Golden Circle of Iceland (volcanos and hotsprings)

    I don't know if you remember how much I love volcanos, but they are so wild and interesting and beautiful to me. So when we were driving the Golden Circle and I saw Kerið, I just had to stop.

    I am so glad we did. It wasn't just the volcano that was just amazing, but it was also the views surrounding it.

    I had a very adventurous group of people with me, consisting of my new friend from couchsurfing, two people I met on the plane, and the brother of my host. I am so grateful for their company because the only thing that made this better then the best views ever, was the company. We blazed our own trail and hiked the ridges of the area and got to see sights that I will never forget.

    As you can see, we ventured far on the windy, and breathtaking ridges. To the right, you will  notice what a beautiful job Iceland is doing with reforestation. What a phenomenal view! Iceland is truly another world.

    Our next stop was Secret Lagoon - Gamla Laugin, that was recommended to us by a shop I stopped at to get a map. It was not a "well kept secret" as a tour bus stopped there when we arrived, but it felt so good on our sore muscles. We felt lucky to have our own car rental from Sad Cars (ironically a happy place that makes lots of us happy), so we could leave to the next destination whenever we wanted.

Special thanks to the guy who took our group photo for this awesome selfie.

Read about our next adventure in the Golden Circle here.

Reykjavik Adventures Part One

     Reykjavik is a beautiful city full of adventures and sights I will never forget. It is inspiring in every way and opened me up to a new world.

      I had never traveled alone before and I have no regrets. Europe is amazing and I have met some of the coolest people from all over the world that I never would have gotten to know if it wasn't for  this trip. I hope my pictures in this blog will inspire someone, at least one person to travel and give it a shot as a result. If you are unable to travel for some reason, I hope this gives you a glimpse of the world.

     I got on a website called www.couchsurfing.com for this trip and found my first destination for rooming. I met an amazing Spanish girl and her Icelandic fiancee who were the best hosts I could imagine. I feel that I will have unforgettable memories due to her hospitality. She was having another girl from Taiwan stay with her and we became such good friends. Couchsurfing is such a good place to save some money while making beautiful memories with good people who are locals to the area.

    That massive tower in the picture is the Hallgrímskirkja church. It can be seen anywhere in town and it gives you an amazing view that I highly recommend checking out.

Even the inside is pretty neat to see.

There was a second church we stumbled across that I had to peak inside just because it looked so old in town called Landakotskirkja, built in 1929.

But honestly, just walking the streets was an adventure. More to come about the fun of Reykjavik.

Cross Country Skiing

     I grew up in Idaho. I have been on skis since I was four years old, but for the past 15 years, I have been an avid snowboarder. I have never tried cross country skiing before, because I had mountains. Cross country skiing is really popular here at Gunflint Lodge, so I just had to give it a try.

     The views were amazing, and the weather was nice.

     As for the skiing itself, I compiled a list of ways to describe it in my opinion.

Cross country skiing is like...

1. Walking in slippers when you are a little kid
2. Walking, only faster.....nothing like running
3. Bowling with bumpers
4. Riding the elliptical, but outdoors.

     That is the best way I can describe it. Not to say I didn't enjoy the skiing, it is better then just going for a walk because you can cover more area. I would just say it is more like working out, then recreational for me. I kept wanting to go faster, but when hills would come, my "breaks" wouldn't work because the skis are so narrow so I would often tip out of fear. I think my sport is definitely snowboarding.  I will give it a few more shots, maybe it will grow on me.

Can't get enough snowboarding

Snowboarding is one of my favorite things to do. I absolutely can't stop doing it and I am willing to hike to do get in as much snowboarding as possible. Minnesota doesn't have much when it comes to mountains, but it has so much beautiful snow. Here's a glimpse of this snow and all the snowboarding I enjoy.