I've been asked more than a few times why I would go to Iceland. Here's just a couple reasons.
I took about 1000 photos, these are just a couple. We were planning on rain, wind, and gloom, and we got sunny days.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Why would you go to Iceland?
So I spent a week with EK in Iceland.
I've been asked more than a few times why I would go to Iceland. Here's just a couple reasons.
I took about 1000 photos, these are just a couple. We were planning on rain, wind, and gloom, and we got sunny days.
I've been asked more than a few times why I would go to Iceland. Here's just a couple reasons.
I took about 1000 photos, these are just a couple. We were planning on rain, wind, and gloom, and we got sunny days.
Monday, October 29, 2007
A couple Weekends ago....
I had a really good time.
I decided that I needed time away, so I decided to spend some time alone. I picked up a last minute flight out to Seattle, Erik picked me up, and the next morning, he dropped me off in the Cascades about 45 minutes east of Seattle. I'd picked out a hiking trail from a guide book late the night before.
It was a 1 mile hike to the trail junction and other 3 mile trail to the top of the mountain. In the 3 mile hike, I climbed 4000 feet, reaching an altitude of 5630 feet. This took about 4 hours including lots of time for photos.
I passed a hiker and his friendly dog heading down. He smiled and told me that I'd have the peak to myself. I saw no one else for the remainder of the evening.
As I crossed the treeline into the alpine, I was greeted by flaming red flora and interspersed pines. I'd brought along Mason Jennings & Jolie Holland lyrics to sing to myself, but I only had 2 random lines stuck in my head from "Stairway to Heaven." I hadn't listened to this song for months.
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last.
I now knew why monks build monasteries on the tops of mountains, "and it made me wonder" if Robert Plant was doing the same thing I was when he put pen to paper.
Irony how the thin air was deep breaths for the soul.
As I reached the peak, clouds were streaking across the sky at high speed...visibility was low, but I was able to make out some alpine lakes in the backcountry. I could see down, but no longer across the canyon.
It was getting dark, and I setup camp at 5300 feet. Campfires were not allowed at that altitude, but it didn't matter, because everything was wet anyways. I was making dinner over my stove, when I heard a noise behind me. I spun around to see a mule deer not 20 paces away, walking around like nothing was going on. It didn't seem very impressed or scared by me. This made my wonder what business he had up here, and perhaps a bear would too.
At about 8pm, it was getting dark, and I called it a night. I woke up in the middle of the night, and I felt something cold & wet on my face. It was ice. I reached out of my sleeping bag to discover that my breathe was condensing on the outside of my sleeping bag and freezing . Wow. It was cold, but I was comfortable in my bag.
In the morning, I woke up, thinking that I need to pull down camp and get going, but it was beautiful out.
The morning of Saturday the 13th, I climbed the 300 feet back to the peak and saw an awesome sight. Beyond ridge after smoky ridge was Mount Rainier......reaching from the horizon for the heavens. Even Mt St. Helens was visible (from Oregon) The sky was crystal clear, and clouds were blanketing the valley thousands of feet below. I was sharing this view with no one else. I sat in awe on the frosty rocks until most of my extremities were numb from the cold, and headed back to camp.
I tore it down, and back down I went.
I'm coming down the mountain, and this whole. darn. valley's. mine.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
June 9th, 2007
The ninth of June, 2007, was probably one of the best days in my life.
The day before, I'd met a few people on a guided tour, and we all decided to rent a car for the next day and see the country. We decided to drive along the ring road along the south coast of Iceland. I watched this video the night before.
The next day, the four of us, Me, Alban, a guy from Paris, Pearl, a girl from Taipei, and Jamie, a girl from Maryland, (all about the same age) packed into a manual transmission Volkswagon Polo
I hopped into the driver's seat of our car at 8am, the odometer at 26km--this car had been used less than my bike just this afternoon. We left Reykjavik and found the ring road.
As we left for the country, I thought myself......"This is fucking, fucking, fucking crazy. I don't know these people at all. Iceland is sparsely inhabitied outside it's capital, and I've got a few granola bars and a raincoat in my daypack. This is a recipe for disaster."
My fears became overwhelming jubilance as the scenery started to unfold. This country is magical, you can feel it in the air and it's more than visually apparent, and I was racing into it full speed ahead.
This was one of the best feelings I've ever had in my life.
The feeling was mutual with my friends. Alban couldn't stop saying "this is just crazy" I think he meant amazing, or breathtaking, or unbelieveable...but it was crazy too.
