stay gold

Statue of Vladimir Lenin Fremont, Seattle, Washington

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:57:15 -0400

Statue of Vladimir Lenin

Fremont, Seattle, Washington

This shot glass is pretty legit. Thanks a bunch @gabsamillion :)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:27:42 -0400

This shot glass is pretty legit. Thanks a bunch @gabsamillion :)

carradineway: harryedward: Vine needs to be stopped Spitted...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:55:40 -0400

carradineway:

harryedward:

Vine needs to be stopped

Spitted my whole water out, fam.

minhfinntravels: Evolution of a Wildfire. (These pictures were...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:15:31 -0400

minhfinntravels:

Evolution of a Wildfire.

(These pictures were taken in a span from around 1:30 to about 4:30PM. The fire grew pretty rapidly.)

Big Meadows Fire in Rocky Mountain National Park

The fire started on June 10 from a thunderstorm. A lightning strike sparked the blaze, which has now burned over 600 acres. The area that is being affected is covered in dead trees killed by a beetle infestation that has rocked Colorado’s forestry and timber.

This is my first “real” wildfire I’ve seen in real life. Living in Georgia, I faced a lot of the smoke from the Okefenokee Wildfire a few years ago in the Waycross area. That was an intense fire that burned for ages. Luckily, a tropical storm put it out. This fire in Colorado burns, along with a handful of other fires…. most notable… the one that has destroyed hundreds of homes in Colorado Springs and displaces a lot of people.

It’s a really frightening and devastating site to take in, but at the same time, you can’t help but see how beautiful it is, too. I mean. The smoke plumes rising in the distance, and the shroud of smoke hovering over the valleys.. it made my trip to Rocky Mountain National Park pretty memorable.

Good afternoon from Savannah :)

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:05:05 -0400

Good afternoon from Savannah :)

flowers in Steveston, BC

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:42:02 -0400

flowers in Steveston, BC

The waitress at the Mexican restaurant when I wanted a daquiri

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:02:15 -0400

she was so confused when she looked at my drivers license…trying to figure out if I was 21 or not…

“So…you’re TURNING 21 right?”

“No… I AM 21… if I was TURNING 21, this would be illegal…”

strawberry daquiri. yummy

International Buddhist Society, Richmond, British Columbia...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:57:09 -0400

International Buddhist Society,

Richmond, British Columbia Canada

Sprague Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:53:34 -0400

Sprague Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park

Colorado

Photo

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:40:35 -0400

Trying to take a selfie and this cow photo bombed me. Rude.

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:24:13 -0400

Trying to take a selfie and this cow photo bombed me. Rude.

withabackpackandcamera: June 16th, 2013 Day 4: To the Peninsula...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 22:57:01 -0400

To little brother, I give you a lighthouse

Iceland's Spaceship rivals SpaceX's designs and creations!

"Foss" means Waterfall.

The greener version of Switzerland's Matterhorn!?

Rocks. Lots of rocks.

withabackpackandcamera:

June 16th, 2013

Day 4: To the Peninsula on Unpaved Roads

Another late start…. Can’t seem to hear my alarms these days. Anyhow, the journey from Holmavik to Stykkisholmur was quite rough. Not because of the weather but because of the unpaved roads. Without pavement and only gravel and dirt, I was just SUPER scared that my car wouldn’t make it out of there alive. Many of the roads that I drove on were unpaved by Iceland went through a banking crisis a few years ago and now are waiting to get enough money to pave the roads that many people drive on. So, in time, when you go to Iceland, you might be a little luckier than I was today.

Anyhow, today’s trip’s first stop was in Stykkisholmur, a little town on the edge of the water and on the northern part of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. I had some time to just wander around a little and to drive around as well! I think it was definitely one of my favorite little towns in Iceland! An orange lighthouse (shoutout to Minh!) and a spaceship (but really a church) were some of the highlights of the town! The other highlight was a food stand that I dropped by to grab some cheap lunch! I had a REALLY YUMMY hot dog today! It was called the Henrik at the stand and had deep-fried hot dog with Doritos chips (tortilla chips), melted cheese, spices, and an interesting mayo (I think it was mayo). It was so good! I can hear my stomach growling as I type this!

On the way to the next location, I spotted an AWESOME looking waterfall and stopped there for quite a while to just take some pictures! Realizing that if I didn’t leave soon, I’d be returning my car late, I left and headed to the next location, Olafsvik, a small fishing town further west along the peninsula. It was a nice little place. Because I was in a hurry here, I drove around the town and snapped a few pictures. Interesting enough, I saw a semi-pro soccer game going on on a little field next to the church. Icelanders sure love their soccer!

As I rounded the edge of the peninsula and made my way around the glacier that inhabits the edge, I stopped by a couple more fishing towns and small sights. It was, overall, a pretty chill day. Just good ole photography and town-hopping I’d like to call it!

Today, sadly, was my last day with a car. But thank goodness I don’t have to pay for it anymore. The rental was pricey. The gas was pricey. Whew! When I was back with my host family, we just chatted about everything Iceland and the world during dinner. I learned (and forgot) many of the things that they were teaching me about the Icelandic language and how the grammar works. Very interesting, though very odd coming from an English background, where Latin root words are commonly the base of many English words.

The night ended with me learning more about my host family and looking through pictures with the family. It was fun, just to see all the adventures people go on all the time! Definitely hope this is the first of many blogs to come! :)

Tomorrow is the Icelandic Independence Day! Can’t wait to see all the festivities and partying going on in the city!

5 Things I Learned Today:

1. For traffic lights here, the light turns from red to yellow before it turns green! I wonder if this helps everyone get a head start. Or if it´s there to just make the patterning of the lights even…..Reminds me of Mario Kart!

2. Unpaved roads for long distances are a pain. The fast you go, the louder you have to play your music and the more scratches you get. Sad.

3. The “þ” symbol in the Icelandic alphabet has the “th” sound! Interesting huh!?

4. Icelandic nouns have different conjugated variations (sort of like conjugated verbs in other languages). They are broken up into singular and plural, and then each of those are broken up into nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. I got lost at this point.

5. Weather from one side of the peninsula to the other can change very quickly. Probably due to the low air pressure coming into the island. With so many mountains and glaciers blocking the air from moving across the island, the air condenses into clouds which then forms rain. Meteorology folks, is this right?

My last bag of Boulder chips :(

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 22:02:30 -0400

My last bag of Boulder chips :(

minhphanuk: “It seemed to be solid stone, without jointing or...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 01:48:18 -0400

minhphanuk:

“It seemed to be solid stone, without jointing or moulding. Carrying his fingers onward he found what he had come in contact with was a colossal rectangular adjoining.”

-Tess of the d’Urbervilles.

minhphanuk: Mendip Hills

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 01:48:13 -0400

minhphanuk:

Mendip Hills

Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:11:06 -0400

Rocky Mountain National Park

Colorado

Photo

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 13:42:59 -0400

It’s one of those conference things where you only spend...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 02:17:12 -0400

It’s one of those conference things where you only spend a few days with people but realize you have so much in common, so much passion for the same things, so much energy and drive… so much humor and hilariousness, so much compassion and leadership qualities..

I’m going to miss these people so incredibly much!

Chilling in Colorado

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 02:17:07 -0400

Woooo. Trivia night with college kids and we got last place! Yeahh ! And on a side note, haven’t been on Tumblr in a while… Sorry bout it.

That was…. Close enough…?

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 17:39:59 -0400

That was…. Close enough…?