Sometimes the timing just works out, and that was the case with Mount Fagradalsfjall erupting during our trip. When we started planning this trip it was not there, but in March the volcano opened up and it was relatively accessible (aka a very difficult but doable hike). It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, so we brought our hiking gear and went for it. The day we hiked up, the volcano was not as active as it was initially, but it was still very much alive. It was a tough hike, up an incredibly steep mountain at some points, and very very windy at the peak. But we made it. Our goal was to roast hot dogs on the lava flow, and we did it! It really was an amazing experience, and this alone would have been worth making the trip.
Full disclosure, the 2 beautiful pictures of the eruption were not ones I took. The day we were there it was not this active, but I had to post them just to show what it looked like at peak eruption and how accessible it was. Amazing day!
After over a year of being grounded from international travel by Covid, we were finally able to get out and take a trip. Iceland seemed like the perfect choice. Iceland has been on our list for a while, and the chance to go to a country that had a handle on Covid and do a trip mainly in a motorhome on our own seemed like the perfect combination.
Kenzie decided she really wanted to visit her grandmas, so it was just Jodi and I.
After jumping through a few new Covid related hoops (I guess that’s the future of travel at least in the near term) we got the all-clear from our test and were free to start our trip. We took our motorhome and headed right to the Blue Lagoon to get our first Icelandic “soak” on. The water was amazing!
Brad still hadn’t received his Covid test results so we went to the testing site at the airport. They seemed a bit perplexed untold Brad he could move freely about the country and have fun. First stop- the Blue Lagoon! It was beautiful and so warm!
After the Blue Lagoon we went to check out the volcano. We hadn’t planned on hiking up the mountain to get a better view but then we decided to do a little at a time. We were able to see the whole lava field which has grown significantly over the past several weeks. We stopped before we could see the red flowing lava because it seemed that the we would need to hike a long way (all up hill). Later, we found out it may have only been another 20 minutes or so.
We landed in Reykjavik around 6am and had to get COVID tests before proceeding. Once the tests were done, we met the gentleman who was renting us his RV in the parking lot of the hotel. We needed to wait for our test results before going into any stores so we parked in front of Costco and took a nap. Jodi’s results came back negative around 2:30, so she ran into Bonus (a local grocery store) for some basics and Costco for pizza and hot dogs.
When Brad’s results still hadn’t come in, we had to reschedule our reservation at the Blue Lagoon for the next morning but we drove by so Jodi could walk around that evening.
The last couple of days I had in the Kenai Peninsula I camped out in the truck and just wandered the area. Saw lots of amazing wildlife, drove through a forest fire, saw the salmon running (and people fishing for them in the middle of that same forest fire…people in Alaska a really serious about their fish!), and met some very nice people. I’m also throwing in a couple of pictures from the first part of the trip that I forgot to include. Great trip!
After Denali and Fairbanks, Kenzie and Jodi headed back home. But I played hooky for a few more days to see the Kenai Peninsula on my own. I rented an SUV and headed south to Homer for an amazing experience. A trip to the Katmai National Forest by float plane to go on a bear photography excursion.
This was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. We took a float plane about an hour south and landed along the beach near a meadow where Alaskan Brown Bears gather in preparation for the salmon run. Then unloaded and began hiking through the meadows among the brown bear.
I think it’s fair to say our group was all a bit nervous, but we had an excellent guide who coached us ahead of time on how to interact and be around them [relatively] safely. He really knew the animals and after about 20 minutes of being around them, we settled in for what was an INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE!
These bears don’t view humans as a food source, so as long as you are not threatening to them, they go about their business. By law, we had to stay 100 feet away from them, but we found that while we stayed away, they would often walk up closer to us to check us out (especially the babies who wanted to play).
Around noon we took a break from hiking and stopped for lunch in the middle of the meadow. Our guide did a quick check and pointed out that we had 21 bears surrounding us including 3 moms with 2 cubs each.
