2024 Travels: USA and Iceland

A 228-day adventure by Rachael Read more

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2024 Travels: USA and Iceland Traveler
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Day 110
Monday, August 5, 2024 at 1:17 PM
☁️ 59 °F
Altitude: 98 ft
Iceland Tröllfossar 64.592772, -21.58059764°35’34” N 21°34’50” W
Trolls and vikings and things
August 5, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
Officially off in the lands of Iceland! We went to the Viking museum (The Settlement Center) in Borgarnes. We learned about Egil the poet and berserker! Do you have the ability to go berserk? because he sure did! He was part of the original settlers of Iceland and started to create the culture they have today. Farming along rivers, fighting the Norwegian royals, and hiding treasure in the hills! We then went to the Troll Gardens near by. We touched the special stone and said our pledge for a good life!Read more
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Day 110
Monday, August 5, 2024 at 1:44 PM
☁️ 61 °F
Altitude: 39 ft
Iceland Tröllfossar 64.591422, -21.583264°35’29” N 21°34’60” W
More more more trolls!
August 5, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F
The troll gardens gave us a great excuse to act like children! We played hopscotch and kickball. Climbed into tiny houses and walked the spinning plank. It was silly as a seahorse (or should I say Icelandic horse) and then we made our way to the first waterfall of the trip! This one is called Hraunfossar. It comes flowing right out of the field and the color was the most serene gray from the black sand mixed in it! Our hotel had a naturally heated hot tub and we had some Baileys with our choco!Read more
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Day 111
Tuesday, August 6, 2024 at 10:17 AM
⛅ 52 °F
Altitude: 853 ft
Iceland Akureyrarkaupstaður 65.65335, -18.17222565°39’12” N 18°10’20” W
Up to the clouds! And snow!
August 6, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F
Today we woke up to sunshine in Akureyri! So we rushed out to do a hike. We wanted to be sure we were able to see the views rather than just fog like a good portion of yesterday. (The fog got so thick only the section of road we were on was visible! It’s like we were in nothing nowhereness). It stayed sunny till the top which was good but boy was it unexpectedly sweaty! No one knew how long this hike was going to be and it really felt like it kept going and going and going. Just when we thought it was the top 500 more feet and then 500 more and up to about 3000ft elevation change! And we went past the point of snow on the mountaintop, Súlur.Read more
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Day 111
Tuesday, August 6, 2024 at 1:13 PM
☁️ 54 °F
Altitude: 3,694 ft
Iceland Bungur 65.611078, -18.18972865°36’40” N 18°11’23” W
A hot pot in a cold land
August 6, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F
We spent a little time reveling in the view and the fact that we made it before heading back on the long steep path down. We then took a little drive to visit the first natural hot springs (hot pot) of the trip. It’s a hot pool sitting right next to a cold river at the top of an incredible water fall! Varmahlíð is the area it was in and it was called Fosslaug. Really something to know if you went in the river you would freeze but you’re just sitting in a hot tub enjoying the scenery. We rocked some truly fashionable looks on the walk back to the car, which was much less freezy than it seemed it would be while in the hot water.Read more
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Day 111
Tuesday, August 6, 2024 at 7:07 PM
⛅ 50 °F
Altitude: 791 ft
Iceland Öxnadalshreppur 65.549462, -18.55340365°32’58” N 18°33’12” W
We love a photo
August 6, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 50 °F
I am taking way too many photos already but all the places are so great and beautiful it’s very hard not to. Tim Walz was announced as the VP pick by Kamala while on our hike! Feeling gooood and proud to be a Minnesotan! Yay!Read more
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Day 112
Wednesday, August 7, 2024 at 6:17 AM
☁️ 45 °F
Altitude: 394 ft
Iceland Goðafoss 65.683708, -17.54933365°41’1” N 17°32’58” W
Godafoss: Waterfall of the Gods
August 7, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F
