Traveling with the Stanfords 2025

Wow, this was a big time bucket list item. It all started late 2023 when my longtime friend Lee Hunnicutt called Sara and me and invited us to join he and his wife Susan on a commercial rafting trip down the Grand Canyon. He had a bunch of friends in Salida, Colorado who were putting this trip together and there were still a few slots available.  Lee and I were college roommates at the Citadel after we had both returned from Viet Nam. That was fifty four years ago so our friendship is long and wonderful. The only rafting experience we had was a two hour ride down the Arkansas river where Lee lives in Salida, CO.  We were in Lee’s fourteen foot raft which he oared; it  was very mellow and had no major rapids at all . The Colorado river would be very different. It has some of the biggest whitewater in North America so needless to say we were a little reluctant and nervous about signing up for a seven day trip.  We thought we would regret not joining this wonderful adve...

On Tuesday, March 12th we woke to a snow covered campground. Temperature in the van was 28F, so we started as usual with Sara shuffling to the front of the van to turn on the heater. We stayed in our sleeping bags talking about the day's plans until the van heated up to a balmy 50F. The heater was excellent and kept us warm the whole trip. We had extravagantly brought a portable blender with us, and enjoyed a fresh fruit smoothie to start the day. We were still in the north and were treated to beautiful views of snow capped mountains. Driving was tough at times with complete white out conditions on the passes, alternating with great sunny weather. We were amazed how quickly road conditions could change, Icelanders are used to checking the national road conditions before any trip as high winds and snow can quickly turn a road impassable.  By the evening we were in Iceland's west region and our last few days. We enjoyed dinner at the local restaurant which included an excellent m...

Saturday the 9th we left the southern beaches and drove up the east coast, an area of Iceland we enjoyed a lot. The east region is much less crowed and undeveloped compared to the south, and full of dramatic fjords and soaring cliffs. We took our time on the drive, stopping a few times and arrived at the small town of Egilsstaoir late afternoon in time for a soak in Vox baths. This beautiful geo thermal pool is on the side of Lake Urriðavatn and exactly what we needed to warm up after getting chilled over the last few days. To follow Icelandic bathing tradition we experienced a quick dip in the freezing lake - yep it was cold! It was a beautiful evening and we enjoyed relaxing, a few local Icelandic beers and chatting to people. The campsite we stayed at that night was one of our favorites. It had a large, warm kitchen and dining area, so we cooked a meal and used the laundry facilities. We had noticed we were by far the oldest people at the campsites and it was always fun talking to y...

Thursday 7th March was the start of a few days of beaches and glaciers. We stopped in the town of Vik for groceries and diesel. It had rained off and on most of the morning so we popped into the Lava café for a snack and then went to the Icewear store so Sara could buy a belt. Oh dear!  Several hours later we left with a large credit card charge, an excellent pair of wool lined pants for Sara (which she wore for the rest of the trip), a beautiful sweater for John and two hand knitted warm hats - and oh yes a belt! Icewear started in 1972 as a local knitting company with the slogan" Be Warm be well"  We got a break from the heavy rain and stopped at Reynisfjara Black Sand beach, which has impressive cliffs and sea views. The beach is also known for "sneaker waves" which often push further up the beach than expected. The offshore rip currents are infamous for their strength and ability to drag helpless people out into the freezing cold open ocean. We carefully took ph...

We arrived in Iceland late Sunday March 3th after a day and a half of travel, ready for 2 weeks of fun exploring the land of fire and ice! The next day we picked up our camper van and headed into Reykjavik, spending the afternoon wandering the streets and sights along the sea front. The city has interesting architecture and loads of good places to eat; we had an excellent lunch at the Bastard Grill.  Tuesday the 5th we spent several hours in the hot waters of Blue Lagoon. Quite a unique experience with blue waters, rising steam and white silica face masks. The lagoon had been closed for a few days due to volcanic activity just 10 km away, and we were lucky it reopened. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience and continued to stop at hot springs for the rest of the trip. After a stop for groceries, diesel and water for the van we headed to our first stop in Thingvellir National Park. We arrived at dusk in wet and windy conditions, something that was repeated for most of the week. Since...