11 days before flying to Berlin, I'm so excited! :)
Today I was planning to write about a field trip/excursion I made two and half years ago to Iceland, USA west-coast and Hawaii. I'm studying geology and every now and then there is a huge excursion abroad. On September 2010 the travel plans were made, and it was time to make the decisions of the 22 students participating the trip. Over 60 geology students were willing to come along, and of course the older students had privileges. There were almost 10 second year students (including me) in the list, and we had to carry out a draw. You can guess the rest... I was the lucky one!
We were raising funds for the trip throughout the following year and got more and more enthusiastic as the time passed by. Finally, the August 2011 arrived. We were allowed to take only hand luggage with us, for almost five week trip, to very versatile climate conditions and circumstances. Difficult decisions definitely: what to take with you, and what to leave home.
On the first day everyone was enthusiastic, and we flew from Helsinki to Keflavik-airport in Iceland. We were sleeping on this chilly apartment of the local Salvation Army.
During the next few days we drove mainly around western Iceland, and we went to see the Strokkur-geysir, waterfall Gullfoss, and then to one geothermal spa spring somewhere in the middle of Iceland. The trip back from the spa was frightening though exciting. It was getting dark and foggy, and during the drive the headlights went off for a while. The road was really bumpy and bouncy... The trip back took approximately two more hours than planned. But after all we got safe in our beds about 2 am. Iceland was really chilly during our days there.
Next we flew to Las Vegas and stayed there a night at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino. After a night in a decent bed we drove to Hoover Dam. During the West Coast part we had a guide from USGS and also one of our own professors. Then we drove to the sweltering town called Laughlin. Me and some other students were feeling a bit sick after the chilly Iceland, and we went to see a doctor. The doctor's diagnosis was sinusitis for two of us, and stomach flu for one of us. We three plus our driver decided to have a "sick leave" for a couple of days, take our antibiotics and rest. We made a plan to drive to Bakersfield as the others continued to Death Valley and Yosemite National Park. In Bakersfield we stayed in two different hotels and ate the best ice cream in the world at Rosemary's Family Creamery. After about four days we drove from Bakersfield to San Francisco (long distances) and met the rest of the group there.
In San Francisco we had two days off, and we went to eat some sushi and Chinese food, did some shopping, made trip to Muir Woods National Monumental Park, and saw the foggy Golden Gate. The two days in Frisco were a bit rainy and foggy, but I still enjoyed our stay there. We were sleeping in 8-person dormitory rooms in a hostel. After Frisco, it was time to head to Los Angeles. We drove the trip in two parts, first to Paso Robles for one night. We arrived Los Angeles the next day about 6 pm and we had about 12 hours time in the city. So after shower and make up we headed to Sunset Boulevard, to eat and drink. The night was sooo fun.
We were warned already that next morning would be painful. Nine hours drive from L.A. to Grand Canyon, Colorado. It was painful indeed. :D But we got to see the amazing sunset of Grand Canyon, it was definitely worth seeing. Next day we had a hike down the canyon, but after walking downhill just a few kilometers my knee started hurting a lot. My friends continued the hike downhill and I returned back up with this old voluntary ranger of the park. He was taking care of my knee, we were having breaks every now and then and he even had some snacks for me. He even called a ride for me, from the starting point of hike to our cottage. In the night we had a big gala/feast at the Grand Canyon restaurant as it was the last night with our professor and our guide. The next day we would drive to Las Vegas and fly to Honolulu... More of that soon!
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