First destination is Godafoss which means waterfall of the gods. Named for some guy throwing the pagan gods over the falls when Iceland excepted Christianity instead. It was very pretty and again the color of the water was really calming and unique with the black sand swirled into the blue. We got to walk across a bridge and down to the base of it which added to the excitement. We then had lunch and madre made as us try dried fish chips (bad! Not recommended!)Read more
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Day 112
Wednesday, August 7, 2024 at 9:08 AM
☁️ 45 °F
Altitude: 1,165 ft
Iceland Hverarönd 65.639022, -16.80939765°38’20” N 16°48’34” W
Volcanic Activity
August 7, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F
Next up after Godafoss was the geothermal area, Námafjall. It was STANKY! Like eggs and pee and diaper. Me and Pad lost the others and just walked around gagging away. It was very cool though with the varying colors and bubbling mud all around. We had met some people at the hot spring the other day and saw them again here! It’s a small world in Iceland. We then checked into the next hotel in Myvatn called Laxa Hotel. It’s by a nice lake which we quickly walked around but believe it or not Iceland has bugs, specifically gnats and they were swarming on this hike. Lastly, we went to see a lava tube at Dimmuborgir. It was huge! And me and Flan got down on the stomach to crawl through a tiny space Nancy Drew style to get a pic on this ledge (our fam abandoned us in the hole so a stranger had to take that pic). FINALLY, we had a fancy dinner at the hotel, very yummy and very expensive.Read more
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Day 113
Thursday, August 8, 2024 at 12:12 PM
☁️ 46 °F
Altitude: 883 ft
Iceland Dettifoss 65.817062, -16.38399765°49’1” N 16°23’2” W
Anotha One!
August 8, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 46 °F
Big ol’ waterfall number 3 (i think)! This one is called Dettifoss and it’s known as Iceland’s most powerful waterfall! It’s 44m tall and 100m wide! We were able to look right over the edge and down into it! It was like hanging over the side of the world. It was also unique to get to stand at the top of a waterfall that large! Along that same walk farther up river is another crazy looking waterfall, Selfoss, which is like 20+ waterfalls in one! It was one of my favorites so far for uniqueness and expansiveness! It wrapped all the way around a 180 turn and also kept flowing down a ways on one side as well! Next was Ásbyrgi Canyon which was said to be the hoof print of Odin’s horse. It’s a horseshoe shaped canyon created by a glacier, blew my mind to see it curved out in front and to each side of us! That guy had a big horse!!Read more
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Day 113
Thursday, August 8, 2024 at 9:31 PM
☁️ 45 °F
Altitude: Sea level
North Atlantic Ocean 66.055901, -17.62125666°3’21” N 17°37’17” W
The most perfect whales <3
August 8, 2024, North Atlantic Ocean ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F
After all that we are doing our whale watching boat ride today!!! After having like the best salmon I have ever had, we were off to the ocean in Húsavík. The bay is called Skjálfandi which means trembling because it’s near the fault lines and has a number of earthquakes. We saw two whales!!! One so many times and his mouth coming out of the water while he eats! It was soooo amazing I started to cry! Once it happened so close to the boat it really gave me the we are so small and how can this creature exist feeling. I also learned how whales sleep with one half of their brain at a time so they can keep breathing and the arctic terns do the same thing while flying from pole to pole each year. We got snackies while watching and just had the most mind blowing few hours!!!Read more
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Day 114
Friday, August 9, 2024 at 2:20 PM
☁️ 48 °F
Altitude: 1,017 ft
Iceland Sauðá 65.197442, -15.25067265°11’51” N 15°15’2” W
A girl and her goat
August 9, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F
Day 6 and we are onto a new hotel. We are stopping at a little farm called Möðrudalur/Fjalladýrð, which gave us the opportunity to be sooo close to the most loving goat I have ever met. This little guy let you pet him everywhere and was SO soft and SO happy and excited. I was really in my element and couldn’t get enough. We then had some traditional lamb soup for lunch. It, like many foods in Iceland, was way too expensive for what it was. It was pretty boring flavor wise but always important to try some local stuff. Madre had lichen soup so we were all on the traditional vibe. We did some ax and stars throwing too!Read more
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Day 114
Friday, August 9, 2024 at 2:32 PM
☁️ 50 °F
