The Golden Circle

The Golden Circle Tour Route

Day 89 - Friday - September 9
Since we only had 2 days in Iceland, our host recommended that we do this route that all the tour bus companies take. The day dawned bright and cool with 20 mph winds, perfect for a car tour.

Lake Pingvallavatn created by the glacier and continental drift fault.

Icelandic sheep have to be tough. That long wool must be why the sweaters are so beautiful and warm.

Icelandic horses are very common in this area as well.

Geysir area is a hot geothermal area with water temperatures up to 300C

Strokkur geyser which goes off every 8-10 minutes.

Everyone is hoping to catch that explosive moment on their camera or phone.

Tungufljot River

Typical hay field/pastures - not sure what they did with all the rocks or why they have trenches but most of them do.

Gullfoss Visitor Center gift shop was a very entertaining place around noon.

Megan - this picture is just for you. Don't come to Iceland if you don't want to see puffins.

The real star is the Gullfoss Waterfall.

Out of the wind and listening to the sound of the day - the powerful music of all that falling water.

Stacked stones can be found all over the landscape, some tiny and some very large.

The ice part of Iceland..........Langjokull Glacier. It is really hard to catch the scale of this glacier in a tiny picture. This glacier is one of 5 smaller glaciers that all together are not as big as the granddaddy, Vatnajokull Glacier in southeast Iceland.

A smaller waterfall downriver on the Gullfoss River.

Tevoi Crater

The town of Hveragerdi has a small geothermal park. The steam in the background is from a geothermal well. 

The town is filled with greenhouses, all run and heated by geothermal energy.

We thought that the moonrise was a nice way to end a wonderful day.

Then Iceland gave us a special gift - the Northern Lights danced for over an hour. Like most such phenomena, words and pictures can't really capture the magic of color shimmering and swirling over your head.