Why, you may ask, is Joy going to Iceland?  It all started last fall when impulsively I joined a GSA tour to Hawaii in large part to get some earthcaches in all 50th states and DC.  I went for the warmth and caching and came home with a new, intense, interest in geology.

My travel buddy, Liz, and I had talked about how much I enjoyed the GSA trip, and even tossed around the idea of the GSA tour in Iceland.  Expenses had me hesitating.  On December 31 I received an unexpected check from some IRAs that had gone bankrupt many years ago.

January 1 dawns, and I had some family and friends to my place for lunch because it's my birthday.  I mentioned the check.  My daughter says, "Mom, spend it on something you would enjoy."  Liz looks at me and says, "Iceland?"  And the decision was made.

That began months of reading and studying.  I took notes from three travel books.  I looked up all the earthcaches in Iceland and studied the information found in them.  I read history, studied geology, and was first to get a new book from the library, Island on Fire.  When I finished that book a few months ago, I had a new appreciation (and fear) of volcanoes.

Meanwhile, three of my daughters and I won the lottery to visit The Wave in Arizona, and I decided to head home through Yellowstone and Craters of the Moon after leaving them.  Liz heard and asked if she could join me.  That was 5 incredible days full of earthcaches and learning as well as preparation for understanding more about what is going on right beneath our feet.

The last month has been busy with planning details of the route Liz and I will take the first four days in Iceland.  We decided to go a few days early and adjust to the 7 hour time change before the GSA tour starts.  On those days we will do the Ring Tour of the country.  We'll spend one morning walking to and then descending down into a dormant volcano.  We'll spend another morning flying to Grímsey Island from Akureyri.  Then there are the many waterfalls to visit!

After four days of touring the country and finding earthcaches, we will join the GSA group for 8 days full of more adventures.

I'll post our schedule later today, and as time and internet access allow, will add posts of our activies.  Pictures will have to come later because I can't download photos to my little Kindle.