Adventures 2015 - Istanbul

As with any trip as I sit down to trip to write about, I become extremely overwhelmed at the idea of capturing the trip.  So I'm going to break this up into a few posts rather than attempting it all at once. I can guarantee that it'll be a bit of picture overload.  

First of all, when many people asked where my next trip would be and I said Turkey, I often got very confused looks accompanied by some utterance of WHY?  My theory with most of my trips is WHY NOT? Istanbul had been the setting for a book that I had read a few years ago, and that initially caught my attention. After which my uncle had passed through and visited Istanbul, which also peaked my curiosity. In addition to the fact that it is the only city that spans two continents; I love weird details like that. Also, I wanted something different.  I did not want a typical tourist destination. Somehow I managed to convince Michelle it was a good idea, and after months of procrastinating, we were off along with our friend Kelson.

The way we set up our flights, we ended up with a 10 hour layover in New York City.  It was a fun detour on our way to the our main destination.  We had breakfast at Rockefeller center, went to top of the Rock, walked to Times Square, and manged a brisk walk in Central Park. We also quickly established rules on when and where Michelle was allowed to whip out her selfie stick. :)

Upon arriving in Istanbul, admittedly the first thing I noticed upon exiting the aircraft was that the airport wreaked of BO. Luckily that first impression of the country did not persist throughout the remainder of our visit.  The second impression was that we did not belong, and I loved it.  There were very few other tourists that were American or even European.  The airport was filled of people from the Middle East. Most women wore the hijab, but there were many in burkas as well.  I did have a hard time not staring, I wasn't trying to be rude it was simply taking it all in, and really coming to terms with the fact that I was the one out of place.

We managed to figure out the subway/light rail system to get to the old sector of Istanbul.  I was fascinated passing all of the mosques on our ride there, and then stood in awe as we got off at our stop and We were  practically in front of the Hagia Sofia, a building that I had been studying pictures of for months.  Unfortunately the google map that I had printed for directions from the stop to our hotel was not as clear as I would have hoped.  We ended up wandering up and down several cobble stone streets.  Unfortunately my luggage and my water bottle did not handle the cobblestone very well, and one wheel became useless and my water bottle shattered.  Luckily a man reading his newspaper on a shop step took some pity on us and offered to help us figure out where our hotel was located.  After a few more turns, we made it.



After some much needed showers we went out to explore the nearby surrounding of our hotel.  We wandered down to the Bosphorus and found people gathered spending their evening enjoying roasting clams and oysters, shooting balloons with BB guns, laughing and enjoying themselves.  I loved that for as large of a city that Istanbul is, the old sector of town felt calm and peaceful. In contrast to many cities I've traveled to, there were more stray cats than dogs. 

We finished the night with a Turkish bath.  Now as much as I thought I had read about a Turkish bath, nothing can quite prepare you for the experience until you're there being taken care of by a fat Turkish lady being worked on a marble slab in all of your naked glory.  To say the least there was more nudity involved than I had anticipated.  

My Date with Eastern Nevada

I have been in Nevada for nearly a year, and most of my little scattered adventures have been limited to Las Vegas and its surrounding area.  I figured it was time to branch and get to know my new state of residency.  I had heard that Great Basin National Park was suppose to be one of the best places to see the stars.  So conveniently after looking at a calendar of the phases of the moon I decided to make a quick trip up to see if it lived up to the hype.  This was a trip that had very little planning and very few objectives other than see the stars, do a little hiking and taken in a bit of Nevada along the way.  It was one of the first times on road trip I gave myself permission to not be in a hurry.  Since I'm not the best with explanations, here are a few photos to help describe my date with eastern Nevada.

I almost breezed through Caliente, but decided to make a quick stop to take a picture of the train station.  It caught my eye, and I love it.  I may stopped again on my way home. Also a couple of years ago, I was kindly informed that this little town Caliente is not pronounced with the Spanish pronunciation.  Every time I see it, I have to read it probably three times trying not to say caliente.

 Not too far outside of Caliente, there was a turnoff for Cathedral State Park.  The name caught my attention, so I thought why not.  There was not a soul in sight, in the park, on the road. Nowhere.  I enjoyed the quiet walk taking in what looked like a martian wasteland, or that of a Star Wars film.

 After making it up to Great Basin, I was grateful to find an open campsite seeing as it was a lot busier than I had expected.

 The weather was perfect for relaxing in my hammock and enjoying the sound of the creek that flowed just a few feet away.

 The park did an excellent presentation on light pollution and the importance of protecting the sky.  They also discussed many of the night creatures, most of which were predatory and stealthy.  That discussion did not help later on as I tried to fall asleep.  While camping alone was very freeing, it was also very terrifying.  Back to the sky, the rangers also had telescopes set up so that visitors could see Saturn, M-81 (another galaxy), and star cluster. The sky was incredible.  It has been a while since I've seen that many stars, and since I have been able to see the Milky Way.  Staring at the stars, as with most things in nature provides a overwhelming sense of perspective.
I wanted to get some better pictures, but to be completely honest I got a little too creeped out being completely alone in the dark with a fierce wind whistling through the trees.

 In the morning I took a tour of Lehman Caves, and it was fantastic.  The formations were stunning, and the guide was very informative.  Trying to wrap my head around the time it took for the formations to form and how they formed was all together fascinating.  It is a strange yet intriguing sort of beauty down there.

 After the cave, I hiked the alpine loop around Stella and Theresa lakes.  The view of Wheeler's peak was impressive, and that will have to be a hike in the future.

 Leaving Baker, this is quite possibly the loneliest functioning gas station that I have ever seen.

 On the way home I made a detour on the scenic route through Pioche.  These little Nevada mining towns are fascinating to me.  They have this ghostlike quality that makes me wonder what they were like during their heyday.

 On the north side of Cathedral State Park there was a pulloff for Miller Point.  This actually provided a more interesting view that from within the park itself.  At another time, I'd like to go back on wander around more.

Even though it was a quick trip, it was a great little escape to breath some fresh air.  Now I just have to plan another trip to get to know western Nevada. Carson City, Reno, Tahoe... so many options.

One way to start the new year.