These are a few of my favourites from a collection I called Iceland Random. You can see them on the slideshow, or click on any of the thumbnails.
These photos come from all over the island nation over a period of two weeks.
See all 122 pics in this collection on flickr. On that site you can see both date and geographic location.
Today I fly to some other island that starts with “I” …
But the next one is an economic disaster.
My Iceland hiking trip reports are posted on BestHike.com
Dave Adlard would love Iceland.
Pretty much anywhere on the island you can reach out the car window and grab a lamb by its wooly nape.
… the breed is very cold-hardy. Multiple births are very common in Icelandic ewes, with a lambing percentage of 175% – 220%. A gene also exists in the breed called the Thoka gene, and ewes carrying it have been known to give birth to triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets, and even sextuplets on occasion. …
Here’s that same lamb (the one on the right) I later enjoyed in Reykjavík. Like Mark Zuckerburg, I like to look my lunch in the eyes before chomping.
I was treated to this feast by gymnastics coach / judge Gummi Brynjólfsson.
New Zealand has a lot of sheep, but almost all is exported. Iceland seems to keep a few of theirs for the platter.
This island nation has about 450,000 sheep, 300,000 people and 500,000 (2008) tourists.
Skaftafell in Vatnajökull National Park is the most popular wilderness in Iceland. I’m offline hiking there the next 3 days, 2 nights. … If you can call them nights.
It’s breakfast in funky Reykjavik, a lamb & ham sub at 3pm.
In the Iceland of the Midnight Sun, day and night become fairly irrelevant.
Enjoying a lazy Sunday off, I’m still pondering whether or not to hike over to the ‘hot pots’ for a soak.
Tomorrow morning I’m contemplating a Puffin McMuffin breakfast before heading back out trekking.
They eat Puffin and Minke in Iceland, don’t you know.
My circumcision of the island is going well. Sheep, WIND, ponies, seabirds, WIND, cliffs, beaches, WIND, WIND, licorice candies, …
But I’ll be posting mostly over on my hiking blog …
One of the best things about traveling alone is the increased opportunity to meet new people, especially the locals.
Here’s my new pal from Akureyri.
What … you’ve never heard of Akureyri ?!
The ‘capital of North Iceland’.
… You are so unworldly.
Blue sky in the sunshine destination of Iceland today.
I can see the Arctic Circle from where I slept outside under the stars.
I’m supposed to be circumnavigating the island by rent-a-car, but can’t seem to get out of these gorgeous NW fjords
I flew Continental from Los Angeles to Halifax, the fare quite good.
Airfare Price Total( CAD Dollars): $356.40 + $25 for a suitcase
Sunday May 22, 2011
Airline: Continental Airlines 40
Departs: Los Angeles – International (LAX) at 6:45am on Sun May 22Airline: Continental Airlines 2274
Departs: Newark – Newark International (EWR) at 6:10pm on Sun May 22
… Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. It was my worst airline experience since RYAN in Europe.
Somebody please BUY Continental and put those employees out of their misery.
Amongst other things they bungled, Continental lost my suitcase. It was about 48hrs late getting to me.
I’m eligible to apply for compensation for baggage delayed that long. But here’s how that works (PDF)
I must fill out overly detailed PAPERWORK and snail mail to Houston, TX with all sorts of photocopied support documents, including Driver’s Licence.
I’m not going to do it. The hassle exceeds the payback.
I assume it’s deliberate on the part of Continental not to allow claims online. Nor to offer them automatically to customers they’ve screwed.
I’ll never fly Continental again. And advise you to avoid them too, if you can.
Beauty and the Bleak.
At first glance the desert is empty and barren. The life you do find there is more precious for it.
See over 2000 more photos selected in the I love the desert! pool on flickr
The Mojave desert is place where it’s still possible to get away from civilization and enjoy solitude. The days can be brutally hot, but when the sun gets low on the horizon, the temperature begins to drop quite quickly. Some of the coldest nights I’ve ever spent have been out on the desert in the summer.
Night also brings the stars. The desert sky is huge, and without the light pollution of cities and towns, you can see the Milky Way. …
Thunderstorms out on the desert are a sight to behold. The sky becomes very dark and lightning splits the sky. The sky above you may be clear, and you may be standing in the sunlight watching a huge black mass of thunderheads pouring hail onto the desert floor a mile away. …
The desert holds many mysteries: roads that go nowhere, strange little buildings seemingly without purpose, petroglyphs and ruined settlements, odd lights in the night sky, and hermits who only wish to be left alone.
If you know what you’re looking at, you can see mountain ranges sinking into the playa as great, alluvial fans carry away the soil and rocks from their summits and lay them at their feet. It’s possible to look back in time a million years. …
That’s from something called Experience Project
In the S.W. USA “dispersed camping” is allowed on most National Wilderness land. Simply put up your tent anywhere you please.
Sir I love the freedom, Sir.
If you’re sleeping for free in a vehicle, my parents call it (for some reason) “boondoggling”.
Rick McCharles 
