Mesa Falls and Tetons

I have always wanted to go back to Mesa Falls near St Anthony Idaho.  I spent a day here when I attended Ricks College and it was beautiful.  I think it is one of the most under photographed falls, except for maybe by Idahoans.

ready to go

I passed Ricks College or BYU Idaho as they call it now and as I drove by my old dorm I found they were tearing it down! To make a parking lot! I had a lot of great memories in that dorm.  Two different apartments and 5 different roommates.  Oh the winters were cold here.  I didn't have a car and sometimes walking to the grocery store my nose would freeze shut.  It was a great place to shop because they delivered your groceries to your door.  How great is that.

Rexburg Temple

Stopped by the Rexburg Temple to take a photo.




I was on on my way to Mesa Falls.  There is a campground near here but it is not very big.  I am hopeful I can find a place to camp there.

Mesa Falls has really changed.


Like most good things, it now costs to get in and they have made the old lodge there a visitor center and a gift shop.  Still it is a pretty falls and when you go in the early evening and morning to take pictures there are few people there.

 

I stopped here first to see what it looked like.  I paid the 5 dollar fee and strolled around a bit then I decided to find a place to stay.  Oops all the campgrounds are full but there are lots of places to camp.  I just don't like to camp outside of a campground usually.  Just for safety mostly.  I went back to the Falls to wait for the sunset.  Guess what? It was just me.  I love it when there is no chatter but just the sounds of nature.

 A lot of the good places to take photos had been closed off.  I understand that they need to protect people, but really! I did climb over a safety fence to get a better picture.




This is the lodge that has been turned into a gift store.

Beautiful Falls!!  And a quiet peaceful night.  Now to find a place to camp.  The sun was fading.  I saw many places along the road, but they just didn't feel right so I turned down a forest service road that followed the Warm River.  The scenery was beautiful.

I ended up following forest road 15 for about 45 minutes when I came to a dead end at an old ranger station/ fish hatchery right next to Warm River Springs.  This is where the Warm River originates.

As I was taking this photo I heard a woof.  It was a deep woof.  Not a bark.  I think it was a bear or maybe Bigfoot alias Sasquatch!  I got out of there pretty fast.  Now I was a bit unnerved.  I still couldn't find a place to pull  the trailer into.  I finally decided to just go back to the parking lot of Mesa Falls.  I was going to go there early in the morning to take photos anyway. And at least I would have an outhouse.  I figured I would be gone before anyone showed up, even though I saw several no camping signs.  I wasn't camping.  I was just sleeping!

I woke up by 5:00 to catch the first rays of sunlight.



I think I liked the Sunset photos better than the Sunrise Photos.  Anyway here is the result.

Now I was off to Find Cave Falls and Bechler Ranger Station which technically is a part of Yellowstone National Park at the very bottom tip.  

This is a pretty rough road.  I don't know why I do this to myself.  I seem to pick the dustiest bumpiest roads in the country.  While traveling on the Cave Falls Road I saw a black object in the road in front of me.  It was a black bear running lickity spit down the road in front of me.  He was in the brush before I could stop and take a picture of him and I wasn't about to track him down.  I did tell the ranger when I reached Bechler.  

And this is Cave Falls.  I would like to go back and explore this area a little bit more.  I have heard that there is some great back country that starts from Bechler Ranger Station.

For Some Reason, maybe it is my propensity to travel bumpy dusty gravel roads.  I decided to take the Ashton-Flagg Road to Grand Tetons National Park.  Oh it is a rough long road.  And I happened to get behind some guy pulling a bunch of canoes to the boy scout camp (Camp Loa).  

But the Scenery was nice.










I found a fee camping spot right outside of The National Park along highway 89/26.  If  you like to camp "off the grid"  this is the website to use.  Be forewarned that these sites are free  or charge a small fee but they do not have amenities like established campsites.  This particular site had some incredible views of the Tetons, but also a few sites tucked into the trees.  The top was pretty full with bigger rigs (Which is just about any rig) so I went down into the trees.  This site is not far from a bathroom (about 3 miles).