Altitude: 997 ft
Iceland Viðidalsá 65.174339, -15.2730765°10’28” N 15°16’23” W
Bluest and columnest
August 9, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F
Next up was one of my favorite places so far because it was so so beautiful. We went to Stuðlagil Canyon. The walls are all basalt columns and the water is ridiculously blue. Some of the columns were bent and curved which was so interesting and showed how the earth has moved over time! We had the best side of the canyon even though we had to do a 20 minute walk and we were initially not into it because we could explore and climb down the columns right up to the rivers edge. The other side got one small viewing platform!Read more
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Day 114
Friday, August 9, 2024 at 3:21 PM
☁️ 50 °F
Altitude: 1,027 ft
Iceland Eyvindará 65.162689, -15.30836365°9’46” N 15°18’30” W
Continuing that fancy lifestyle
August 9, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F
We finished off at the canyon and then headed to Hótel Hallormsstaður. Obviously all over Iceland there are free roaming sheep and these drives I got a few good pictures of them. Sometimes there are fences but the sheep will be on both sides of it and right up to the road. There can be sheep way up on the hillsides too and it’s so cute and makes the drives even more special than just the spectacular scenery! Our hotel is trying to be very bougie and had a hot tub with a view of a lake as well as very fancy food. The parents weren’t too impressed with it all but it was pretty standard for what we have seen so far, just of course expensive and trying to be extra!Read more
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Day 115
Saturday, August 10, 2024 at 10:49 AM
☁️ 45 °F
Altitude: 367 ft
Iceland East 65.05597, -14.93537565°3’21” N 14°56’7” W
Could it get more perfect?
August 10, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F
Today we braved the F-roads which are the mountain dirt roads, basically more risky and bumpy. We just HAD to get to this hot springs WATERFALL!!! When we arrived, there were a few people but we ended up with like 40 mins of time to ourselves. We were so far out in the middle of nowhere that it made it even more surreal to be all alone out there. We couldn’t see anything man made and we could see far since it was actually sunny! It was so perfect to sit in the warm water and under the warm falls and just take in nature and the amazingness that is Iceland!Read more
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Day 115
Saturday, August 10, 2024 at 3:00 PM
☁️ 50 °F
Altitude: 2,192 ft
Iceland Vestaradrag 64.92167, -15.72656364°55’18” N 15°43’36” W
More perfection
August 10, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F
We wrapped up at the hot waterfall and we were nice and warm and feeling much more confident driving back out along the dirt road. We still had sun so we continued to have stunning mountain and waterfall views. Everywhere you look there is moving water and every second the type of landscape changes in Iceland! We are staying at a Fosshotel in Fáskrúðsfjöður. Which sits right along a fjord and had great views while it stayed sunny. We had a cute little dinner in the nearby town. This was my favorite hotel as it was so nicely kept and still cute and old school looking. They had a funky basement museum which looked like the inside of a fishing vessel from the old days. A cool little addition to the time spent recuperating in the hotel.Read more
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Day 116
Sunday, August 11, 2024 at 2:55 PM
☁️ 50 °F
Altitude: Sea level
Iceland Hornsvík 64.246902, -14.97714564°14’49” N 14°58’38” W
Petra’s stone collection rocks it
August 11, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F
This morning starts at Petra’s stone collection. Which by the sound of it wasn’t going to blow my mind but I was WRONG! It was so incredible how this one gal collection over 100,000 rocks from the mountain and areas of Iceland right around her home. Now they are all on display in her house and garden and so many of them are huge! And every one is sparkling and cool or unique in its own way. How she managed to find and carry all those amazing pieces was unthinkable! She also had whale bones and like 10 other insane collections on top of the rocks. I couldn’t imagine being so good at collecting!Read more
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Day 116
Sunday, August 11, 2024 at 3:21 PM
☁️ 50 °F
Altitude: 13 ft
Iceland Stokksnes 64.23832, -14.9788564°14’18” N 14°58’44” W
1 1
Best find ever ever ever!
