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Desert skies...

They just never get old.

Whenever I make a long westward drive in the states, the first thing I notice is how BIG the sky gets.   Blue in every direction... and it brings a stillness to the expanse of undisturbed land below it

Did a quick image search...

I'll never get tired of seeing the Grand Canyon... it's a place I'll always be glad to share with anybody



That's the Atacama... driest place on the planet.  Looks kinda like Mars, huh? That would be another neat place to walk.

Then there's the Mojave



Found that on an old hard drive, from a trip to Joshua I took with Dave a few years ago.  Bear just filmed one of his episodes out here near where I live, which I find hilarious...

This last shot is one of my favorites... horrible quality but I still like it for some reason



That's Zambia.  That's the "night" life.  It doesn't get more beautiful than that

A few nights ago we celebrated one of our annual "behind closed doors" military rituals.  We roasted each other pretty well and remembered old times and old friends.  I got home, packed my bag, and called Eddie, a good friend from work.

A little after midnight, I met him at his front door, and we started walking

across the Mojave

to work...


The 20 or so odd miles took us almost 8 hours... I've been trying to break in a pair of Chameleons to no avail... starting with San Diego last week... they're amazing shoes, but just not built to get my big frame over long distances without some painful consequences.  On a good note, the extra time outside with my friend afforded me a chance to look up at the sky often... through the dark of a moonless night, to sunrise and daybreak.  It was captivating for the both of us.

So when you're having a rough day... just look up

Death Valley is looming right around the corner... one last bake in the furnace before jumping into another world.  And since half of this blog has been other people's photography, I want to include Stephen Courtney's work in China while on that note.  I had the pleasure of meeting him through Seamus in the last few months and really admire his work.

Thanks for all the prayers, support, and well-wishing throughout this amazing period in life.  The sky has its special majesty, but when I look around, the stars burning the brightest are my friends and family.  And we'll be looking at the same sky when I am across the world in two weeks...