zion

zion is potentially cool, but was seriously overcrowded when we went
we enjoyed bryce and the capitol reef area much more

grand canyon

we began our great southwestern national park tour at the grand canyon,
which is quite a bit more exciting than your average hole in the ground!

joshua tree

on a wednesday, we drive into the desert!

joshua tree national park greets us with boulders

the rocks are surprisingly grippy and pretty easy to climb and scramble upon

like clouds, they beg our imagination to assign a likeness

the joshua tree, a real desert hero

joshua pose!

cholla cactus garden, a spiny, prickly place...

the san gorgonio pass wind farm is home to hundreds of whooshing windmills...
...quite a sight to behold

where in the world is poo fly? (vol 7)

you thought he was gone, but no!
just enjoying a long cold winter in a furry ushanka.

the aptly named

a cold february day on the great wall of china!

this is a "wild wall" portion of the greater great wall
(thankfully touristless)

"wild" because many sections of the wall in this area were in ruin...

...and in some cases, completely overgrown

it's mind-boggling how the wall clings to the terrain across intense elevation changes

further evidence of my visit!

a different type of streetwalker

when you see something like this on the street in a foreign country...

i find it's best to do something like this!

bafflement: it's what's for dinner!

when someone like me sits down to eat alone at a restaurant in beijing, knowing not a word of mandarin, it can be comforting to see some english descriptions of dishes on the menu. however, ripe with the finest chingrish around, these translations can cause more confusion (and tears of hilarity) than clarity. enjoy the following selections from a place i visited for lunch.

poor piggy

for those in a hurry

you might be too if you were scalloped

a vegetarian dish, perhaps?

?!?!?!

...

"sheep's leg greedy bullfrog (do the boiler...)"
i guess that's what the bullfrog gets for being greedy

BONUS: "jumbotron" description from an acrobats performance

"bounding vigorously - ball catching"
(what this turned out to be was a mind-blowing juggling show)