August 11, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 50 °F
Next up was the beach and Viking village movie set. This time we were really right on the ocean and not just a fjord and we got to walk along the black sand and look for stones and bones and such just as Petra would have wanted us to. I found the best thing ever! A legitimate whale vertebra and even some other smaller bones! Flan and I got to do a seagull wishbone (I lost my wish 🙁) but it was still awesome to be at the beach seeing so many interesting things including super old shipwreck rubble! We got a bit lost and had to just tramp through the grasses and dunes along the shore. It was fate though because otherwise I never would have found my whale bone! The Viking village was a bit underwhelming but I found out researching at dinner that it was built in 2010 so it’s getting old even for the old look they were going for. It did have more bones though, including some which had the tissues inside still!Read more
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2024 Travels: USA and Iceland Traveler
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Day 117
Monday, August 12, 2024 at 3:37 PM
🌧 50 °F
Altitude: Sea level
Iceland Jökulsá 64.039964, -16.18105564°2’24” N 16°10’52” W
More classic iceland!
August 12, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ 🌧 50 °F
Our hotel, Lilja Guesthoise, has a view of the glacier from the front door! Tomorrow we will see it up close but today we are going to another falls, Svartifoss, which is a one mile up hill hike! Nice to get a few more steps in 🙃 but it was lovely and the partial clouds make for very good lighting! Next up is diamond beach! Black sand just does look cooler doesn’t it! And colder when covered in ice chunks floating right off the glacier and into the ocean.Read more
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Day 117
Monday, August 12, 2024 at 3:37 PM
🌧 50 °F
Altitude: Sea level
Iceland Jökulsá 64.039964, -16.18105564°2’24” N 16°10’52” W
A spiritual experience
August 12, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ 🌧 50 °F
At the Diamond Beach we saw some seals popping their heads out of the water and generally being the cutest things I have ever seen. It felt so arctic and unique to see the ocean with all the ice in it. Seemed like really seeing them in their natural environment. We also saw a humpback whale feeding along the shore. I was thinking it was going to be beached at first because it was only 20-30ft from where we were standing. However it just was having the time of its life. And it was so amazing to get such a front row view for free and for as long as we wanted.Read more
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Day 118
Tuesday, August 13, 2024 at 11:00 AM
☁️ 48 °F
Altitude: 774 ft
Iceland Austur-Skaftafellssýsla 64.098161, -16.34159264°5’53” N 16°20’30” W
Another new experience
August 13, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F
Today is ice cave day on the Vatnajokull glacier. We strapped on crampons for walking across the surface of the glacier and put helmets on so no ice could hit our heads. Another very stylish day in Iceland! Most of the cave was open to the sky as it’s been melting all summer and has been used for tours for 2 years now. Someone’s job is to go search for new caves and to keep up with the safety of the current one. The last area of the tour was actually cave like and we got the full ice cave experience. The ice was very blue from being so think but also had a lot of ash from a major eruption in 2014. The ash froze into the ice so never washed/blew away like it did on the rest of Iceland.Read more
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Day 118
Tuesday, August 13, 2024 at 11:02 AM
☁️ 48 °F
Altitude: 771 ft
Iceland Austur-Skaftafellssýsla 64.098311, -16.34124564°5’54” N 16°20’28” W
A mossy moment
August 13, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F
We got so lucky with the weather for our morning at the glacier because we actually could see it stretching out towards and up into the mountains. Just as we finished our tour it got so foggy! Before the end of the tour we got to have a mossy moment! Brought to you by Faxi (Foxy) our tour guide. We had extra time so we pulled over and laid in the squishy soft moss. It was so peaceful and comfy! It was hard to believe there was volcanic rock beneath us. Faxi said that moss is highly protected in Iceland because it’s the first thing to grow post eruption and it turns the rocks into soil. He also said 1m of snow makes 1cm of ice and the glacier is about 60m deep! That’s a lot of snow. And also goes to show how it’s much easier to melt than create glacier. Finally after hotdogs for lunch we went to Kirkjugólf natural monument which is the top side of basalt columns buried into the ground.Read more
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Day 118
Tuesday, August 13, 2024 at 6:26 PM
☁️ 54 °F
Altitude: 92 ft
Iceland Kirkjubaejarklaustur 63.786597, -18.01721763°47’12” N 18°1’2” W
Beautiful places & beautiful animals