This is a photo of my "rig" on the top.  You can see the awesome views.  Here is the link to the free campsites website. https://freecampsites.net/


I don't really "camp" when I go on these trips.  I don't build a fire or do a lot of cooking.  That is for times when I am with my family.  I think that is why I like this set up so much when I am by myself.  I take photos early in the morning when the light is good  and if the light becomes harsh I usually go back to the trailer and read  or sleep or edit photos. Then I start back out again in the late afternoon.

I keep my food and my cooler in the jeep along with my water.  I do this for two reasons.  One I am usually in bear country and two I don't want to get stranded in my jeep somewhere without resources.

I have a goal zero "Sherpa" battery that I charge before I go.  This will usually charge my ipad completely one time and my phone many  times.

If I go on a trip longer than 3 days, I like to stay in a campground that has an amp service and a nice bathroom.  If I can't find one I have a shower set up that I use.  The pump for this shower is charged by my goal zero.  I put the pump in my collapsible bucket filled with water and it pumps the water out the shower head.  I have this nifty shower tent that stores flat.

 Here's a photo of the shower setup.

I can set up my camp in less than 10 minutes, if I don't set the shower up.

So after I set up the camp I left to search for Moulton's Barn --a bucket list item for most photographers and it really isn't even in the park.  In fact most  good views of the Tetons are outside of the park.  It wasn't far from my campsite and it did not disappoint. 

And I was back again early in the morning.  I just have a small rant.  I was not the first one there in the morning. I went and stood by the group of people that had already gathered.  It probably wasn't my preferred location but they got there first.  Then another photographer came about 10 minutes

later and set up directly in front of everyone.  Nobody said 

anything so I yelled "Hey, your'e in my shot."  He said, "I was here first." and then  he said, "Besides you guys are in the wrong place."  About that time the sun started to reflect on the mountain.  So what do you do?

Here's the end result after I cloned the rude man out of the photo, which was very time consuming.

Another Ionic place for photographers  is Schwabacher's Landing.  I was here early one morning and it was cold and misty.  A bear walked in my photo just across the river, but he was moving pretty fast and I had my wide angle lens on rather than my telephoto lens.

I also saw some moose and their babies and I had a delightful time watching beaver.  They are my spirit animal and  I am always searching for a good close-up. 

 I noticed a young couple eating dinner next to the beaver dam near Schwabacher's Landing and a beaver was literally just 2 feet from where the young lady was eating mac and cheese. Yes they cooked their meal on a butane stove right there.  I love that. The beaver would put a stick on the dam and then he would dip back into the water to find another one. I whispered to her how cool that was and I had never gotten that close to a beaver.  She said she had never seen a beaver.  I just couldn't put my camera lens in her face to take a photo.  It seemed wrong.  So we just shared the moment.  I hope I am a part of her memory like she is a part of mine.

I had a great time at Teton National Park.  I intend to go back now that I have an idea where some of the locations are.  Here is my parting shot.

And a quote from Thoreau-- I have, as it were, my own sun and moon and stars, and a little world all to myself.”

 

Sawtooth Mountains

This was the biggest trip I took this  summer.  I went into the Sawtooth Mountain Range in Idaho  to Redfish Lake, Stanley, Salmon and then back home.    This trip had some special meaning to me for two reasons.  One it is the longest trip by far, I have been on since I got my little "Flying R" mini trailer and two--I will explain that later.






I love this little trailer.  It is well built with  1/2  inch plywood. Nice tires and axle. While there is no kitchen there is storage in the back for my camp stove, pots and pans, etc., but I really don't cook very much when I travel.  I usually keep my food in the jeep for convenience. It is just the right size for one person.  I have a DVD player, although I rarely use it, a heater and  fan for when I can hook up to electricity.

So anyway, I left Tuesday morning with the idea I would make it into Redfish Lake for the first night.  The first leg of the trip is about 300 miles, which is a pretty hard drive. That is about the longest drive I did in Iceland. Part of it was on Freeway, which I hate and the other half on state highways.

