a photo of my strawberry margarita. I'm glad I ordered the smaller version.

Lamar also boasts the Petrified Wood Gas Station. At least it was a gas station when it was built in the 1930s. It's been through several other incarnations since and it's now vacant, like much of the retail space in Lamar. 

I'll close with some miscellaneous photos of things I found amusing, and then I'll call it a night. The clock says 9:20 PM. My body says either 10:20 or 11:20, and in either case I'm ready for bed.

Do you think they know?

Because half-price axe throwing with $2.00 drinks is always a good idea.

When you're too old for $2.00 drinks and axe-throwing, you strap your Boost to your Harley and you're ready to rock and roll.

One More Day

Today is our last day in Iceland. We had dinner with a friend last night; I was too tired to write when we got back to the hotel, so here's the recap of Saturday.

We thought about taking a six-hour drive to a national park on a western peninsula, and decided that was too much, so we headed for Reykjavik and figured we'd find something to do on the way or in town after we arrived. We got a late-ish start after hunting down breakfast -we spent Friday night in a cozy cabin, not a hotel - and headed toward Reykjavik, planning a stop at (of course) a waterfall along the way. It was actually above 0 C!

David pulled off to look at something geological and I stayed in the car - until he pointed out a waterfall I hadn't noticed. Frozen waterfalls are still gorgeous.

Frozen in mid-waterfall

Iceland has a lot of signs at viewpoints along the road that tell you what you're looking at and what else is in the vicinity. David spotted a cinder cone and a marker, so we pulled off, and realized there was a hiking trail up the cone. We put on our hats and gloves and headed up.

There were stairs most of the way up. This is at the crater.

We climbed the larger cone and looked down at the smaller one.

Iceland: Where the views don't suck.

It was a bit slippery going down, because there was snow and ice between the sets of stairs. We made it safely to the bottom and back to the car. Next stop: a waterfall!

Hraunfossar is different from the other waterfalls we've seen. It flows out of lava rocks rather than over them. 

The color of the water- just gorgeous.

I also love the sound of a waterfall.

Barnafoss is just up the trail. I thought it was going to be smaller, since"Barnafoss" means "Children's Waterfall." Nope.  

There's a gruesome story about drowning that account for the name.

We ate lunch at the café near the falls and drove on to Reykjavik, where we checked in to the hotel, took a soak in the hot tub, and put our feet up for a bit before heading out to dinner with friends who happened to be in Iceland at the same time. 

Now it's Sunday morning. I'm going horseback riding and David will explore the city, and then we'll have to face the fact that it's time to go home. We have a whole list of things to do on our next trip to Iceland - sometime in the summer (not this summer. Some other year). I guess if I wanted to go home, it would mean the trip was too long, so this one must be just right. I hate to see it end.

Random Thoughts on Travel

We've come a long way - literally and figuratively - from our first trip together. In August of 1982 we drove from New York to California before we started grad school (him) and med school (me). We learned a lot about each other on that trip, starting with how long a day was going to be. David was determined to log as many miles as possible on travel days. I thought we should stop before dinner and relax in the evening. Since I'm writing this at 5:00 PM and we're about to go soak in the hot tub before we shower and change for dinner, you can see how that one worked out - eventually.

It's important to find the right rhythm when you're traveling with someone else. How many planned stops? How much extra time for the drive to allow for impromptu side trips? Souvenir shopping? Other kinds of shopping? Picnic by the roadside or lunch indoors? Sleep late? Set an alarm? It requires a lot of negotiation. Nearly 40 years on, we have a basic schedule we like - we plan a few things, and always leave room for sudden discoveries. We didn't plan either of today's stops ahead of time, unless you count 11:00 last night, when I found the waterfall we went to see. The other stop was "oh, look, that's interesting."

