Laegreid Outdoors

Some of you (parents) may have heard of the Norwegian Air pilot strike; this is just to let you know that they are still going to fly us out of Reykjavik. We're delayed by 4 hours, but that's ok. Jodi is currently asleep, and I have the internets to keep me entertained. So no worries, we're fine, we'll post more from Norway! I'll sign off with this strangely appropriate painting that is hanging here in the airport: My expression as the departure time kept going up.

Tonight is our last night in the cold little town of Reykjavik, Iceland. Tomorrow we take a short flight to Oslo, and begin the second leg of our crazy little trip. This first bit was fun. A little rough, but fun. Our main enemy has been jet lag; we lost a few afternoons to some hardcore napping. Other than that, however, we've been pretty darn lucky. Here are a few highlights: The most exciting thing that happened here was the show that we were treated to by the Aurora Borealis. Both Jodi and I had always wanted to see the Northern Lights, and Iceland is a good place to do so. I had my concerns about the weather, though, as it had been forecasted to not only be cloudy, but with a bright, full moon when the skies were clear. It was not an ideal setup. On the 28th, however, our German roommates from Kex Hostel rented a car and offered to take us out with them in search of the Lights. We were going to leave at around 11 that night, but at about 8 someone came ripping through the ha...

This is mostly a post to let you, dear readers, know that Jodi and I are still mostly alive, though in a very zombie-like state. The flight from Denver to Reykjavik was smooth, though sleep eluded us. The sun came up while we rode the bus in from Keflavik, just in time to illuminate some of the countryside as we cruised past. We got off at the main bus terminal, grabbed our packs and chuffed our way over the hill to our first hostel, Kex, which is a really neat place at first glance.   The Bar  View from the window We can't check into our room until 2pm, at which point I'm sure we'll take a nap and ruin our plan of getting on a good sleep schedule right away. Tomorrow will be for exploring; we'll take a few days to gather stories, photos and rest a bit for a more entertaining post.   Until then!  

The first leg of our journey (the packing and driving part) was a hectic, foggy, sleep-deprived, 55 mph torture test, and was completed safely and without much blood loss. My lovely wife and I arrived in Laramie a little haggard, but otherwise in one piece. Hopefully while we're out here there will be some outdoor adventures before we take off for Iceland. Today we took a nice little jaunt up a snowy hillside with a couple of shaggy dogs; tomorrow we'll join my father for a Trout Unlimited meeting. Since the lakes are frozen but the ice is thin, it might be hard to get out ice-fishing, so I may be limited to just tying flies and doing fish art. There is always the possibility of going to the range and burning some powder, too; we've got a few options. For now, I'll leave you with some pictures. I sure will miss Washington and the people and places I've come to now and love there, but Wyoming is doing it's darnedest to make up for it.   Moody Blues...

That's right, folks, 2015 marks the year where L.O. travels across the pond to visit EUROPE! The wife and I have left our jobs and are cleaning out our Washington apartments to start a brand new adventure, and we'll be taking you along for the ride. There will be scenic vistas, lots of hiking, new and interesting people, and perhaps even a little fly-fishing if I can figure out the regs. We'll be starting our trip in Iceland, land of hot-springs and volcanoes, where, if the weather permits, we'll try to catch our first glimpse of the Northern Lights. In addition to the Aurora, we'll be checking out Reykjavik and perhaps doing some hikes in the wild and wonderful countryside. Before we get there, however, there is still a lot of moving and packing to be done and some quality time in Wyoming to be had. This may include some ice fishing, painting, and shooting of paper targets. Once we're over in Europe, posts will come in when internet is available, so keep ...