{tink makes art}

I love this idea: feet photographs to document your travels! The collection above documents a British couple’s travels over a six year period, including the addition of their daughter’s feet. What else could you photograph in series to play on this idea? Hands, eyes, silhouettes, a stuffed animal, your hand writing in a journal, a coffee cup?

photo via Pinterest

I was fortunate to climb three different types of rock on my trip out west: sandstone in Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas, metamorphic basalt in New Jack City, California, and granite in Joshua Tree, California. The granite was the hardest on my hands, but I don’t know if that was because my hands were sore after having already climbed for several days or if the granite really was rougher and sharper. It felt like razorblades. Ouch!

Red Rock Canyon was my favorite place to climb for the soft rock (still easy to grab!) and beautiful views (red rock against a blue sky? Oh  my!).

Have you ever been out West? What’s your favorite place to go?

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I’m back from my cross-country road trip, which lasted nearly three weeks. Friends, family, climbing, camping, surfing, dancing, laughing, music – It was amazing. The pic above is me climbing “The Wave” in Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas. Red rocks, blue sky…love!

I’m happy to be back home in Durham, and I’m geared up for 2012. It’s going to be a great year…

Where did you travel to over the holidays? Where were you for Christmas? New Years?

Photo by Garry Dodds

Well, folks. Today I leave for my big cross-country adventure. I’m driving from Durham, North Carolina to…well…the West. I’ll be visiting family and friends, interviewing for jobs, climbing rocks, and camping along the way with stops in Chattanooga, Atlanta, Dallas, Lubbock, Window Rock, Flagstaff, Las Vegas, Big Bear City, Joshua Tree, San Diego, Los Angeles and many other cities that will be added spontaneously. I’ve always wanted to drive across the country, and I’m finally doing it!

I’ve decided to be, for the most part, unreachable – although we know how impossible that is in today’s world – but I’m gonna try! Limited cell phone, no computer, limited email, no Grey’s Anatomy (gulp!), and no blogging…especially when I reach Window Rock where my climbing/camping adventures begin. I return on January 8th (that’s the plan anyway) and will have many photos, videos, and stories to share.

I hope you all have a blessed Christmas and a happy New Year! If you’re traveling as well, be safe.

Here’s my route:

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

How freaking cool is this video? It is a time lapse sequence of photographs taken by the crew of expeditions 28 & 29 onboard the International Space Station from August to October 2011 and edited by Michael König. We are just a speck.

Shooting locations in order of appearance:

1. Aurora Borealis Pass over the United States at Night
2. Aurora Borealis and eastern United States at Night
3. Aurora Australis from Madagascar to southwest of Australia
4. Aurora Australis south of Australia
5. Northwest coast of United States to Central South America at Night
6. Aurora Australis from the Southern to the Northern Pacific Ocean
7. Halfway around the World
8. Night Pass over Central Africa and the Middle East
9. Evening Pass over the Sahara Desert and the Middle East
10. Pass over Canada and Central United States at Night
11. Pass over Southern California to Hudson Bay
12. Islands in the Philippine Sea at Night
13. Pass over Eastern Asia to Philippine Sea and Guam
14. Views of the Mideast at Night
15. Night Pass over Mediterranean Sea
16. Aurora Borealis and the United States at Night
17. Aurora Australis over Indian Ocean
18. Eastern Europe to Southeastern Asia at Night

via Pinterest

My last three weekends were spent in Virginia, Florida, and then South Carolina.; so, by the end of this past weekend, I was looking forward to a weekend staying home. The funny thing is, it’s only Wednesday, and I find myself already planning my next adventure. I’ve always wanted to drive across the country…by myself. Visiting friends, family, and famous destinations along the way, camping under the stars in our nation’s most beautiful natural settings, meeting other wanderers and hearing their stories, and guiding my toes all the way to the Pacific Ocean: the adventures of the journey and the learned truths through the experiences are food to my soul…and I’m craving a full meal.

Have you ever made the trip? How long did it take? Any advice or places you’d recommend I add to my itinerary?

And a beautiful video by Release the Sunbird with perfect road-trip music I saw on The City Sage today that inspired this post…

Photo: Unknown – Let me know if you know!

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

LEARN from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

44 days. 18 flights. 11 countries. Rick Mereki, Are you single?

via A Cup of Jo. (Thanks for sharing! These videos, the music, the scenery, the filming, the editing…all are GREAT!)