It feels odd to me to put on hiking boots and hiking pants to basically climb a staircase. Iceland has a lot of infrastructure in their parks and national recreation areas (or their equivalent thereof). There are stairs, boardwalks, arrows, informational signs, and ropes to keep you on the trail. Given the number of tourists we saw and knowing it's not anywhere near peak, I understand why. It still feels odd to climb up a wooden staircase when I'm dressed for the wilderness.

See what I mean? There was also some actual hiking.

English is the lingua franca in Iceland, which makes it very easy for us, but does make me feel a bit like the ugly American who expects every to speak my language. Yesterday at lunch we sat next to a couple who must have been on their first date. She was German, he was Icelandic, and we knew it was a first date because they were speaking English. The guide for our ice cave tour was Australian and the marine biologist on the whale cruise yesterday was from the UK.

I'm trying to live in the moment but I can't help thinking about the next trip. We want to come back to Iceland in the summer, and there are so many other places to go....

A Whale of a Day

First, here are some more photos of last night's aurora. The shots I posted last night were not as well-focused, and my photographer is picky.

The colors aren't all visible with the naked eye. David tells me this has something to do with the long exposure on the camera. A bit of research adds the info that the cones in our retina, which see color, require higher light levels than the rods, which see black-and-white, and so our night vision tends to be lacking some color. The camera - especially modern digital SLRs - has a much greater ability to capture light with a long exposure. It was still spectacular to watch in person, and I'm glad we have the photos as well. This is why we came to Iceland in winter.

I kept reminded myself of that when we left the hotel this morning. We had a brilliant aurora last night because it was crystal clear - no clouds. Clear weather in winter is colder weather. The car thermometer told us it was -20 C when we headed out today. We found our way to (yes) another waterfall and had a short hike in from the road. A short, COLD hike. It was worth it.

Godafoss - the waterfall of the gods

We had no other specific plans for the day except to head west toward tonight's lodgings. We stopped in Aukreyri for lunch. Aukreyri is the largest town we've seen since we left Reykjavik - they had stop lights!

Side note: Iceland stop lights and road signs are kinder than those in the US. The stop lights in Aukreyri were changed after the 2008 financial crash to make the world a happier place.

They also have the same kind of speed monitoring signs we have the US, with one difference: if you're under the limit, you get a thumbs-up or a happy face. When you leave the city limits, you see this:

When you arrive in town, you see the same thing without the red line

They also have electronic signs that tell you the weather conditions up ahead. Very handy when driving through unpopulated mountain areas.

So back to Aukreyri. We found a parking spot and figured out what they meant when they said "clocks for parking are available in banks and gas stations." Parking is free and limited to two hours. At the bank, David picked up a cardboard clock, which we set with the time we parked and left on the dashboard.

We had delicious mussels in an Asian-flavored broth for lunch (mmm) and looked out over the harbor while we ate. We noticed the whale-watching boat, and checked their website to learn that yes, there is whale-watching in winter. So we headed over there and bought tickets for a three-hour tour after I retrieved the scopolamine patch from my suitcase. You never know when you might need it.

They can't guarantee whales, of course. We got lucky - again. This gorgeous creature was feeding in the fjord and we watched him? her? for nearly an hour. David took pictures. I just watched in awe.

Humpback whale heading down for a dive.

We could hear the whale breathing.

Rolling around, just for fun.

And a waterfall on shore for good measure.

I took advantage of the insulated overalls they carry on board. That went over my leggings, turtleneck, hiking pants, rain pants, sweater, scarf, and parka. It's a wonder I could move. I also bought hand heaters for my gloves and I was toasty - except for my feet, even though I had wool socks and silk sock liners inside my boots. It was totally worth it.

We defrosted in the car on the way to our lodgings in a cabin on the hillside in Hvammstangi. Here's the view from the living room window.

David suggests that Iceland's tourist slogan should be "views that never suck."

We had yet another delicious meal with (of course) delectable homemade bread. Local lobster (tempura for David, soup for me) and lamb steak (David).

Tomorrow we head back to Reykjavik via (of course) a waterfall and whatever else catches our fancy along the way.