The trip there was pretty much uneventful.  I did pump gas out of this little baby somewhere between Sun Valley and Redfish Lake.  It really made me smile and it was pump first pay later.  I think it was in the small town of Galena.

Which was lucky, because I had about a quarter of a tank left.  I meant to get gas in Sun Valley but forgot. (I bought a cute bird house there instead.)

Redfish Lake really is as pretty as everyone says.  A good portion of it they keep roadless.  I found one campsite in the least desirable campsite of the bunch and I was glad I found a place.  This is Tuesday people, why are the campgrounds so full!   This was my camping spot the first night in the Mount Heyburn campground. Nice campground, quiet, shade and a clean  outhouse.

               
It was about four so I ate some flat bread, some cheese and a little chicken salad.  I really don't eat much when I travel.  The sunset was Ok but there were no clouds so really not all that spectacular.  I got up to take the sunrise and still no clouds, but this one was a little bit better, because the mountains faced South and there was a bit of Moon.

Redfish Lake Sunrise

I was going to spend another night at Redfish Lake, but decided to try Stanley Lake for the next night.  Stanley Lake is not far from Redfish Lake and is more secluded and less busy.  For one thing, there is not a lodge at Stanley like there is at Redfish, so there are only campers there.  I am hopeful I can find a great place to camp.

I love Stanley.  What a small unpretentious little town.  And by little I mean little, less than 100 people who live there full time.  Of course, there are more people in the summer months.  Stanley is right on the intersection of three  great scenic byways in Idaho--Ponderosa Pine, Sawtooth. and Salmon River.  I will be traveling on the Sawtooth and the Salmon River.  The Ponderosa heads to the Boise area, and I will not be going that way.  There is rafting, horseback riding, climbing etc.  Lots of outdoor stuff.

Stanley Lake is heavenly and I found a great spot.  Right next to the lake and looking right at McGown Peak.  I had to turn pretty tight to get into the campground, But I am getting really good at backing this baby up, thanks to my son who gave me a lesson before I left.  Now I am not afraid of finding a campsite because I don't need a pull through.    

So on the agenda today is finding natural hot posts to sit in.  I bought a book at the Redfish Lake Lodge  called  "Hiking Hot Springs in the Pacific Northwest."  Are there are a lot in the Stanley area.

  So here I go.  

   

First hot spring on the list that I visited is called Boat Box or Elkhorn Hot Spring.  If you didn't have directions or know this was there you would not even have an idea that it is just off the road.  The directions in this book were extremely accurate.  

      

Boat Box Hot Springs  is pretty hot. The book said 136 degrees.  First you have to put the end of the hose in the tub, then use the green bucket to put in water from the Salmon River.  You have to put in quite a few buckets of water to get the temperature right.  It was just a bit too hot, but I sat in anyway.  I am guessing it was at least 110 degrees. One of the the things I don't like about camping is not having a shower so let me tell you, this felt pretty nice.  The Salmon River Road is just to the left of the first picture, but the bank is so steep that you can not see the tub from the road.  This one reminded me of a community hot tub I sat in in Iceland.

The next spring I found was called Basin Creek.  It wasn't far of the road, just a 5 minute walk but it did not look nice enough to go through the effort of getting in and fixing the rocks.  If I had been with someone else to help share the load, maybe.

Basin Creek

Me at Sunbeam Hot Springs
Swimsuit required!

The next springs was a really nice one. Sunbeam Hot Springs.   This was also just off the road, and in the past had been a bathhouse.  Part of the old  bath house is still standing and has been restored somewhat.  There is also a restroom here, so I didn't have to change in the jeep or keep my wet swimsuit on.  This one is very hot, but it is easy to adjust the temperature by moving the rocks to let more river water in.  There were several people sitting in this one.  The gravel where I was sitting would get pretty hot and I would have to adjust my weight.  This one is probably my favorite of the trip.

Sunbeam Hot Springs.  I took this the next morning when there were
no people there.  It looks unassuming, but it is very nice.

