On top of the world

This day was stressful and rewarding in equal parts. Woke up early for a long day of driving that would end up being even longer. Remember that storm we experienced in the SE? Well the NE got it too, but with snow and sleet. Well, the roads still weren’t even touched until later this day. We were doing good staying on the main road until we needed to cut off from driving the coast up to our destinations. At one point we came 30miles or so from the coast rd and came to the base of a mtn that was one sheet of ice. All up to this point it was gradual incline and the ice was only in patches But lay a head of us now is a steep mountain pass. We attempted once and got stuck 250 meters from the base. Then we waited at the bottom deciding what to do when another tourist pulled up. We chatted about the mtn then they took off and made it to the top. Granted they had 4x4 but that gave us hope. We tried again. Made it a little higher before I backed out of it and thought about backtracking and adding 2.5 hours to the trip. At this point 4 other 2 wheel drive cars pull up (two of which are vans like ours). Two make it up to the top (well we assume they do, as you can’t see the top ). So we go for it. Fully committed with our little van with all but snow tires, And what a view…. Going down the other side was not as bad but after the mtn pass things cleared up a bit more. We made our two stops one being a hike up a mtn of 60+ flights of stairs (Chelseas idea). Then after the second stop we headed to our final resting place (of course our campground). But as we kept going. It felt as if our elevation just kept climbing. Up and up and up. It got more white and more frozen. But we finally made it. After 7.5 hours of driving we were able to pass out and get ready for the next day. The town were staying at has a population of 270 and this is one of the most visited places in the N of Iceland. They have one bar, one gas station, two restaurants (one that is closed for the season), one grocery store (very small), but 3 campgrounds and idk how many hotels!) So we hit up the only restaurant open for fish and chips and went to the frozen tundra of a campsite. More to come.Read more