floating, hiking, learning

Have you ever had a "oh-my-goodness, I-erased-all-the-pictures-from-the-camera-before-downloading-them-onto-the-computer" scare? Well, that's what I had with this set. My heart sank to my ankles, but then my short term memory decided that it would kick in (after I broke out into a sweat) and remind me that I indeed did download them already. Close call. 

So this was our first overnight trip with the class. It was rather eventful. We stayed in a hostel for the first time ever, not too shabby; I was able to harass some sheep, also for the first time; we found some pretty ancient pottery pieces that we got to keep; visited the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea; hiked and climbed a lot, and then did it again and again. 

 UGGS!!! Just kidding, kind of. The truth is, the closest I have ever gotten to a sheep is by wearing Uggs. Don't I sound like a complete city girl?  I was severely overjoyed when I saw this flock grazing 20 feet away from us, I simply had to touch one. But I couldn't get too close because they kept scooching away and I was slightly really terrified of the male sheep with the large horns, so I had to keep a safe distance:( 

 Me, excited? What makes you say that?

We visited Lachish (it is mentioned in the OT many many times) where a siege took place roughly in 701 BC. The professor said that hundreds of arrow heads were found here and that there were probably thousands still buried. With that said, the boys started to dig, no joke. 

 While they were looking for weapons, I found a handle to some clay pitcher. 

 The class

 Sometime during the hike, Sam got a hold of our camera and decided to do a photo shoot with and of himself. This is one of the images we discovered later on. 

Glorious view from above.

 These are the images one gets when others have had a long day of hiking, climbing, and too much sun. 

On top of that mountain stood one of Herod's great fortresses, Masada. Today it is one of Israel's "must-see" places. It was most gorgeous and with the absolute best view you could think of. Over looking a valley, the Dead Sea, and other mountains, this great fortress stood 1300 feet high. It, Masada, holds a great story that I will not go into, but highly encourage you to read up on it.  You can do that here or here.

 Floating in the Dead Sea. Did you know that the Dead Sea is the absolute lowest place on planet earth? It is nearly 1400 ft below sea level. 

 Don't we look silly? We had to prove that you can actually float, surely enough, you can:)

Those white puffs that look like sea coral are salt deposits, boy are they ever sharp! 

 At Qumran, the cave behind was one of the caves where they discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls.