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.

How can I stay active in the cold?

 

     So I might have given this away by the photo. I can't stand feeling sedentary. I need to spend as much time outside as I can, yes, just like a kid. I have no problem with this, though, because physical activity keeps me fit. Now you might be wondering, is there even mountains in Minnesota? The answer is no. I don't need to snowboard a whole mountain. After hiking in the snow to the top of tall hills with a snowboard on your shoulders, you will be happy you made it that far and ready to ride either way. I don't need a mountain to enjoy the snow, because the dog sled and cross country ski trails in the area have fantastic hiking up and riding down. When we get more snow, I will be very excited to go back to Lutsen and skip the hiking part, but for now, I will enjoy the exercise.

Running in the Snow!

    Running keeps me sane. It's one of my favorite ways to exercise.  Unfortunately,  the recent snow around me has taken this away. Until today...

    Now I can thoroughly enjoy the views of Lonely lake again.  I recently purchased some Yaktrax.  I tried on a friend's pair before I purchased them, and they seemed pretty great. They did have an issue with coming out of place

 Both when I was running 

and later, when I was hiking. Overall, though, it did give me back some freedom I did not have before I bought them. Yaktrax did not sponsor me  to review this, I just thought I would share my secret to snow running before you hurt yourself. They are perfect on the road and over solid ice, where I didn't have to slow down one bit. I think the uneven trail caused the slippage. I will fiddle with them more and keep you updated if I find better results later on. 

As for Lonely Lake again, photos couldn't capture the beauty I saw.

But I think you can clearly see how amazing this snowglobe I live in is to look at.

 The trail is not far or difficult, and right on Gunflint Lodge property. Just don't forget to watch your head. 

Hiking the Northern Light Lake Trail

 It is pouring rain out. The ground is slippery and sticky with mud. What do I want to do today? I will go for a hike. I somehow talked a friend into joining me. We did not plan to hike the trail overlooking Northern Light Lake. As we were passing it, she mentions it to me.  I had been wanting to check it out myself, so I just had to stop. The rain makes it very lush and it smells amazing.

 You can barely see the lake through the mist, but it feels so good. I have no regrets on this beautiful hike in the rain.

Missouri Roadtrip

    I've never given a second thought to Missouri in my life. I passed through it briefly on my way to Minnesota from Mexico, but not enough to leave me any impression at all. When I arrived, I was pleasantly surprised.

   I was in Jefferson city and the surrounding area for the whole trip. It is a beautiful place to enjoy the fall colors. It was very warm compared to the cold, back in Minnesota. It was a little humid and warm the whole time, perfect weather as far as I'm concerned.

 Look how happy this dog is playing in these leaves.

 Contrasting fall colors..

 I think this is my version of a selfie.

 This giant enthralled me.

 Beautiful hand built bridge..

 Looking up through the leaves, you see a broad range of contrast and colors.

 I just thought this was a neat stump. I shares with us so many years of growth through the rings.

   The views of the woodlands were beautiful, and I even got the surprise of seeing deer (not pictured) for the first time in a while. As for Jefferson City itself, it's just not my type of town. There's not much to do if you are looking for outdoor activities to enjoy. I know state capitals usually have nice buildings and things to see around them, but that just wasn't my cup of tea. I'd rather be found hiking through nature, seeing lakes, and climbing trees.

Sights of Centennial Trail

 The historic sites of the Centennial Trail, are not the only sites worth checking out along this section of the Kekekabic Trail. I couldn't find anything definite on the name of the lake. From what I read it may be either a large pond or drainage from the old mines reshaping the area.

 

Either way, the purple and green hues contrasting to the lightly iced, perfectly reflective glass lake  surface made for some unforgettable sights.

 From high up on the hills, you get a broad view of  both the valley, and the results of the Ham Lake fire.

 I enjoyed being able to see the layers of hills for miles, skewed by the atmosphere.

 It looks like we stumbled upon the old railroad area. My camera didn't like adjusting to the lighting in there, but it made for an amazing, paint-like photo. This could be spooky with the right editing.

 From certain areas you can see several frozen lakes.

I just loved how this tree is still standing, despite the way the fire weakened it.

     The trail ends a little weird. It does not take you back to the parking lot, or the main trail. Instead, it takes you to the road, where you have to walk back for a quarter mile or so. Despite the strange ending, the trail was very enjoyable and I think if you check out this trail, then you won't regret it.