Huskers in Delhi

It never occurred to me that I might run into someone from my home town in the middle of New Delhi, but that’s exactly what happened.

While hanging out and chatting with folks at the Madpacker’s Hostel in New Delhi I heard that someone else staying there was from Nebraska.

We didn’t get a chance to meet until the next morning at breakfast, and I could barely believe it. Not only was Emily from Nebraska, but from Omaha. We also graduated high school the same year and have literally a hundred mutual friends on Facebook.

I guess the world is a bit smaller than I thought! Sometimes you have to go around the world to meet someone from your home town!

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Ladakh

Before my sister Patty invited me to join her in Ladakh, I knew nothing about the region of India. After spending a couple weeks in Himalayan former kingdom, I can say it is one of the most beautiful places I have been.

Walking in the Himalayas

We flew into Leh, the largest city in the region, and spend some time acclimatizing to the altitude. After the threat of altitude sickness was behind us, we spent time getting to know the city and learning more about the people and culture.

In addition to Leh, we spent time in small village home-stays.

The highlight of the the trip was spending three days in a home on Pangong Lake. Pangong Lake is a long lake that is partially in India and partially in Tibet. The elevation is a wheeze inducing 14,000 feet.

Chilling by the Pangong Lake

In addition to taking in the stunning lake views, on one day we went on a 20 km hike. We experience just about every season: from heat to wind to snow.

My fellow hikers bundled up against the wind and cold

After leaving Ladakh, I can say with confidence that I will return again to explore more of the mountain kingdom.

San Fran

I didn’t leave my heart in San Francisco, but I did have a heck of a great time!

In San Francisco, I stayed stayed at a really fun hostel. If you aren’t familiar, a hostel is a cross between a hotel and a dormitory.

Hostels are used mostly by travelers and I met some great people and made friends from all over the world!

The number one thing I wanted to do while in San Francisco was see some Redwoods trees at Meir Woods. It was an amazing experience!

I also had a chance to see the Bay Bridge and walk it!

The few days I spent in San Fran were definitely worth it! I’m looking forward to visiting the city again sometime soon!

Taking a Trip!

Hummel Day Camp is once again in the rear view mirror and the all the mud has almost washed out of my clothes. This summer was certainly one for the books! We had a phenomenal crew of counselors who worked hard and played hard.

The Hummel Crew after the mud obstacle course.

The next big adventure for me is doing some world traveling! My first big stop is Ladakh, India to hang with my older sister Patty. Ladakh is mountain region in the north of India and its name means “the land of high passes”. And when they say high, they mean it. For example, the Leh-Manali highway tops out at over 17,000 ft. Hopefully hiking the hills in Omaha will have prepared my lungs enough.

After Ladakh, I’m going to spend a little time in New Delhi then head to Europe. There I plan to meet up with some camp friends and see see sights. In addition to other countries, I’m going to spend some time in the Czech Republic visiting the some areas that my relatives immigrated from. Who knows, maybe I’ll run into a long lost cousin and be able to buy them a beer.

I am going to be keep this blog to update my friend and family. If you have any recommendations of places to visit in India or Europe, I would love if you sent them my way!