After sitting in these hot springs I was on an adventure to find the Land of Yankee Fork.  I remember reading about this when I was in 4th grade studying Idaho history.  I was looking for the ghost towns of Custer and Bonanza.  First stop Bonanza.
The cemetery at Bonanza was one of the prettiest and well kept broken down cemeteries I have been to, if that makes sense.

Headstones in Bonanza

And perhaps hauntingly beautiful are the many headstones with a simple carving "Unknown."  I reflected on the many people who died while taming the Great West.  Those who perhaps made their fortunes and then lost them or maybe never even won them at all.  The men certainly, but also the women and children who followed their Husbands and Fathers into the "Unknown."

Hike in the Wasatch Mountain

My little town of
Willard Utah.  Way down below.  

Hi All.

I have been on many adventures since my Iceland trip, but just can't seem to find the time to catch up/  So I am starting with my last one and working back.  This will bug me because the date won't be right, but if I don't do this I will never get caught up.

Yesterday, I took a beautiful hike in the mountains behind my house.  There is a very rough dirt road that travels the back of the mountain and offers an incredible view from the top of Inspiration Point.  Unfortunately the gate was closed halfway up, to protect the mountain goat mating season.  LOL.  Did they just become shy?  The goats have been there for years and they have never closed the gate before.  But I took advantage of this and instead went walking.  Note to me:  Always take your water with you because your 5 minutes walks always turn into 3 1/2 hour hikes!

The wildflowers were exquisite.  In one square foot I saw 5 different kinds of wildflowers.  I saw service berries, elderberries, and thimbleberries.  Al of these are great eating.  The service berries were not quite ripe yet and the elderberries and thimble berries were still in bloom.  I usually dry some service berries and put them in pancakes and sometimes soup or stew.  About two weeks ago I noticed that some of the bushes in the Walmart parking lot were serviceberries so my son and I picked some.  You never know where wild food will show up!  The thimbleberries are a great trailside snack and elderberries make good jelly and you can also use the flowers by covering them with a batter and then deep frying them.  The flowers can also be used to make a fizzy drink by adding water and sugar and then letting it sit for a few weeks.  The one time I made it the kids loved it.   Apparently this is quite popular in the UK.  Of course, mine was the "virgin" recipe with no alcohol content.

Elderberry Bush

The wildflowers included several varieties of penstemon, baskets of gold, goat's rue, salsify, (edible) different species of buckwheat, cow parsnip, biscuit root, (edible) chickweed, (edible) wild strawberries (edible) wild geranium, lupine and many, many others.

The views are unmatched.

View looking to the North into Box Elder County.

Willard Peak the highest peak in Weber County, not Box Elder county.

This was a great hike and a super way to spend an early morning.  Because as Thoreau said in Walden

  “Morning brings back the heroic ages. There was something cosmical about it; a standing advertisement, till forbidden, of the everlasting vigor and fertility of the world. The morning, which is the most memorable season of the day, is the awakening hour. Then there is least somnolence in us; and for an hour, at least, some part of us awakes which slumbers all the rest of the day and night.”

― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Day 8  

I had a good nights sleep.  The bed was nice and I was pretty exhausted by all of the excitement yesterday.  Akureyri is a beautiful town.  It reminded me a lot of Brigham City.  They had a baseball field and a small music scene and a town square where they often had concerts, very similar to Brigham.  

The hostel was very nice.  It was called Akurin.   My room was on the top floor with a beautiful view of the town.  It cost 75.00 for a simple, but very well maintained and clean room.

  

I had another long days drive with a lot of sights to see.  

From Akureyri I headed south.  One of my goals is to photograph all of the remaining turf churches in Iceland.  There are 5.  One has been restored  and moved to Reykjavik so I am not counting that one.  One of them I was not able to photograph because it was on private property and was closed to the public.  The one I am headed to now is called Suarbaer. 