We passed through a few small towns here & there, stopping at Vik for some snacks & water, and at another town called Kirkjubæjarklaustur for gas & food. I had to turn around since I passed the town--hey it was small--and nearly ran the car off the road(kindofa long story) and nearly gave Alban a heart attack. The gas station had a little restaurant within it, and it had plenty of rural folk socializing--not far off from what you'd see in rural North Dakota, really. I had a piece of blueberry & something??berry pie. It was some of the best pie I've ever had.
Aside from those stops, we really didn't stop at all on our way towards our two goals: Jökulsárlón and Skaftafell National Park. We knew that it would still be light out past 11pm, so we intended on making wayside sightseeing stops on the way back
We passed Skaftafell and made it to Jökulsárlón around 3pm. Here we are:
I don't think I need to describe how satisfied I was with our trip to this point. It was very bright despite being overcast. I went back into the car and got my sunglasses right after that. We took a tour of this glacial lagoon in a little boat, and left for Skaftafell.
Skaftafell is known for it's great hiking trails and it's multitude of waterfalls. We hiked to an altitude about 600 feet to find Svartifoss, one of Icelands most well known waterfalls.
Here I am enjoying the scenery(photo: Pearl)
Here we are leaving Skaftafell with the view I was enjoying above(photo: Pearl)
We stopped at many waysides along the way, and although the scenery was the same on the way back, it didn't matter a whole lot. It was still overpowering.
We stopped in Vik again to get some food, although I don't think I had anything.
As we neared Reykjavik, we were getting tired after a long day. It was 11:30pm--and we cranked up the Icelandic radiostation, which had mostly talk on earlier in the day. They were now playing a mixture of icelandic & international music.
As midnight struck, they played Pearl Jam's cover of "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away."
When we rolled into the parking lot of the hostel, there was just over 800km on the odometer.
I learned that day about the payoff of calculated risks, and I slept with great contentment.
The day before, I'd met a few people on a guided tour, and we all decided to rent a car for the next day and see the country. We decided to drive along the ring road along the south coast of Iceland. I watched this video the night before.
The next day, the four of us, Me, Alban, a guy from Paris, Pearl, a girl from Taipei, and Jamie, a girl from Maryland, (all about the same age) packed into a manual transmission Volkswagon Polo
I hopped into the driver's seat of our car at 8am, the odometer at 26km--this car had been used less than my bike just this afternoon. We left Reykjavik and found the ring road.
As we left for the country, I thought myself......"This is fucking, fucking, fucking crazy. I don't know these people at all. Iceland is sparsely inhabitied outside it's capital, and I've got a few granola bars and a raincoat in my daypack. This is a recipe for disaster."
My fears became overwhelming jubilance as the scenery started to unfold. This country is magical, you can feel it in the air and it's more than visually apparent, and I was racing into it full speed ahead.
This was one of the best feelings I've ever had in my life.
The feeling was mutual with my friends. Alban couldn't stop saying "this is just crazy" I think he meant amazing, or breathtaking, or unbelieveable...but it was crazy too.
We passed through a few small towns here & there, stopping at Vik for some snacks & water, and at another town called Kirkjubæjarklaustur for gas & food. I had to turn around since I passed the town--hey it was small--and nearly ran the car off the road(kindofa long story) and nearly gave Alban a heart attack. The gas station had a little restaurant within it, and it had plenty of rural folk socializing--not far off from what you'd see in rural North Dakota, really. I had a piece of blueberry & something??berry pie. It was some of the best pie I've ever had.
Aside from those stops, we really didn't stop at all on our way towards our two goals: Jökulsárlón and Skaftafell National Park. We knew that it would still be light out past 11pm, so we intended on making wayside sightseeing stops on the way back
We passed Skaftafell and made it to Jökulsárlón around 3pm. Here we are:
I don't think I need to describe how satisfied I was with our trip to this point. It was very bright despite being overcast. I went back into the car and got my sunglasses right after that. We took a tour of this glacial lagoon in a little boat, and left for Skaftafell.
Skaftafell is known for it's great hiking trails and it's multitude of waterfalls. We hiked to an altitude about 600 feet to find Svartifoss, one of Icelands most well known waterfalls.
Here I am enjoying the scenery(photo: Pearl)
Here we are leaving Skaftafell with the view I was enjoying above(photo: Pearl)
We stopped at many waysides along the way, and although the scenery was the same on the way back, it didn't matter a whole lot. It was still overpowering.
We stopped in Vik again to get some food, although I don't think I had anything.
As we neared Reykjavik, we were getting tired after a long day. It was 11:30pm--and we cranked up the Icelandic radiostation, which had mostly talk on earlier in the day. They were now playing a mixture of icelandic & international music.
As midnight struck, they played Pearl Jam's cover of "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away."
