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| 2016 Iceland |
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| 2017 Peru |
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| 2018 Scotland |
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2016 BWCA
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2018 BWCA
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2016 - Iceland
During the summer of 2016, Karen Gilbert spent the summer at a study abroad program in Copenhagen. Andrea, Brian, and Becca decided to visit her during a weekend in June, and then fly home through Reykjavík, where they could spend a few days touring Iceland without paying an additional airfare. Andrea and Becca would be in Iceland from June 20 to June 24, Brian would leave for home two days earlier.
At the same time, Dustin, Annie, and two-year-old Kiera were also planning a trip to Iceland, arriving late June 19 and leaving June 28. We were thrilled to be able to join Dustin and Annie and more than happy to provide transportation and lodging. So on June 18, Tom and I flew to Reykjavík. We rented a camper truck that could fit two in front (Dustin and Annie) plus two adults (Tom and Mary) and a car seat (for Kiera) in back. Since the truck was too small for the five of us at night, we got a separate tent for Dustin's family. After a practice night of camping (we discovered the tent was missing critical poles!) we picked up Dustin, Annie, and Kiera late in the evening of June 20 and headed to our campsite for much needed jet lag recovery.
Day 1
The next day the everyone met for lunch: Tom and Mary; Dustin, Annie, and Kiera; Andrea, Brian, and Becca. Then we headed to Western Iceland while the Gilberts headed to their Air B&B in Reykjavík. Our first stop was Barnafoss and Hraunfossar; then we headed to Hellissanddur Camp for the night. After dinner and a rest we drove to nearby Mt. Kirkjufell for midnight sunset pictures.
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| 2016 Filling up Our truck camper outside the restaurant where eight of us met in Iceland |
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2016 Kiera, Dustin, Annie, and Mary on a bridge over Barnafoss
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| 2016 Kiera and Annie enjoying Hraunfossar |
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2016 Kiera and Dustin in their tent next to our truck at Hellissanddur Camp
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| 2016 Kiera and Tom at Hellissanddur Camp |
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| Mt. Kirkjufell sunset just about midnight near our campground. |
Day 2
In the morning we took a hike along the south coast of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula - between the small costal towns of Helnar and Arnarstapi. Then we drove to Stykkisholmur took a ferry to Brjanslaekur. We headed east along the south shore of the peninsula, and wound our way down a steep gravel road to a campsite on Rauðasandur Beach.
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| 2016 Dustin and Kiera on a 1 mile hike along the south coast of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. |
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| 2016 Mary reads to Kiera during the 2.5 hour ferry ride. |
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| 2016 Kiera and Annie walking to Rauðasandur Beach. |
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| 2016 Annie and Kiera enjoying the surf at Rauðasandur Beach. |
Day 3
We headed to the Cliffs of Latrabjarg to see Pufins. After enjoying some great photography, we headed along gravel roads toward the city of Isafjordur, hoping to make it by nightfall. But the roads were slow and the day grew long. When we discovered campsites at the beautiful Dynjandi Waterfalls, an exhausted grandma requested that we stop for the night, since the Isafjordur campground was a long way away. As we set up camp, clouds rolled in and the waterfalls disappeared in fog which persisted well into the next day.
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| 2016 Puffin at the Cliffs of Latrabjarg. |
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| 2016 Puffin at the Cliffs of Latrabjarg. |
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| 2016 Puffin at the Cliffs of Latrabjarg. |
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| 2016 Annie and Kiera enjoy the Dynjandi Waterfalls. |
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| 2016 The Dynjandi Waterfalls |
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| 2016 Annie, Kiera, and Dustin get one last glimpse of the Dynjandi Waterfalls as fog moves in. |
Day 4
2017 - Peru
2018 - Scotland
2016 & 2018 - BWCA
We had two new grandchildren to introduce to our favorite Minnesota vacation spot - the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. So it's no surprise that two-year-old Kiera joined us on a trip to Lake Insula in 2016, while both Kiera and one-year-old Kai returned to Hungry Jack (where their parents were married) in 2018. See the BWCA Blog for more details.