 One the way there I saw beautiful farm land.  There was one particular crop I saw often, but I didn't know what it was or who to ask.  I noticed a lady of a dairy farm out in the field and she was walking toward her barn.  I parked at the barn and got out of my car.  I am sure she thought I was crazy, I told her I was curious about the crops.  Her name is Asta and she took me around her farm for a short tour.  I told her I was scared to ask anyone and she said "We don't bite." and then laughed. They have a very clean and well kept farm.  We started talking about wild edible plants and really connected with each other.  The crop turned out to be kind of a kale they plant for the cows to graze on. This was one of the highlights of the trip. We still email each other every few months.

Kale?

The automatic milking machine.

Asta's farm

This is a photo of the church Grund.  It seems out of place in Iceland, but in the early 1900's it was one of the country's most impressive churches.

Finally made it to Suarbaer.  It was not open and the light wasn't very good, but here is a photo.

Then I got back on highway one and headed to Holar.  On the way there I got probably the biggest scare I had while in Iceland.  I was driving on a gravel road and going to fast when I drifted into some lose gravel.  I had to correct  the vehicle and I think if I had been in the smaller suzuki I would have tipped the vehicle.  It took me a few minutes to regain my composure.  

Traveling in Iceland is somewhat difficult because there are so many small roads.  It is difficult to find the place that you are going to.  I was looking at the map and GPS and trying to drive and that is not a good combination.  If you travel on your own make sure you have a GPS.  It is not always accurate, but with a map it is a lot easier to navigate.  Just don't look at the map while driving.

This is church photo is one of my favorites.  This church is called

Virkishóll.

Please do not copy!

 When I got to Holar the sun was shinning and it was a beautiful day.  I was finally able to go inside on of these turf buildings.  It was absolutely fascinating.  The women cook in the lower part of the house and it is pretty primitive,  but the other parts of the house were beautiful with wood walls and floor.  The people slept mostly on the top part and the fire below heated the house.  These rooms were inhabited until 1945.

Holar is  home to an agricultural college and has been  since 1882.  It was the last Catholic stronghold until 1522 when the bishop and his sons were beheaded.  

Church

Map of the college

It is a calm campus with historical, educational and religious ties.  I am glad I made the trip there.

Add caption

UpStairs loft.

Lower room

Kitchen

Nyibaer

My next stop was the Grof turf church.  This is one of the smallest turf churches in Iceland.

I loved this place!

I can just image what it would be like in the dark hours of winter to walk the path to this small church and worship with you family and neighbors.  

After Grof I decided to drive to Hofsos.  It was kind of disappointing as a town I didn't stay there long.  I turned around and went back the way I came for a bit. 

My next stop was another turf church called Vidimyri.When I opened the door of this church to look inside there was a man sitting just inside the door asking for donations.  It kind of surprised me.  I don't blame some of these places for asking for donations.  There has been a big push in Iceland to charge to see certain things and the Icelanders are in an uproar.  Iceland has really been overrun by tourists.  The locals aren't sure what to do.
I read that at one of the hot springs, rocks have been rearranged that have been like there for several generations.  The farmer is not sure what to do.  Put a gate and fence up, have guards or charge a fee.

Now I am headed to Glaumbaer.  I have a feeling it will be closed, but maybe I can look around.  I am kind of bummed it will be closed because this place really has an interesting museum.   Below are a few photos of Glaumbaer.  This is kind of a touristy place, but the buildings were very beautiful on the outside.  There's not many windows to peek in unless you climb on the roof!

Finally made it to Blonduos where I am staying at

Guesthouse Tilraun.

I ate at a nice restaurant in Blonduos today called Potturinn. 

 A very nice meal!  This is the first time I have seen rice.

I didn't stay in town long after I ate and checked into my room, because it was still light and there was one more place I wanted to go before I went to sleep.  This is the problem in Iceland.  It is always light in the summer!!  No time to sleep. I was headed to Hvitserkur, a sea stack that is just off the coast of Hunafjordur.  

Please don't copy!

Oh my I had seen incredible photos.  I hope I get out there while there is still color in the sky!

