Christmas Day Roadtrip: Salvation Mountain!

I took a little roadtrip out to the desert for Christmas Day with a coworker. I drove and, man, I forgot how 8hrs+ behind the wheel can jack with my back. I'm totally knackered and sore!

His goal: Salton Sea - meh, not as cool as we'd hoped
My goal: Salvation Mountain - exceeded my expectations (he'd never heard of it)

I've traveled the world photographing religious sites, "lived religion" and "found altars"; this is seriously one of the coolest places I've been. You could truly "feel" the love Leonard, the creator of this site, had imbued in the structure and in the earth while creating it. Absolutely fantastic - and I'm not even Christian :) Unfortunately, Leonard was moved into a care facility in San Diego two weeks ago, so I did not get to meet him; he's 80yo, and was living in the desert with no running water, etc for years and years.



Full Photo Set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/angelfish/sets/72157628576816837/

Cappadocia is Calling

I'll write about my time in Istanbul later, but for now I'll just say that I adore Cappadocia. What was intended to be a 2nt stay has turned into 5nts - w/MUCH solo hiking through beautiful terrain using back country trails and, of course, visiting cave churches with old frescos. It's a really special place, here - and I can rather understand why the early Christians chose to make their cities and churches throughout the area.

At the moment it's peaceful, the weather is great (including some periodic electrical storms) and the people are friendly. After the barrage of people in Istanbul, it's a welcome respite - and a nice way to wrap up my holiday.

That said, I took one day tour yesterday...and reminded myself that I'm not a tour person AT ALL. ;)

Getting "back on the horse"...

After absolutely zero travel happening in 2010 (due to buying my first house and dealing with related expenses), I've finally got another trip planned. I'm heading to Turkey for two weeks next month - and I'm seriously excited.

The plan of the moment is to spend ~1wk in Istanbul, and also visit Cappadocia and somewhere on the Aegean/Med coast. We'll see what unfolds, though... All I really know is that I've got a bed booked in Istanbul for when I arrive... :)

Depart: April 23 (for Istanbul)
Return: May 8