Tour Opener: Ljubljana, Slovenia

The family is all back in the U.S. and the tour has begun.  Here are some pictures from my first tour stop in Ljubljana, Slovenia.



I arrived at Ljubljana right after/during a major blizzard, so this was the scene outside my hostel.  Notice the graffiti filled wall.  There is a lot of graffiti all over Ljubljana, and this is one of the things I love most about this city.  There isn't so much to see here in the way of history or major landmarks, but the town is very pleasant looking and the graffiti everywhere is awesome.


An abandoned bicycle factory, called Rog, where I played later that night.  People actually live here, and they are called squatters because they refuse to leave even though it is illegal for them to be there.  They have created a recording studio, music venue, art space, and many living quarters inside this old factory.


Ljubljana's main town square.  See what I mean?  Very charming!


Town square at night!


This one is daytime.  Just kidding.

One Last Hike in Alaska

I was taking the red eye flight out of Alaska on a Sunday night, so there was time for one last hike just outside of Anchorage that day. Matthew and Olga took me up to Powerline Pass, picture above, and we hiked up a mountain overlooking that pass and the city of Anchorage.

Hiking up the spine of the mountain. This is where it finally got easy, the ascent until this point was one of the more grueling hikes I've ever been on. Apparently they don't believe in switchbacks in Alaska, and prefer to hike straight up a steep mountain.

Down in that valley lies Anchorage. Its simply amazing how easy it is to get outside of the state's largest city and into nature.

The descent was much easier, as it involved sliding down this snow field on my butt. The gray covering over the snow is actually ash from the Redoubt Volcano which has been erupting on and off since the beginning of the year.