This is one of those moments when I should have stayed there just a bit longer because as I was driving back to the hotel the sky looked like this.

I got back to the hostel about midnight and was ready sleep, but wait the night was too beautiful.

My hostel is on the left  of the photo.

Day 9-

In Blonduos  I saw some ladies picking berries off the side of the road.  It seems like there is a considerable amount of wild food, but you don't see it much in restaurants.  I stopped to ask them what they were picking.  It is an Icelandic huckleberry or bilberry. 

I picked and ate some, then I saw another berry and I asked them if it was edible.  They nodded so I ate some of those too.  I recognized the berry as a crowberry. I think  our Idaho huckleberries are sweeter.

From Bonduos I traveled along highway one  and then up along the Strandir Coast headed toward Drangsnes where I would spend the night, but I had a lot to do and see before that happened.

On the way out of town I noticed a cool yard with lots of iron junk sculptures in the yard.  I walked around the perimeter of the yard taking some photos when an older man walked out of the house eating his oatmeal.  He was very friendly and eventually invited me into his house.  

Oh

my heavens, this is a very talented man.  His house was unbelievable.

Here's his facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/asgardwoodcraft?fref=ts

When I told him I was from the United States--Utah.  He asked me if I was a Mormon and I said, "Yes."  He told me his Mother lived by a Mormon and he was a very good man and a good neighbor.  I told him I had a Book of Mormon in my car and would he like to look at it?  He said, "Yes, maybe that man is in there."  So I went and got the BoM and he thumbed through it and said.  No, I am an atheist.  I said, "Keep it."  and He said, "No, give it to someone who is interested."  It was a very fun conversation.  He asked if I wanted some coffee and I explained the word of wisdom to him.  He said, "What no coffee and no wine?"  I told him that keeps us healthy and he said, "I am healthy."  I couldn't argue with that Healthy and talented.

Driving from Blonduos to Drangnses was a pretty easy drive.  I am staying at the

Malarhorn Guesthouse,

Drangnses is kind of out of the way and it is a very small town probably less then a hundred.  The waitresses at the restaurant obviously knew each other well.  There aren't any towns nearby so I am sure the employees were locals. I wanted to go to Krossnes a geothermal swimming pool at the top of the world.  It's about 40 miles at the end of a gravel road.  I wasn't sure if I would have time, but I did.  This was one of the things on my bucket list.  I wanted to go skinny dipping in the Arctic Ocean, but this is close.

On the road to Krossnes.

Krossnes

 Me!!

 Wonderful showers.   Everyone in Iceland is expected to shower naked before getting in the pools and they stick by it.  The showers had soap and shampoo.

 I get out here in the middle of nowhere.  The parking lot is full and they will take a credit card at the cashiers.  Yes they have Wifi.  Iceland is more connected than a person would imagine.

Day 10

I am on my way to Isafjordur and the Westfjords.  This is the part of Iceland that many travelers miss because it is hard to get to and so isolated, but I wanted to include it in my trip. Isafjordur is the only large town in the area, population about 2500. This day would prove to be a day of isolation.  I am attempting to go to the bottom of a glacier and drive as far as I can to the Hornstrandir area.  Hornstrandir is very isolated and there are no roads that travel to it.  You can access the area by boat.  The entire area is a national preserve.  I am headed for the red pin.

Its a long drive, but I got fairly close to the glacier.

Lone churches along the way. 

I went out as far as I could on the road.  This area of Iceland is extremely remote.  The area just North of here is a nature preserve with no roads at all.  Extremely wild with extreme weather.  

I was afraid the weather wouldn't be great today, but although it is cloudy and a bit windy it is nice.  I have had great weather pretty much my entire trip except for the first day.

I did a lot of driving today and I am spending the night near Isafjordur.

Please do not copy!

This is a photo from the other side of the fjord.

This is ISAFJÖRÐUR

ÓSVÖR  is a fishing museum that is near Isafjordur.  I had to go through a tunnel to get there,  but I was sure it would be closed.  Even though it is still light until way into the night, Icelanders keep a good watch on the clock and don't keep things open much past 5 o'clock.  Kind of annoying if you are visiting the country.

