I decided before the trip that one of the things I really wanted to do was drive a snowmobile on a glacier. I figured this journey could serve three purposes. First, it would get me on a glacier. Second, the ride up to the glacier was via an F Road (4WD) in a super jeep. Finally, I'd get to drive a snowmobile which I hadn't done in almost 25 years. We decided to go with Glacier Jeeps. They offer pickup at a lot right on the Ring Road & F985. For 9900ISK ($158), they drive you up to the glacier, outfit you with a snowsuit, helmet, gloves and boots. That price is per person with 2 people sharing a snowmobile. To ride alone it costs an extra 5000ISK ($80). Reservations were not required but we very surprised how many people showed up at the bottom lot (about 25). For all the money these people make of tourists, I would have expected the guides to speak better English. Instead, they were the worst English speakers we met in the country. However, their English was certainly better than my Icelandic so I couldn't complain.
The ride up to the top was pretty crazy. The drivers are obviously used to it and they drove quite fast. It was a pretty steep road of loose gravel and switchback turns. It didn't make me very nervous but you could tell several of our fellow passengers we not so comfortable. After 20 minutes we reached the small building high up above the coast. It took awhile to process payments from everyone and get everyone equipped for the journey. In the mean time, I enjoyed the great view from up top. When everyone was finally set, we walked down to the snowmobiles. Now it was time for instructions. This was a bit of challenge with the fractured English but he got most of his message across with some visual aids. We all hopped on our snowmobiles and began our trip in single file. From here it became painfully apparent who had no experience or intuition about how to drive a snowmobile. Several people tip their sleds in the first turn and one couple went complete off the path and into some rocks. However, most people adjusted as the trip went by. My brother allowed me to drive and I handled things quite well. Only one time were we close to tipping over. My biggest gripe was the idiot in front of us who clearly had little skill yet insisted on thinking he did. He'd frequently hold back to create a gap so he could speed ahead. I was just waiting for him to fly off his ride since he nearly did several times. The conditions were far from ideal. The path we took was fairly well worn and we spent a majority of our time in slush, ice, water or rocks, very little on packed snow. I guess you can't expect much better in late August. When we finally hit a nice patch, the guide told us to stop for pictures before we started heading back. The whole time on the snowmobiles was probably 50 minutes tops.
Once back at the shack, we removed our gear. Although we would have loved to head back to the car immediately, they make you wait so the guests can enjoy lunch at their restaurant. I think the set meal was around 2400ISK ($40) so we decided to pass. After about 45 minutes we gathered up for the ride down. If the ride up was hairy, the ride down was more so. I kept expecting them to fish tale around a turn or two and have the wheels slide off the cliff. I couldn't help but wonder how much effort went in to building this road that served no other purpose that to get people to the snowmobiles. Once at the bottom we jump in the car and headed out. It was now 1:30. The whole thing had taken about 4 hours. I liked the experience but doubt I would ever repeat it. 
Ahead of us we had a fairly long drive to Eqilsstaðir. As the crow flies, it wasn't that far away, but we were following the coast. At this point the coast turns into a long series of fjords. These fjords take forever to navigate as each long trip inward is followed by an equally long trip outward. At times we we wishing for a nice bridge or tunnel shortcut. However, I've got to admit there was something tranquil about these fjords and their nice high rounded peaks. We saw so few cars on this journey it made me feel as if the track was specially laid out for us. When we got a little hungry we even managed to find a nice restaurant along the edge of one of these fjords that looked newly erected, perhaps just hours before our arrival. We felt a little awkward ordering only chocolate milkshakes to go but we needed to survive and keep going on the open road.We made a brief stop at the start of Reyðarfjórður to get a picture of the both of us in front of the lighthouse at Vattarnes. Dad and Joanie love lighthouses and frequent a restaurant that features photos of many of them. This was our best chance to give them a nice gift. The walk to the lighthouse was more than bit challenging as it was across a nice stretch of moss covered lava field. When we got out there we realized just how small the lighthouse was, coming in no taller than 25 feet. It almost looked like a kid's playhouse. When leaving we got a little scare as a street sweeper started approaching the car. For a few moments we thought we'd come back to the car all pitted from rocks. Fortunately, it turned around just before the car but not before forcing us to run across the rough field. We jumped in the car and continued to Eqilsstaðir.
Egilsstaðir was easily the biggest city we'd seen since Reykjavík. Much of it has been built in the past few years to support the big dam project located no too far south of the town. After we checked in to Guesthouse Egilsstaðir we decided we still had some extra free time. Prior research had revealed that the drive to Seyðisfjördur was short and interesting enough to check out. When we realized that Wednesday was the day the ships arrived from Norway and there were extra activities in the town, we decided we'd drive down there, check out the city and get some dinner. The drive didn't disappoint. The hills down into the fjord were very nice and towering over the city made for a great photo. However, once we got to the city, it was almost dead. Little to no activity was going on and we couldn't find a single place to eat after criss-crossing the entire town. We headed back to Egilsstaðir a little disappointed and hungry. Choosing to avoid the pricey ($64) and romantic setting of the hotel meal, we opted for the diner connected to the gas station across the street. This diner was typical of many we'd find. We got a decent pizza at a "reasonable" price. Leftovers would come in handy the next day.
The hotel was actually quite nice although the outside looked relatively simple. The view was especially good looking out on the lake, Lögurrin. I'd heard of the sea monster that supposedly lives in the lake but never saw it. However, there were some nice horses out back the lighting was just perfect for some excellent photos.
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