Dog sledding is AMAZING!

I wanted to make sure that the kids had a variety of memories from Iceland and not just waterfalls.  So when I saw the sled dogging excursion I immediately booked it.  I knew that by this point of the trip the kids would be missing Moki and could definitely use a pet-induced dopamine hit.  I didn't expect that we would all get the same joy as Cambrie at seeing these beautiful dogs.  The kennel we went to is family run.  They've been sledding for over ten years and own 33 dogs.  They took us on a tour of the kennel introducing us to all of the dogs and showing us how they train them, feed them, and each of the litters they've bred.  The doggos looked so happy and excited to see us.  We were given additional warm coveralls to wear then were able to play with the dogs while we waited for the sun to rise. (The coveralls along with my allergy meds I took beforehand gave me some sweet dog allergy armor). These dogs love their cuddles!  We got a feeling for each of their personalities pretty quickly and knew which ones were the cuddlers, which ones were the most excitable, and which ones wanted to go to work.  The dogs that weren't coming on today's run were definitely jealous of being left behind.  

After harnessing the dogs we climbed aboard two sleds and were off.  I couldn't believe the power in these dogs.  We launched forward!  Even when there was a hill these dogs pulled us up like it was no big deal.  The owners have a couple different trails on their property that they use depending on weather conditions.  All the dogs needed was a simple Icelandic, "left," or "right," and the whole team would turn on command.  I know that's what they're trained to do, but it was still impressive that they know their rights and lefts better than my kids!  

There were a few time we stopped to let the dogs cool down and to take pictures. During those time there were dogs who just wanted to keep going.  They love it!

  The biggest of us were able to take turns mushing from the driver seat.  Man, that would be fun to know how to do this.  

When we came back to the kennels we helped unharness the dogs and play with them some more.  Nott quickly became attached to me and never went too far.  She was definitely my favorite dog.  I can't say enough how much fun we all had doing this!

 

Dog Sledding Memories

Cambrie: They were so cute. There was one that looked like a corgi and I loved him so much.  They were such cute little lads. I wanted to hold them all and they were adorable.  But they were employed and didn’t like being hugged while they were employed. I don’t like being hugged while I’m employed either so I don’t blame them.

McKenzie: I Loved the dogs.  We got to stand on the edges and help steer.  It was really cool because the dogs knew what to do and where to go and they genuinely enjoyed doing it.  My favorite was a small dog that looked like a corgi. They were just happy little guys.

Kelton: We need the puppies! I want to go back and steal them.  They were adorable. I wanted to spend a whole day just cuddling with them. They know their left and right better than McKenzie.

Daxton: They were super energetic and I really liked them.  They really enjoyed pulling the sleds. I liked wearing a dog mask and looking like a dog.

Jeremy: I wish I could’ve mushed behind the dogs more.  But I realized how much more skill it took to do so. 

Northern Lights Spectacular

We were surprised and more than a little relieved to learn that the one and only hotel/restaurant open in all of Myvatn was cozy and comfortable.  For the first time there was not secret door or flights of stairs we needed to navigate.  It was just a normal hotel with private patios that led right outside.  We had only been in our rooms for a few minutes before we looked out of those patio doors and saw the Northern Lights starting to appear.  They were starting out so much better than the first ones we saw.  The green was nice and bright, and the ribbon was easy to see.  

As we sat admiring the green lights dancing in front of us, I turned around and saw a red light over the hotel.  I looked up and saw that the Northern Lights had given us a corona!  Colors were dancing all around us now, green, purple, red, and a little bit of blue.  I've never seen colors like these before, they were absolutely incredible!  As we were trying to capture the moment with our cameras we couldn't believe the additional colors the film picked up.  If I never get to see the Northern Lights again, I had this one glorious night.  

The girls were out there with their cameras and smiles from ear to ear.  What a gift!

Northern Lights Memories

Kelton: The best northern lights in the history of the world. They were the best I’ve ever seen. I didn’t even know you could be in the middle. I thought they would be like rainbows, always seeing them in the distance.

Daxton: The lights didn’t even look real.  It looked really awesome but sadly I couldn’t take pictures of them.  It was awesome being right in the middle.

Jeremy: I could have stayed out there for hours and hours not even needing a coat. It was so surreal. My favorite part was watching Cambrie and McKenzie looking up in awe.

McKenzie: It was gorgeous! There’s not much to say because the pictures speak for themselves.  It was magical.  I’ve always wanted to see the northern lights.  The pink and the blue were insane.

Cambrie: My hair froze again.  Got some cool flicks. Daxton ran into a lump. I explained to Daxton how the northern lights happen.

Dettifoss and Selfoss Waterfalls

Dettifoss is the most powerful waterfall in Europe.  It is one of the big hitters when it comes to Iceland waterfalls and was 100% on my itinerary.  One small detail I missed though was that even the road to Dettifoss is paved, it is still considered an F road.  That means it doesn't get any winter service and so conditions could be literally anything.  I had a slew of apps downloaded to help prepare for this trip; road conditions, weather, wind, auroras, yet the road to Dettifoss was simply marked "unknown."  I am so, so grateful Jeremy is a confident and competent winter driver.  As we started down this road he had full power of decision on whether or not this was a good idea.  At some points it was totally clear and we weren't worried at all.  At others the snow had started drifting and it was a lot more questionable.  After 21km of rather questionable driving we made it to the trailhead. 

One of the best sections as we drove into the unknown.

 It isn't a long walk to Dettifoss, then subsequently to it's neighbor Selfoss, but the light was fading and the weather was rather uncertain.  We all put on our crampons (necessary for any winter walking in Iceland), and ventured into the wilderness.  We were obviously the only ones crazy enough to do this in the winter time.  There was no visible trail, but there were posts with red tops that marked where the trail should be.  We followed the posts.  You need to understand that our family doesn't mind a little adventure.  Jeremy also doesn't mind a little bit of crazy.  However this was right on the edge of fun crazy and stupid crazy.  If we didn't get out of there before dark, or if the road conditions deteriorated quickly before we made it out...we might not make it out.  We all needed to hustle to make this work.  We were definitely walking through isolated land.  It was a very weird feeling.  

When we reached the ravine there was a viewing platform which was nice.  In better weather you can walk along the edge of the ravine, but now there were so many snow cornices it wasn't safe to do that.  The waterfall was very powerful and I swear I could feel the power from across the gorge.  

There was one more waterfall to check out here, but in the interest of speed we sent McKenzie and the boys back to the car, while Cambrie, Jeremy and I took the short trail to Selfoss.  I just really, really hoped the kids could still see the trail markers.  As we walked some of the drifting snow was so deep that we fell in up to our hips.  It was feeling a little wild.  Selfoss was pretty too. 

I loved looking at the river right below us because it wasn't that far from freezing.  Jeremy would throw snowballs into it and we could see the slushy surface cushion the landing of the snowball before it submerged. 

We basically ran back to the car because it was getting dark.  I think seeing a sign buried as deeply as this should have been a sign that maybe this wasn't the best idea.  

Back on the road we were surprised by how much worse the road was.  Wind had blown more snow onto the road and it was pretty rough getting back to the main road.  There was definitely a sigh of relief as we hit the maintained road.  I don't know about you, but I don't love the idea of being stranded in a car overnight on a tundra like this, even if it is beautiful in its own extreme way.  The next day they closed the road for the season.  That was close!

Dettifoss Memories

Jeremy: Starting on this road felt like I was possibly not going to make it back. So for every minute of driving I worried if I could make it back through this road again. It’s hard to mentally come back from days of some of the hardest driving I’ve ever done.  But it was well worth it. I loved the sunset. I find it funny that two of my favorite sunsets ever on a road led to some of the hardest driving I’ve every done on a road.

Cambrie: Mom fell over. It did not look like Europe’s second biggest waterfall.

Daxton: I could see a mini little house in the waterfall: a little roof, a little chimney, and a little door.  It looked like serious entrance. It looked like a real house.

Kelton: When we were walking back, Kenzie and Daxton invited me into the dilly-dally group.  I don’t believe it had the most waterfall coming off in Europe.

McKenzie: We thought we were going to get lost. We were following the path and everything, but when it was getting dark the boys started going really slow and I was afraid we weren’t going to get there in time.  That’s when Kelton joined the dilly-dalliers club. The snow was really deep and hard to walk through.  But the waterfall was pretty cool.

Rjukandafoss Waterfall

More driving and more waterfalls!  On our way we passed over a gorge that was so stunning we just had to stop and take a picture.  Jeremy said he could envision hobbits in elven boats floating down this river on their way to an adventure.  In the summer this gorge eventually leads to a deeper gorge that I would love to explore.  In the meantime, we get the equally as awesome winter version.

Rjukandafoss wasn't initially on my "must see" list, but a stop was needed, so we climbed out to go exploring.  This waterfall was cool because it was actually a triple waterfall.  We also swore we could see a secret entrance to Wakanda up there on the left through the mouth of a frozen panther. 

 

Up close you could see the water flowing behind the frozen exterior and that was pretty awesome.  While Cambrie and I stayed up on the trail, Jeremy took the younger kids down to go exploring.  These pictures from down there turned out so great!  

In similar fashion to the bird at glacier lagoon, the highlight for the boys were all of the ice sheets around that they could slide down.

Rjukandafoss Memories

Kelton: We went right up to it. It was fun.  Dad didn’t trust the ice enough to let us get closer.

Cambrie: Everyone else was defacing the natural landscape by going off the path.  That was very American tourist core of them.  We saw paw prints though and that was very cool.

Jeremy: I was not going to stay on the path. No matter how many guilty voices told me to do so. It was cool.

McKenzie: That was really fun.  I liked going near it because it was frozen and deep.  Because we were closer you could see the water running under the ice.  Sliding on the ice was also really fun.

Daxton: It was really cool how the river was frozen and there were a  lot of little waterfalls.  I kept noticing there was a path down, down, down.  Sliding down the ice was so fun.

Rainbow Walk

Not knowing how the weather was going to treat us the rest of the day, we made sure we fit in one great stop first thing.  We drove to the tiny fishing village of Seydisfjordur to walk the rainbow walk.  It was a tricky, snowy drive up and over the mountains, and when we arrived we were greeted by freezing wind and snow-covered streets.  Well, Jeremy didn't endure those conditions for nothing, so we got down on our hands and knees and brushed all the snow off of the rainbow pavers.  The lighting with the icy blue church made for an incredible contrast of the bright pavers.  It seems as though Icelanders don't need much of an excuse to bring bright colors into their lives, it's so charming!

Rainbow Walk Memories

Cambrie: The church was really pretty.  Mom was really funny cleaning off the whole thing.  McKenzie was really funny slipping and falling and losing her phone.  And my hair was giving 2010 side-part era vibes.  It was not popping off.  I blame the wind.

Daxton: The rainbow walk was fun because I liked a lot of the rainbow bricks.

McKenzie: I fell and it really hurt because the ice was really slippery.  I lost my phone and Kelton found it.

Jeremy: Going over that pass was terrifying. I’m glad we found the rainbow road because that was a labor of death defying love.