Hello again, Blogonauts! On my last day traversing Iceland's Ring Road, the sights were dominated by Vatnajökull (VAHT-nah-YUR-kut) or the Lakes Glacier. This giant popsicle holds all sorts of superlatives. It covers more acreage than does the state of Delaware. It is the second largest glacier in Europe (surpassed only by a glacier on an obscure arctic Russian island). As recently as 1996, volcanoes beneath Vatnajökull have contributed to significant...

Hello again, Blogonauts! I believe it was Vulcan, ancient Rome's god of fire and volcanoes, that was said to operate a smelting forge beneath the earth's surface. As such, Vulcan was reputedly the source of lava, ash, and Star Trek's Mr. Spock. Well on Friday, I and at least a couple of hundred other earthly trekkers set out to see the latest addition to Iceland's exceedingly long list of volcanoes. Aeolus, the god of wind, however, had grown a bit envious of V...