Southeast Coast of Iceland

Let the Iceland chatter continue.  The Southeast coast was colder than the rest of the island and our Wyoming roots were anxious to find some snow.  It didn't take long before we stumbled on a huge glacier.

We hiked to the glacier tongue.

It was melting rapidly.

The pieces of ice would then float out to the ocean.  Some would get washed back onto the shore.  (photos near Jokulsarlon)

We warmed-up by going on a hike in Skaftafell National Park.  We found waterfall Svartifoss.  (You knew this post would eventually have a waterfall picture.)

It was then puffins viewing time.  We got to see lots of puffins, but unfortunately they are not very photogenic.  Instead of showing you blurry puffin photos, here is a glimpse of where they live on the Southern most coast near Vik.  Not a shabby place.

More great Iceland memories made.

You should all be very angry.  I lied to you all.  Dad says his leisure suit was brown and his tuxedo was baby blue.  I'll work on the lying.

Happy birthday Anna.

Awesome Nature

Everyday I was in awe of Iceland's beauty and the marvels of science.  There were many reminders of mother nature's power.  We were all fascinated by the tectonic plate split at Pingvellir. (Nerd alert) 

By now we had a more the merrier attitude when waterfalls were involved.

Then we headed to Geysir (Yes, that is the name of the town.  No foreshadowing involved with that name.) to see, well a geyser.

Definitely worth the neck tilt: 

Since it is impossible to get tired of waterfalls, we continued to be in awe at Gullfoss.

At this point, we were pretty hard to impress.  We had high standards after seeing scenery better than National Geographic.  But, even us snobs were dazzled when our impromptu hike led to a beautiful crater lake.

To keep from being too ordinary, we played a little Oregon Trail.  Jonathon's fourth grade skills came in handy and the men made sure our fate didn't read, "The river is too deep to ford.  You Lose."

After crossing a dozen rivers, we called it a day before Mom bit off all her fingernails.

Happy birthday to me.  I believe we can categorizes this under shameless plugs.  Happy weekend all.

The Iceland Adventure Begins

Iceland is full of volcanoes, waterfalls, and sheep.  The landscape is extremely diverse, but all breathtaking.  This desert dweller was excited by the 50-55 deg F weather with some rain showers.  The sun didn't set until 11:30pm and then rose around 3:30am, so we had plenty of daylight for exploration.  

We didn't want things to get too boring in Iceland, so we met these crazies.

To ensure a complete lack of personal space, the four of us spent the next six days exploring Iceland in a vehicle loaded with our bulky luggage.  We started in the capital Reykjavik and then cruised the Highlands and South coast.  Our tour route:

source

The school dorms are turned into hotels during the summer, so we all got to relive our college days at night.  Thankfully, Dad didn't have any baby blue leisure suits packed so the experience wasn't too detrimental. 

All the places of interest are indicated with clover signs.  So we basically spent six days playing Where's Waldo.


(I know I'm extremely helpful for pointing to the sign, but don't ask how to pronoun it.)

Before we popped the personal space bubble, we headed to the Blue Lagoon to shake the jet lag and relax in the hot springs.

Then it was time to say goodbye to Reykjavik and hit the road.  Our first stop was Children Falls complete with a rainbow.

Lava rock:

That was the first of many beautiful waterfalls.  It's hard to top a rainbow though, so I will end the Iceland introduction here.  More pictures to come.


Happy birthday Isabella.  Miss your contagious smile.

Arctic Party

I searched high and low, but I finally found where we stashed our hats and gloves.  We haven't needed winter gear in Doha, but they are in the suitcase now because we are headed to Iceland tomorrow!  Just image me with a ridiculously large smile.  I am excited to be outside without instant pit stains and super glad to be seeing my parents soon.  Prepare yourself for beautiful pictures and me realizing that I'm now a weather wimp.

source

The first few days of Ramadan have been lovely.  Muslims work from 8am to 1pm, but we still work normal hours.  Although, the traffic is much lighter during our commute.  (I know I'm getting old because this makes me way too excited.)  The office is moving slower than normal, which I appreciate at the moment.  Not too much has changed for us.  We usually eat our breakfast at work, so we need to get up a little earlier to eat in the privacy of our kitchen.  For lunch, we head to the cafeteria to eat with the rest of the foreigners.  It is like middle school all over again.  I'm just waiting for the food fight.  I must be turning British, because I am missing my afternoon tea time, but so far we are enjoying Ramadan.

Happy anniversary Nate and Megan.  We hope everything is twice as nice on your two year anniversary.

Drought Preparations

We hope everyone had a good 4th of July.  We didn't get any fireworks, but we had a BBQ filled weekend.

source

We are getting ready to experience our first Ramadan.  Ramadan is a month long Islamic holiday where Muslims will fast during sunlight. (Learn more here)  For us, this means that we cannot eat or drink in public from 4:45am to 6:30pm.  In the office, we will be able to eat our sack lunches behind closed doors, but no morning coffee.  Ramadan will begin on Tuesday or Wednesday.  It depends on the position of the moon.  Living in Qatar is teaching me to be flexible.  Everyone wish Jonathon luck, because I am not a nice person when I'm hungry.

Restaurants will  only open after sunset during Ramadan.  So, the past two weekends have been full of eating out with friends.

Happy birthday Sammy.  I have been thinking about you all day long.  Always keep dancing.  Happy birthday Christopher.  We are celebrating with you in spirit.