When we rolled into the parking lot of the hostel, there was just over 800km on the odometer.
I learned that day about the payoff of calculated risks, and I slept with great contentment.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Swords to Plowshares
This was taken at Munkholmen, a small island in the middle of Trondheimfjord with over 1000 years of history. Nowadays, it's a great place to picnic and get a panoramic view of the city & mountains.
During my time in Norway, I spent plenty of time sightseeing and touring museums and the like, and the Nazi takeover & occupation during WWII was brought up many times.
Several times, I found myself becoming nauseous and filled with rage to see the lingering effects of fascism--particularly during the 3 hours I spent at the Norges Hjemmefront Museum (Norwegian Resistance Museum) in Olso. Trondheim was lucky--many small towns such as Kristiansund were levelled in attempt to kill the Norwegian royalty, and the survivors spent a winter in caves.
I was fortunate to see these kids playing on this Nazi gun early on the trip; it really comforted me to remember seeing this and become reminded that in today's world, this device designed to end human life has now become a harmless child's toy.
This is the kind of world I want.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Iceland
I just got here this afternoon. The views are spectacular.
Tomorrow I´m going on an 8 hour tour into the countryside.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Success & Reward
I leave in less than 24 hours for Norway. I tingle inside each time I think about the trip.
If I haven't sent this to anyone, I've been developing a medical device for over 3 years. It just got FDA approval a few weeks ago. Here's a few places posting the press release.
..> ..>
If I haven't sent this to anyone, I've been developing a medical device for over 3 years. It just got FDA approval a few weeks ago. Here's a few places posting the press release.
..> ..>
| View your release posted on: | | |
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| 111,000 Visitors/day | ||
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 | 53,000 Visitors/day | |
 | 53,000 Visitors/day | |
| 111,000 Visitors/day | ||
 | 53,000 Visitors/day | |
| 111,000 Visitors/day | ||
 | 53,000 Visitors/day | |
| 111,000 Visitors/day | ||
 | 53,000 Visitors/day | |
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Tuesday, April 24, 2007
I'm fucking going
I am fucking ecstatic.
I just went on not one, but 2 bike rides this afternoon.
then I ate bruschetta.
then I spent 85,750 Icelandic Kronor.
That's right. I just purchased plane tickets to Norway. And Iceland.
I've been waiting to do this for a very long time. I leave a month from today.
I just went on not one, but 2 bike rides this afternoon.
then I ate bruschetta.
then I spent 85,750 Icelandic Kronor.
That's right. I just purchased plane tickets to Norway. And Iceland.
I've been waiting to do this for a very long time. I leave a month from today.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Good news, Bad News
Completely unrelated, but I figured they could both go here anyways.
Good news:
I've payed off more than 80% of my trip to Canada AND the work to my car without touching savings. I'm going to try making the trip to Norway--my work has approved 2.5 weeks of vacation time!
Bad news.
Kurt Vonnegut is dead, and Fox News slimed him. Throw down some lightning from the heavens on Bill O'Reilly, will you Kurt?
Good news:
I've payed off more than 80% of my trip to Canada AND the work to my car without touching savings. I'm going to try making the trip to Norway--my work has approved 2.5 weeks of vacation time!
Bad news.
Kurt Vonnegut is dead, and Fox News slimed him. Throw down some lightning from the heavens on Bill O'Reilly, will you Kurt?
Saturday, October 14, 2006
TSA
TSA employees are fucking morons.
I suppose it's easy to understand how these nimrods are standing where they are -- after 9/11, airports scrambled to get people to provide added security.
And guess who they got? America's finest unskilled, unemployed, poorly educated bottom feeders.
What kind of payscale do you expect to give a guy that's sole purpose is to look at your ID and match it to your boarding pass? What kind of person is attracted by a $9.00/hour job?
The kind of guy that jokes that TSA means "take stuff away", and makes anecdotes about how he can't believe the government actually pays him to tell people that they can't bring liquids or gels onto a plane. "3 ounces or less!"
If you really think so, then perhaps you should be telling your boss that your job is futile and that we shouldn't be wasting tax dollars like this. Perhaps you could make yourself useful and speed up that fucking metal detector line.
And guess what happens in the case that I give these knuckle draggers any lip? (Which they deserve) I get "transferred" to a different caste of security employee -- only this one wears camoflage and inspects your nose with the barrel of a submachine gun.
Anyone want to explain to me why he needs jungle camo in an airport?
This guy has been trained to shoot people. He's probably spend the last 3 years learning to stop thinking and take orders, and think faster than the hypothetical man trying to shoot him first from a leathernecked R. Lee Ermy-type shithead with a loud voice and a propensity to punch you in the gut and call you "Private Lizard Shit." What better job for this guy than walking around civilian crowds with a cannon that can spit out 35 9mm full metal jackets in 10 seconds?
