“Say Cheese!”

Even with one for-real photographer (Jess) and one pretend one and one reluctant one on the trip, we realized part of the way through that we were in danger of ending up with very few pictures of ourselves in relation to the things we were seeing.

The question I had to ask as we explored and saw neat things was not “Do you want me to take your picture in front of (x)?” It was: “Would yourmom want me to take your picture, so that she knows you’re okay and so that you have some pictures of yourself from this trip?”

the answer to that was usually a begrudging Yes.

and then we get lovely pictures of my lovely friends!

The Barn

This is Jess, cleaning out an old barn that hadn’t been used for a while.

In the process of moving old pallets and boxes, I suddenly uncovered four HUGE rats, which scurried (“scurried” makes them sound small and maybe cute. They were neither. They were probably at least6 inches long, so, really, they lumbered away. they were so big.) away immediately.

and then I found the mumified carcasses of probably 10 more in various corners of the barn.

*shudder*

Anyway, this was also the place that inspired the remark: “At some point of sweeping a dirt floor, you’re just digging a hole.”

it’s true.

Sunrise

every morning, we got up around 7.30 to start our day. and every morning, we were treated to some of the most beautiful sunrises, over one of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen.

none of this grey-getting-slowly-into-lighter-grey business. no, the valleys would be full of mist, settled in the bottom, and the sun would gild the top of the hills  and the clouds with gold and intense pink-red and the sky would be deep, deep blue higher up.

my words can’t come close to conveying that beauty, and neither would a picture I would attempt to take. So here’s a picture that shows the human reaction to that beauty: Jess, brushing her teeth, braving the chilly morning in bare feet, to take in the sunrise.