Osvor

After looking at the buildings, (It was closed). I came back to the car and starting to get in when man noticed that my tire was flat.  He asked if I needed help and I said no I can do it, but after he came back and he saw me struggling he asked again.  So he helped me change my tire.  He was from Holland and had his own motor home.  (Lots of tourists from Europe bring their motorhomes across on the ferry.  When I went to shake his hand to thank him, he rubbed the tire grim on my hands.  Kind of funny.  

Not having a spare tire made me kind of worried.  Luckily I was in a fairly large town.  Isafjordur population 2,500.  I first had to get to my hostel.  By this time it was about 8:00 at night. 

My hotel tonight is Guesthouse Kirkjubol.  Unfortunately  there are two hostels with the same name close to each other.  It was about 10:00 when I arrived.  Very nice facility.  I think the best I have stayed in so far and it was only about $60.00NVer

 

My car and the hostel.

Day 11

The young lady who ran the hostel was very accommodating.  She was a nanny in the United States a few years ago and spoke english like an American.  I tried to get a hold of the rental company to find out what I should do about my spare tire.  I had that stupid phone I had bought that I never really used.  Of course, I couldn't speak Icelandic, so when I called that number, I assumed I was getting the answering machine, so I kept leaving a message.  I finally asked her what was being said and she listened and then laughed.  "It's the operator telling you that you dialed the number wrong."  She helped me call them and then she helped me find the tire store in the very large Icelandic town of Isafjordur.

People were continually placed in the path to help me get out of these minor problems.  There wouldn't have been any places for the next few days where I could get a tire fixed.  That would have freaked me out.  After waiting for an hour or so at the tire store I was able to get on my way.

These fish heads were drying in the sun.  Apparently they sell them to Asian countries

.

I missed the next place that I wanted to visit and I really debated on wether I wanted to back track, but I am glad I did.  This is Skrudur.  It is a teaching garden that was established in the early 1900's to help Icelanders  with crop and garden production.  It was beautiful.  Really.

One of the most beautiful waterfalls and very remote, unlike the waterfalls near Reykjavik. 

Dynjandi



The next stop is the strangest place I visited in iceland.  This farmer retired and spent his retirement days building concrete sculptures and buildings.  I didn't get super photos because they were doing some construction work and were in the way.  Icelanders are the coolest people.  He built a house and churchhouse as well.  All out of concrete.  The place is in a very remote place in Iceland at the end of a very long gravel road. It was a long drive, but worth it.


Selardalur

I

I spent the night in a campground and stayed in a wild camping area.  Ok, This is the cool thing about Iceland.  This campground had flush toilets, ok they were a bit primitive, but they also had a swimming pool or hot pot.  Did I take advantage of this?  Absolutely.  The wind was really blowing when I was trying to put my tent up.  There were concrete blocks laying around and one of the campers told me to put these on the corners of my tent.  I was doing this when I turned around and saw this.  This was about 10:30 at night.  So I grab my camera and tripod and head for the waters edge. The colors went on for hours.  My mom bought a huge 60 x 40 photo of this and i get to see it everyime I go to her house. 

Day 12

The next morning, this is what I saw.

On the road to the Ferry Baldur in Flakkarinn where I would load my car and ride across the water to Stykkisholmur on the Snaefellsnes peninsula.

There were a few other places that I wanted to visit in the Westfjords but I had to make my ferry connection from Flakkarinn to Stykkisholmur.

I did have time to sit in a hot pot not far from the ferry terminal.  I met two boys from Reykjavik who were spending the summer with  Grandparents in the area.

On the ferry--It cost about $100.00 for me and the car and took about 2.5 hours.

I stayed in the Old Post Office guest house in Grundafjordur.

I

The first thing on my list to visit on Snaefellssness 

Peninsula was Kirkjufell.  My hotel was not far from the 

mountain--just down a nice easy paved road.  I took many 

photos and stayed around this area for some time before 

going back to the hotel.  This was another really nice place 

to stay.

