Yellowstone Grand Canyon Lower falls

Yellowstone 170927-171005

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Yellowstone Grand Canyon and Lower falls
© NF Photos 171001

Very colorful and very beautiful. 

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150306 Varanger, Norway. Gardermoen to Båtsfjord

Varanger, Norway 150305-150311 
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© NF Photos 150306
For maps see blogpost Varanger

I did sleep on a couch but woke up because of cold drafts from a corridor so I had to move. But I got some sleep anyway. In the morning, after checking in, I met with my travel guide and fellow travellers. Lots of planes was cancelled due to the Norwegian pilots strike. see image of scedule reflected in airport,  but we was airborne according to schedule. It took two hours to get to Kirkenes. But in a way the trip was a disappointment. I had expected to see the mountain range but we travelled over Sweden and low country. I did not see mountains until we
got very close to Kirkenes. 

Image to the left, Varanger from above a few min before landing. 

After we picked up the rented cars we took off to Båtsfjord.

To start with it was a beautiful road,  now and then close to rivers and the arctic sea.

The sun came out occasionally and we made a stop at a frozen river with some water still flowing down a small fall.  First stop was at Skoltefossen.

When arriving at Varangerbotn we took a lunch break. And then continued inland due north west. We made a few photo stops and once we did see moose. A cow and half grown calf. 

31 km from Båtsfjord the road was closed due to snowy condition. There was a road barrier over the road. No passing permitted until they cleared the road of snow.  It was very windy and slippery and traffic had to wait to go in a caravan behind a truck with a snow blower the rest of the way. So we had to wait 1.5h before we could continue and then it was already dark. There was some piles of snow outside the house with the waiting room. The light from the room lit it up and I took some shots. People wondering why I shot them. But what I saw was not piles of  snow, I saw this: Watching. 


When the truck arrived it did not take long before we reached Båtsfjord. We arrived at the hotel around 18.00h. Got our rooms and took a quick shower before dinner was served at 19.00h.

After dinner we had an info meeting and was given our warm overalls to use in the hide. Well, that was kind of fun. You really feel clumsy in that suit. But it turned out to be great.  Then we were all very tired and forgot we was about to check for aurora.

I got to bed rather early as we were to meet again at 05.00h to go to the first session in hide. 

Winter in Varanger

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140602 Waterfalls, additional images

ISLAND 2014-05-28--06-04
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© NF Photos 140602, Skógafoss and  Seljalandsfoss

Skógafoss

Seljalandsfoss

Two mighty falls in the south part of Iceland. Last shots makes you wonder what is water and what is clouds. That is teh fall you can walk all around it. Image taken from the inside looking up.

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This das trip report HERE
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140603 Sellfoss to Reykjavik

ISLAND 2014-05-28--06-04

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© NF Photos 140603

Today we left at 8.30 as Jon wanted to take us to a nice church and it opened at 9.00h. I don´t fancy churches that much but this one was special. It was rather new and had an altarpiece that was exceptionell. It was located in Skálholt.  The Church at Skálholt

After being in church we left for Gullfoss. But..before we got to Gullfoss we made a stop at, yet, another waterfall. I did not get the name but it was probably the same river. Hvítá River. Iceland is not very high but it has a huge amount of waterfalls. Probably because of the glaciers.

 

Gullfoss (translated as "Golden Falls") may be Iceland's most popular waterfall. It is one of the musts on your trip here. It is a lot to see as the fall twists and turns creating interesting shapes and forms. Much to capture. At least for a photographer :)

This is a part of the "Golden Triangle" and next leg in the triangle is the Geysir area. The old Geysir which named the area is now asleep. The new one erupting is Strokkur, it´s erupting about every 4–8 minutes 15 – 20 m high, sometimes up to 40 m high.

 This stop was combined with lunch but as usual I was to busy to eat. Going home tomorrow so, who cares?  :)

Now we drow to the large sweetwater lake where the rigft valley is clearly visible.

 "It is the site of a rift valley that marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It is also home to Þingvallavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland.^"   

It was raining but we got out for a moment anyway. There was some people in a car beside us taht brought out diving gear so I guess the laek was good for diving as well.

Last stop in the triangle is Thingvellir Nat park. "Þingvellir is a site of historical, cultural, and geological importance and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland." Read more follow the link:  Þingvellir!

And now, acc to our guide, it was already late and we needed to go to Reykjavik. As he put it, we wanted to go shopping. Truth is, he wanted to go home. We made one stop in Reykjavik. At The Perlan on Oskjuhlid hill. It is kind of fun, they have an indoors geiser imitating the Stokkur. And then at 14.00h he left us at the hotel to spend the rest of the day individually. Being instructed that the bus for the airport will pick us up at 04.15h.

I put my stuff in the room and went out to buy something to eat and to go to the pond with the birds. And, when it came to birds it was my lucky day. An Eider family with two ducklings was swimming there.

   

Geysir and Strokkur

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140531 Akureyri to Breiðdalsvík

ISLAND 2014-05-28--06-04

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© NF Photos 140531

 140531 Saturday, Akureyri to Breiðdalsvík

Dep at 9.00h.

Woke up at 630.  Packed my stuff and had breakfast. Coming outside the hotel it is raining. Not fun as there were a lot on the agenda. This is a day when we really should have started of earlier.

We made a short stop at a viewpoint overlooking the Eyjafjördur, with lots of eiders, and Akureyri before we headed east leaving for our first stop, Godafoss.

We were lucky as the rain stopped when we left the bus to take a walk passing the waterfall to the other side. It was a nice walk and the waterfall is a beauty. Could have been much better in sunshine though. 

Next stop was the black lava, volcanic area that erupted 2000 years ago. Dimmuborgir! Very unusual in shape. And for that we almost run through half the area. Time for coffee again.   As usual I stayed on the path for some more shots.

 

We continued to Myvatn and a place where there was supposed to be lots of birds. But it was a little disappointing. Very beautiful to walk in the midst of Icelandic Birch to the water but not that much birds. Despite the huge amount of flies. But there was some action on the lake. Icelandic Golden eye had some fun.

 

And now, lunch! A late one! At Jardbodin Nature Bath.  Apart from lunch and souvenirs there was also a possibility to take a swim in the hot water pool.

 

Last stop in the north was Dettiforss. Here we had to hike for a km in rough terrain and very wet too due to melting snow and rain.  But it was worth it.

From now on we drove eastward and south. A long drive over Iceland's highland desert. No stop here. I only took shots from the bus.

When we spotted the sandstorm we were quite happy sitting in the bus. It was shaky enough with the strong wind.

 Dimmifjallgarður location for the sandstorm.

There was one farm,  Mödrudalur, on the highland north of Vatnajokull glacier . With a coffee shop of course. And this time I had a cup and a bun that was very tasty.

We were told it was only one farm. But they has a small Turf house Museum, an old gas station and a church. :) Not bad!

From now on there was mostly highland, waterfalls and snow everywhere. We had a stop in a city for filling up the bus. The further south we came it started to get foggy and rainy. That seemed to be common in that area. Making people work in the south but live up north where the sun shone. .

We arrived at the hotel when it was almost 20.00h and had our dinner as soon as possible. The room was  a nice mountain woody style. I liked it.

Hotel Blafell in Breiðdalsvík

Road to Namaskard

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