August 13, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F
This is the continuation of a big big day! From flowing ice to flowing water we are now seeing another waterfall and gorge. This one turned out to be one of my favorites despite almost wishing we could skip it from being so tired. It’s called Fjarðarárgliúfur canyon. It was giving strong how to train your dragon vibes and just was so majestic it was hard to truly take in. The waterfall was actually one of three all flowing into the same spot which added to the unbelievable majesty! We went back to the hotel before heading out for dinner. And got lucky to finally see horses close to the road with space to actually pull over. So much of Iceland roads are built up so they have no shoulder what-so-ever! Icelandic horses are their own breed for 100s of years and they are known for being friendly which was confirmed by these guys. So sweet even when we wanted to pet their faces and ears. We gave them dandelions from our side of the fence then made reluctant goodbyes to go get some food and AMAZING dessert!Read more
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Day 119
Wednesday, August 14, 2024 at 2:33 PM
☁️ 52 °F
Altitude: 210 ft
Iceland Hofsá 63.528439, -19.48021363°31’42” N 19°28’49” W
Water hot and cold
August 14, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F
Our days are numbered in Iceland but that’s not slowing us down. We are off first to another hot springs. This one is known as Seljavallalaug swimming pool because it is actually built up as a pool. It might not have a dirt floor but it was still extremely algae filled that you could skate along the bottom of the pool. It was only semi warm as the hot water flowing in couldn’t really keep such a large space totally hot but it was a unique swimming experience for sure and we had some time pretty much alone again! It was raining while there so that didn’t help the slight chill we were feeling. As we walked the little ways to the car the cold definitely started to seep in and really didn’t want to let go the rest of the day. Next we saw a waterfall, Kvernufoss, which has a path to walk behind it! We hadn’t had this experience yet so, again, even though we are seeing similar things every day it stays exciting!Read more
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Day 119
Wednesday, August 14, 2024 at 4:33 PM
🌧 54 °F
Altitude: 16 ft
Iceland Stampur 63.404695, -19.10184263°24’17” N 19°6’7” W
Puffins? Puffins!
August 14, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ 🌧 54 °F
Next on the never ending list of waterfalls to see is Skógafoss. It’s one of the tallest falls in Iceland and you can see it both from the bottom and the top. The bottom area really sprayed water all over and it was even hard to look at the falls with the spray going in the eyes! Mad and Pad and I braved the stairs to get to the top. It took us about 7 mins but it was hard on the legs! I did it for the exercise, obviously haven’t walked enough yet. Then off to a black sand beach, Dyrhólaey, which Flan surprised us as a place to see puffins! I was over here thinking it would just be another beach but as usual Iceland always finds ways to make each place special! I could watch them for hours they were so cute and lively!Read more
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Day 119
Wednesday, August 14, 2024 at 4:38 PM
🌧 54 °F
Altitude: 16 ft
Iceland Stampur 63.404678, -19.10185163°24’17” N 19°6’7” W
Too many pics
August 14, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ 🌧 54 °F
I was promised crepes! Second to last day this is the first one. But I think it might be one of the best I have had! It has Prince Polo, Nutella and banana in them! We also went to a noodle place for dinner and got to each make our own made to order noodle bowl!Read more
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Day 120
Thursday, August 15, 2024 at 10:58 AM
🌧 50 °F
Altitude: 240 ft
Iceland Seljalandsfoss 63.615211, -19.98884663°36’55” N 19°59’20” W
The last day?!?
August 15, 2024 in Iceland ⋅ 🌧 50 °F
Here we go again! It’s been a wild ride and definitely one of the prettiest trips we have taken. We are wrapping up with, you guessed it, waterfalls! It’s different to be in the busy southern coast after experiencing so much serenity and empty natural spaces. It’s pretty sweet how many cools things are in close proximity though. We went to Seljalandsfoss. Which we could walk behind but the wind made it so much more of a shower than was needed. We had our rain coats but not our rain pants! Gljufrabui is a short walk away and tucked between the rock walls. This means we had to wait in line to see it and also once you’re in the rock area with the falls it was a full on shower and extremely hard to see or even take it in. Gullfoss was next and the best part of this was getting a hot chocolate and doing some shopping. It was very pretty but I was so cold and wet and the sun wasn’t giving us the rainbow experience this place is known for.Read more
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