Guess what happens when you give idiots authority? It's a perfect recipe for nincompoopery.
This type of power is perfect to people on the lowest echelon of the socio-economic foodchain. Of course, these people are dripping with insecurity--sometimes it's the fact that they're a recent immigrant, or poor, or ugly, or have a small dick, or obese, or most obviously, stupid.
I suppose it's easy to understand how these nimrods are standing where they are -- after 9/11, airports scrambled to get people to provide added security.
And guess who they got? America's finest unskilled, unemployed, poorly educated bottom feeders.
What kind of payscale do you expect to give a guy that's sole purpose is to look at your ID and match it to your boarding pass? What kind of person is attracted by a $9.00/hour job?
The kind of guy that jokes that TSA means "take stuff away", and makes anecdotes about how he can't believe the government actually pays him to tell people that they can't bring liquids or gels onto a plane. "3 ounces or less!"
If you really think so, then perhaps you should be telling your boss that your job is futile and that we shouldn't be wasting tax dollars like this. Perhaps you could make yourself useful and speed up that fucking metal detector line.
And guess what happens in the case that I give these knuckle draggers any lip? (Which they deserve) I get "transferred" to a different caste of security employee -- only this one wears camoflage and inspects your nose with the barrel of a submachine gun.
Anyone want to explain to me why he needs jungle camo in an airport?
This guy has been trained to shoot people. He's probably spend the last 3 years learning to stop thinking and take orders, and think faster than the hypothetical man trying to shoot him first from a leathernecked R. Lee Ermy-type shithead with a loud voice and a propensity to punch you in the gut and call you "Private Lizard Shit." What better job for this guy than walking around civilian crowds with a cannon that can spit out 35 9mm full metal jackets in 10 seconds?
Guess what happens when you give idiots authority? It's a perfect recipe for nincompoopery.
This type of power is perfect to people on the lowest echelon of the socio-economic foodchain. Of course, these people are dripping with insecurity--sometimes it's the fact that they're a recent immigrant, or poor, or ugly, or have a small dick, or obese, or most obviously, stupid.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Photo Diary + Trip Synopsis
I posted some photos from my trip on my flickr account HERE.
I'll try to give everyone a detailed recap here at some point in the near future, but I've got a ton of things to do around my apartment. AND catch up on sleep.
For the time being...
Tuesday: Sightsee around Denver. Drank some Fat Tires.
Wednesday: Copper Mountain. Sunny day, hard snow.
Thursday: Vail. 12" of snow. We skipped lunch to ski all day, and hit alot of the acclaimed backside bowls & basin, but missed at least half of the mountain without skiing the same run twice.
Friday: Winterpark. Some overnight powder, nice day, some wild tree skiing.
Saturday: Rest. Coors brewery, Red Rocks, Gentleman's Club.
Sunday: Breckenridge. 12" blizzard. Cold, but perfect snow. Nail biting 5 hour drive to the airport to catch my flight. Got home around 1:30am.
I'll try to give everyone a detailed recap here at some point in the near future, but I've got a ton of things to do around my apartment. AND catch up on sleep.
For the time being...
Tuesday: Sightsee around Denver. Drank some Fat Tires.
Wednesday: Copper Mountain. Sunny day, hard snow.
Thursday: Vail. 12" of snow. We skipped lunch to ski all day, and hit alot of the acclaimed backside bowls & basin, but missed at least half of the mountain without skiing the same run twice.
Friday: Winterpark. Some overnight powder, nice day, some wild tree skiing.
Saturday: Rest. Coors brewery, Red Rocks, Gentleman's Club.
Sunday: Breckenridge. 12" blizzard. Cold, but perfect snow. Nail biting 5 hour drive to the airport to catch my flight. Got home around 1:30am.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Colorado
The plane landed safely and Brian & I are now in Denver. I took some sweet photos of the sunrise from the airplane. It was above the clouds, so few of us were able to appreciate it.
Today, we relax, check out the city, and get ready.
Tomorrow: Copper Mountain
Thursday: Vail
Friday: Winterpark
Saturday: ???? Relax, Sightsee.
Sunday: ????Decide on a mountain, ski, Fly home.
Monday: LOTS OF COFFEE AT WORK.
Today, we relax, check out the city, and get ready.
Tomorrow: Copper Mountain
Thursday: Vail
Friday: Winterpark
Saturday: ???? Relax, Sightsee.
Sunday: ????Decide on a mountain, ski, Fly home.
Monday: LOTS OF COFFEE AT WORK.
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