We spent about 6 hours total hiking around the area, watching moms and cubs interact, watching dominant 1100 pound males challenge other males, and just generally seeing how the bears behave. This was an extraordinary experience and one that I can’t begin to put into words. Definitely something I’ll never forget!
As if the time on the ground wasn’t amazing enough, on the flight back to Homer the float plane took a little detour and flew up the mouth of a glacier we were passing so we could all get a good view.
I threw together some video clips from the GoPro I had mounted to my shoulder as we walked around the bears. It’s just raw video and not well edited, but it gives some idea of what it was like.
Unbelievable day and a truly once in a lifetime experience!!!
Our second day in Denali we visited the park services sled dog kennels.
The parks service in Denali has used working sled dogs since the 1920’s to service and maintain the park. During the summer the dogs are on “vacation” and the kennel is open to the public to check out and see a demonstration of how they work. And Kenzie is all about any chance to hang out and play with dogs…
After spending the morning at the kennels, we headed back to Fairbanks to hang out for the evening before our flight the next morning. But along the way we took a quick detour to see some musk ox and reindeer at the University of Alaska research facility.
The last picture I took at the Fred Meyer in Fairbanks. It’s a sign that hangs in the entry way. This is a whole new level of delivery service I never realized existed. You can email or call in your Fred Meyer order, and then they do the shopping for you. But instead of bringing your groceries out to the parking lot so you don’t have to go in, in Fairbanks they will load your order into a float plane and fly it out into the Alaska bush and deliver it for you. Not bad!
We’ve had Denali National Park in Alaska on our bucket list for a while, so this year we planned a long weekend to check it out. We didn’t realize it when we booked the trip, but we arrived on the Solstice (the day when the sun is at it’s northernmost point and the longest day of sunlight all year) and in Alaska apparently that means it’s a party weekend! Cars were all rented out and everyone had sold out of ice. But we worked it all out and after some shopping, we headed out to Denali.
Our first day in Denali was beautiful, and we got really luck with the weather and animal sighting. They say if you spend a few days there you’ll have a 30% chance of seeing Mt. Denali through the clouds. We go lucky and had a great view our first day!
We also spotted sheep, caribou, eagles, a lynx, hares, moose, and bears. But the highlight for Kenzie was the little Arctic Ground Squirrel!
It was also really interesting/odd to have it be completely light out at midnight. I went for a walk around 11:00pm and took some pictures, and looking at them, you’d think it was noon.
Our last stop before leaving for Frankfurt and the flight home was the Rhine River. We did something really unique, and spent the night in a 12th-century medieval castle!
This was a really cool experience. The Schonburg castle was built in the sits up on the hill overlooking the town of Oberwesel on the Rhine. As a guest, you have free run of the castle and the castle gardens. The views were incredible, and our room was OVER THE TOP. It was in the very top of the castle turret, with a tiny balcony just big enough for two to step out and look down into the river valley. I’ve posted way to many pictures of this, but it was really something special.
Finding amazing little experiences like this is what I love so much about traveling!
Our next stop as Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It was a couple of hours by train from Munich, and not far out of our way as we headed to the Rhine River Valley.
This place was so cool! It’s in the heart of the German “Romantic Road” which includes lots of medieval castles and history. Rothenburg is a very well preserved classic medieval old town, all secured within the city wall and just a few guarded gates to enter the city. The castle was built in 1070 a.d., and then the town grew from there. The city streets were exactly what you picture when you think of old Germany.
Today there are lots of little shops, restaurants, and bed and breakfasts, but they’re all in original buildings. We stayed at a small family owned hotel that was built in the 1400s and had just a couple of rooms. One of the highlights was the town wall that had a walkway that’s open to the public and was a neat way to see the city. You are walking 3 stories above the town, looking out at the city on one side and through small slits in the stone used to shoot arrows at attackers on the other.
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