Monday, July 19, 2010

Drive Pray Love

When I'm on the road there are so many beautiful photos. Sorry to be clogging up your inbox! I left Munich three days ago and spent two nights in Switzerland before spending last night in the French Alps. European campgrounds are mostly like KOA's back home, which is not a compliment if you don't know them. But the spot I'm in now is great, in a deep valley with a rushing river on one side and a little stream on the other. And they serve lattes. And today there was a van in the campground with a full-sized pizza oven inside, cranking out great pizzas. Nice.

This may be my last newsletter before I'm away from internet for three weeks. If you don't  hear from me, that's why.

Love,
Dave


Switzerland
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A small but beautiful chapel in Switzerland.
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A manicured Swiss cemetery.
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Switzerland
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How do you build an arch like this over such a deep canyon? I have no idea. That's the rail line, and the car highway is behind it.
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Scary!
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This plaque was embedded in a large rock in a park in the town of Novara in Italy.
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I can't forget Novara. I'm trying, though. I parked my car, started walking down a pedestrian-only lane in the center or town, made a few turns, had some good gelato - and realized I had NO idea where I was parked. None. I imagined walking the perimeter of the town to find my car, or tracking down a taxi, or, or I don't know what. I don't do it often, but it's not the first time. I did the same thing once in a town in China at 11 pm, and didn't know my hotel name so I couldn't even ask anyone, not that they'd understand me. I wandered around for about an hour before I found my car in Novara. I miss my Mom, even when she'd say, "Honey, you've got to be more careful!"
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Novara
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Steve Martin: "It's like those people have a different word for EVERYTHING!"
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The rest of the photos are from today's hike into a French national park in the Alps. The blue color in the water below is natural, even though it looks otherwise.
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The valley in the distance is where the hike starts, and where I'm camped.
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Lunch. Since when did I get to be so delicate? Is this what taking care of yourself looks like? Maybe that's why I don't recognize it.
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One of two lakes on the hike. This is at 2500 meters, or around 8,000 feet elevation.
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The rockpile graveyard. This is where they go to die.
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The second lake.
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The lake spills out to this river, which plunges, eventually, about 3,000 feet to the valley floor.
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Why does everyone love waterfalls? Really. I'm asking.
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You can see the trail across the center.
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The river out of Lake 2.
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That is one big mountain.
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The very old village has been incorporated into the national park, and people live here. But they have to walk up a pretty good grade for 45 minutes to get here. You can stay overnight in one of the buildings. It looks like a beautiful place to stay.
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(The End)