Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

I'm making myself a little crazy trying to finish drafting  Painted Over , but finally made myself take time to put together a blog post for the weekend.  For those who want to read   about my 2-week  campervan tour of Iceland's Ring Road in September 2025  in order, here are the links to post #1     post #2     post #3     post #4     post # 5   post #6   and post #7 . Day 10 (Sept. 20): Skatafell and other scenic highlights  I had the pleasure of waking up in possibly my most scenic campsite of the trip, and seeing that the weather was good. Breezy, yes, but sunny and clear. I was up at first light, and ready to roll by 7:45. Sunrise over the campervans. A couple of Icelandic sheep in the overgrown parts of the campground were up to watch me go. The trail climbed steadily, but at an easy grade, so that I was soon up above the glacial lagoon and getting impressive views. Skaftafellsjökull glacier ...

Back last month, before I started my backpacking trip in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, I did a couple of dayhikes in the area, mostly to try to get used to breathing at 8-10,000'. Every little bit helps, though uphill hikes still kicked my backside.    At some point in every trip, chaos reigns. This is your brain on travel...   West Fork Rock Creek I arrived in the area just after lunchtime, and promptly drove to the end of the road, figuring an amble up the creek with no particular destination in mind would be a good way to get started without going too far. I forgot that if there's no particular destination (and no steep climbs, either), it's pretty easy to go "just a little farther." My little walk ended up being 6 miles. It was drizzling a little when I started out, and threatening to get a lot wetter, so I didn't take my camera, only my phone. Exciting glimpses of mountainish things. The rain didn't materialize in any force, though a couple of de...