Day 13

I spent today touring around the Peninsula. It was rainy today and I was getting really exhausted. 

 

 
 
 

My new Hero. I wish I could say her name.

I spent the night in a campground that was more of a local hangout in a small town called Fludir.

I met a man here who was camping with his daughters and peppered him with all sorts of questions about Iceland. I am sure that I was the only tourist in this campground.  He told me the best way to get to Landmannalaugar on F225.

Day 14

The next day when I woke about 6:00am, my car wouldn't start.  I tried to get the attention of some Icelanders, but they wanted nothing to do with me.  After contemplating for a half hour I decided to try and wake up the man that I was talking with last night.  I walked over to his tent and said. "yoohoo."  He answered me and I asked if he could help me start my car.  He came out of the tent and said that he didn't have jumper cables in this car.  The he got in the car and said, "Hey this is a stickshift. I have a tow rope.  You can put it in neutral and then pop it into gear."  So he got out his tow rope and hooked it up.  He told me not to pop it into 1st, but 2nd when we got through the campground onto the road.

We did just that and it started.  I gave him a hug and kind of started crying telling him he was a very nice man.  Most Icelanders are very nice.  Near the capital Reykjavik, not so much, but city folk are usually not as friendly.   I am on my way to Landmannalaugar!

These are some photos on the way.  This part of Iceland is quite harsh. 

Stong

Hjalporfoss

I Picked up a couple from France on the way in.  I didn't pick up any other hitchhikers, but I could tell they were OK.  They had spent the whole summer here hiking around.  Her backpack seemed larger than she was.  Aparently this is quite the thing to do with young couples from Europe.  I talk with alot of French, Italian couples who were trekking their way through Iceland.

 Landmannalaugar

This store is in the bus that you see in the photo below.

Pretty Cool!!

Day 15

I am spending the last 3 nights near Reykjavik at Hotel Laxness in the Mosfellsbaer.  This was an actual hotel with my own bath.  I reserved it almost 6 months before  I left and got a really good deal.  Today I am doing the Golden Circle--Pingvellir, Geysir, and Gullfoss.  I loved Pingvellir.  It is the place of the first Icelandic Parliament in AD 930.  It also has geological interest as this is where the Nath American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.  Lots of upheaval in more ways than one.  I ended up not seeing Geysir, because I have seen Old Faithful many times in Yellowstone and there were just too many people. Gullfoss was amazing, just lots of tourists.

Day 16

  This is the day I am going down inside a dormant volcano.  Yes it is expensive.  Don't ask how much.

https://insidethevolcano.com/the-volcano/

From the top of the Volcano

It was a long hike out there and it was really hot.  I had worn my woolen socks and I was dying.  It was a very cool experience.  We went down the hole on a winderwasher elevator thing.  The chamber is big enough to fit the Statue of Liberty inside.  Really cool experience.  This took most of the day and then I went back to the hotel and did some shopping.  I bought myself a Icelandic Wool Sweater and some things for the kids.

I couldn't find a place to dump my garbage so I thought I throw it into the big garbage by by where I ate.  The owner of the store came running out and started yelling at me in Icelandic.  She was apologetic when she found out it was a tourist.  I told her I didn't know where else to take it.   I finally took it to the hotel and dumped it in there bin.

The day was hot by Icelandic standards.  This cute little boy came to the restaurant without his shirt it was so hot.  Maybe 60 degrees.

Last dinner in Iceland.

Day 17

Today I flew home.  I went into Reykjavik to take a few photos.  This was about 6 in the morning andtheroads were almost completely empty.

I'm really not a city kind of gal, especially when traveling by myself.

I got mixed up about when when my flight left.  I almost didn't make it to the airport on time.  I had to find the rental car place first and then they took me to the airport.  I left my phone in the car and somehow got  a hold of them.  They were very kind folks to rush it to the airport for me.  Carrental 4 x 4.

Goodbye Iceland.

Till we meet again.