Egilsstaðir - Dettifoss - Ásbyrgi - Mývatn - Iceland

From Egilsstaðir we leave early towards Mývatn. We hope the weather is better around the lake than in the Egilsstaðir region. The first section of the road is not very spectacular. Slowly we drive towards the mountain pass of Möðrudalur. From this pass we should have a great view of Herðubreið, but instead of a view we have snow.
The Herðubreið is a lonely table mountain, or Tuya, created by a glacier under which lava flows up. This cools and creates a crust. If more lava flows up, the crust breaks and a new crust is formed. If the glacier melts away above this table mountain, it remains lonely in the landscape. On the slopes of Herðubreið these different lava crust are clearly visible.
So we don't become white with snow, we descend the mountain pass and cross the Jokulsá á Fjöllum and arrive at the road towards Askja. We wanted to travel up this road to catch a glimpse of Herðubreið, but unfortunately we can't enter because it's still closed. According to other people the road is good until the first river crossing, but the sign Impassible is keeps us from trying.
We take the road towards Dettifoss. 20 kilometers of washboard. No problem for the car we got. If you want to go there please take the 864 and not the F862, this road is said to be bad for the past years.
We arrive at Dettifoss and wait until the rain passes. Via stairs made from rock we head down. Dettifoss is in the river Jökulsá á Fjöllum which originates from the Vatnajökull glacier. Dettifoss is one of the most powerful waterfalls in Europe. It's 100 meters wide and about 44 meters high. From Dettifoss there's a trail to Hafragilsfoss, but a little bit down the road there's also a parking area to view this waterfall. The Réttarfoss and Vigabjargsfoss can't be reached by car. Because we had bad luck with the weather we didn't see if there we trails to these waterfalls.
We continue the road towards Ásbyrgi. There's no more washboard, and the it's fairly comfortable to drive. Just hope there's no camper in front of you...
At Ásbyrgi we drive to the end of the valley and take a little walk. We hear and see a lot of birds breading in the walls of this valley. Ásbyrgi is a horse shoe shaped valley created by glacial flows during the last ice age. The walls of the valley are about 100 meters high and special kinds of grass and other vegetation is growing on it.
The walk we have taken should lead to the waterfall at the end of the valley, but unfortunately no water is flowing. The lake is filled with clear water with different birds swimming in it. When we walk further we go through Icelandic forest, medium height trees that are very old. Because the climate is fairly cool, the trees grow slowly and have year rings close together.
We continue our way on the 85 and we stop at Lonsós. Here we have a great view of the northern coastline of Iceland. From a great distance we can see puffins swimming in the water, but even the telelens has problems with them. We do notice the water is incredibly blue here.
We drive on towards Húsavík and walk through the village. From here the whale watching safari's start where tourists get a chance to see a whale in the wild. The church of Húsavík is the only church in Iceland that doesn't have a pulpit.
Via the desert Hólasandur we drive to Mývatn. The road is good and regularly the tarmac is interrupted by long stretches of gravel. The Hólasandur plain has undergone a desertification. They are busy replanting vegetation to restore this plain in it's former glory.