This is Summer!

My niece Tiffany wanted to spend some time in the pasture on the horses, so she came for the weekend and we went riding!!    I love having the kids around and wish they were closer so we could do this sort of thing more often. Too bad I didn't get pictures of Kassie on her 5 hour ride in the pasture looking for yearlings. Shucks! (Need to keep the camera on my person at all time I guess)

We had a campfire after our ride and Tiffy decided she wanted to ride Downey bareback. So she grabbed the halter shank and hopped on.

This is really what summer is all about. Enjoying the outdoors and all that lush green, riding bareback in shorts and smelling of campfire and marshmallows!

Just love these pictures.



Fun, Fun!

Ahhhhhh....

Tiffy's cousin Katelyn loves horses so she came to ride too.

Isn't Downey the greatest?



"Let's see what I can get away with!"

Summer is great, no wind, no mosquitoes, lots of green, horses and great company! (yep, Downey just stood there and let Tiffy do her thing!!)

The Dead Sea

Leaving Jerusalem and going south to the Dead Sea. The farther south we go the more barren and forsaken the land becomes. The Dead Sea is 1300 ft below sea level. It is 6 times as salty as the ocean. The Dead Sea is the lowest elevation on earth.

The shoreline of the Dead Sea. Our guide mentioned that since the Jordan River has been diverted for agricultural purposes the Dead Sea has become 2 lakes and is receding more and more each year. The water used to be up to where you can see the dark gray soil.

A view of the pool at our hotel on the Dead Sea and the Sea is just beyond the palm trees.

OK, off the bus and rush to the Dead Sea, (got to get into the water before the sun sets). This was one of my favorite activities of the tour. I was wishing we could have more than one night here.

Some of the people did the mud pack thing before going into the Sea. I heard some of the women comment on the fact that they shouldn't have shaved their legs before swimming (floating) in the Dead Sea. (a little ouchy with the cuts/nicks)

Here we are floating, it was amazing how buoyant you are in the Dead Sea. I had to work hard to keep my legs down in the water, so obviously I quit resisting and just let myself float and "pop" up come the legs just like a submerged air mattress. My skin felt very oily smooth after being in the water. I liked how it made my skin feel.

Mike demonstrating how much work it truly takes to float and relax in the Dead Sea. Such a cool feeling to bob like a cork in the water like that.

These next three pictures are for my sisters sake.

I am thinking "Where did Mike and Kelly go?"

"Really, where are they? I don't want to go back to the hotel without them."

"Man, where are they?"

Of course Kelly was right in front of me taking pictures and loving every confused moment I had there!

Thus ends Sunday 14 November 2010 in Israel. Next is Masada and then off to the Egyptian border. We did so much in such a short time, but it is taking me a long time to record the story. Oh, so lucky, lucky to be able to experience such neat things and places.

Western Wall

The Western Wall, once known as the Wailing Wall, is the most sacred site for the Jewish faith.

The Western Wall was one of the four retaining walls that surrounded the Temple Mount supporting the platform on which the Temple formerly stood. It was built by Herod the Great. 

This is the women's section of the Western Wall. It is to the right of the men's section. I did go up and touch the wall and as custom dictates I walked backwards away from the wall. It was interesting to watch all those people praying.

 

An example of the people that spend time at the wall.

Some of the millions of prayers that are written and stuffed into the wall with the hope that the prayers will come true soon.

More of the faithful.



A very gracious young man posing for the touring Gentile.  Thus ends my time in Jerusalem. Time to head off to the bus to head south through the Judean Wilderness to the Dead Sea.

Hezekiah's Tunnel

As the sign says, we are headed off to the City of David and Hezekiah's Tunnel. One of the many things we did on our last day in Jerusalem.

A picture of a wall of the Temple Mount and an indication of the streets in Jerusalem, they are very narrow and there is a lot of traffic, motor and pedestrian. Sooooo many tourists from all over the world.

A view of the housing in the Arab section, this is what we saw as we were getting ready to descend down, down, down .... to Hezekiah's tunnel.

Hezekiah's Tunnel was built over 2500 yrs ago to secure the water supply of Jerusalem during the Assyrian siege. ( See we are going, down, down, down... it was a long way, good thing I had no knee troubles.)

The curving tunnel is 533 m long and we got to walk through it. It seemed to go on forever. It was quite narrow too. Fun, this was one of the more fun things we did on this tour.

In some places it was rather low, I didn't have any troubles, but you tall beautiful people would have to bend a bit like Kelly.

Just to show I was there!! The water came up over our knees in some places. It was fun and dark, hence the flashlight. (Oh yes I know I know, tacky, tacky tourist!! Fashion is my strong suit. NOT! I didn't want to get the nice shorts wet.)

We made it through the tunnel. Nice to be in water when it's so hot. See clavicles, no clavicles! Fashionable, Tacky!! Oh what can I say? So lucky to be able to experience the city of Jerusalem and the country of Israel. (Tacky or not!)

Dome of the Rock

The Dome of the Rock, the most famous Islamic site in Jerusalem. This impressive, beautiful edifice can be seen from all over Jerusalem. Interesting to note that the Dome is not a mosque, but a Muslim shrine. 

Wondering why I have a picture of Kelly in this post? Well, it's like this. The Dome of the Rock is on the Temple Mount, or Mount Moriah (under Muslim control). It was a hot day so Kelly wore a shirt very similar to this one. See, the clavicle bones are showing. As we entered the site, there was a guard there checking to make sure everyone was dressed appropriately. Guess who got sent to the side and not allowed forward? Guess why? Wow, was that a awful feeling, I of course always wear t'shirts that come right up to my chin and I didn't have anything extra give to Kelly to cover her up. Kelly didn't have a sweater, why would she, she doesn't have alot of tolerance for the heat so she wasn't about to pack around any extra clothing. So we stood on the side hoping for someone to lend a scarf, sweater, anything!! It gave us both a new appreciation for the parable of the ten virgins. The wise vs the foolish.

Finally, a nice gentleman was willing to lend his pullover and Kelly was able to wear that while on the Temple Mount. (HOT!!) It was interesting that neither Mike nor I had anything extra we could give Kelly. Oh man, the thought of leaving Kelly behind, or missing out on the site was almost more than I could take. I remember thinking, how can I give her my T'shirt? But really, that wouldn't have been pretty either!! Ahhhh! Perish the thought!

OK, back to the Dome. The Dome is build over a huge rock, 40' x 52' rising 7 feet above the level of the temple area. The rock is the summit of Mount Moriah. Jews believe this is where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac, the Muslims believe that is was Ishmael and not Isaac. Also the Muslims believe that Mohammad went to heaven from this point on his winged steed, al Baruck (lightning). When he ascended, the rock began to rise with him, but an angel appeared and held the rock down.

We weren't able to go inside the Dome, but the outside is interesting and beautiful.

 Just a picture of the pillars and the various marble that was used. It is believed that this is the site of Solomon's, Zerubbabel's and Herod's temples.

An interesting start to Sunday 14 November 2010. Kelly did a whole RS lesson based on this experience. It is quite a thing to watch a man (with a gun) admit some and refuse others based on manner of dress.

The Garden Tomb

After church at the BYU Center we toured some more. The Garden Tomb is one of my favorite spots. It was very peaceful and beautiful here.

Too bad I can't truly explain how nice it was to be in this garden, calm, quiet, beautiful, the picture gives an idea, but the feeling was incredible. This is an excellent candidate for the site of the burial and resurrection of Jesus. The Garden Tomb is located outside the city walls of Jerusalem and close to the Damascus Gate.

Our guide for this site was a very sweet English gentleman who bore a beautiful testimony of Christ and his sacrifice for mankind. I felt his humility and love for the Savior. Probably one of the sweetest experiences of the tour.

This is Golgotha, very possibly the site of the biblical Golgotha. This escarpment is located very close to the Garden Tomb and today is located behind a Palestinian bus station. Golgotha is the Aramaic word for skull. (Look closely, perhaps you can see why this could very well be the site.) Also this location is highly visible to people using the main road leading north from the city. For crucifixion to serve as a deterrent and a punishment, it makes sense that the crosses would be near a main thoroughfare.

This is the entrance to the tomb. I took this picture just to give an indication of how busy each of the sites in Jerusalem/Israel are. There are so many groups from all over the world visiting Israel.

Oh got lucky and got a picture without anyone in it, an accomplishment for sure!! This makes me think of Simon Dewey's painting of Christ's resurrection "He Lives". 

Inside the tomb, this is # 4, the burial place.

This is also in the tomb, # 8, the unfinished burial place.

Kelly and I are in # 6 the weeping chamber. Very interesting spot to be indeed and too bad we didn't have more time to spend pondering and just being. Yet, so lucky to be able to see these sites and put something physical to all the stories I've read and studied for years. (Ok, I'm not that old!!)

The sign on the door that can be seen as one exits the weeping chamber. "He is not here for He is risen!" That is the good news of the gopsel.