This is my entry in this week’s Photo Friday photo challenge. The topic is Far From Home.

The furthest I have ever been from home was when I went to Turkey in May, 2001 on vacation with my mom, aunt, uncle, and two other couples who were friends of theirs. It was a wonderful trip - friendly people, great food, beautiful artwork and textiles. We had a wonderful time.

According to this site, it’s 5,282 miles from home in Virginia to Istanbul, Turkey.

One day we toured Ephesus, an ancient city near the southwest coast. This is a photo of the Ephesus Library. Archaeologists believe it was completed in the year 117.

This is a closeup of a statue in a niche to the right of the entrance to the library.

This is my entry in the Photo Friday challenge for this week: Infinity. This photo was taken from the top of Maeve’s Tomb in County Sligo, Ireland when Dan and I visited there in 2003. It was a breezy day and a stray hair blew across the lens just as I was taking the photo, so that’s what that is, not some kind of weird colorless rainbow

And those little black specks in the field are cows. Ireland is filled with cows and sheep. Pork is eaten everywhere, but I never saw pigs out and about, just cows and sheep.

This is my submission for the Photo Friday challenge for this week: Friend.

Barbara and I went to visit Liz, who was living in Fort Collins, CO, for two months, working on her Ph.D. While there, we took a horseback ride to the Continental Divide, 8,400 feet up. Great fun

This was the view behind us:

We’re planning a trip to the Grand Canyon this fall. Here are some useful links:

General park info: Grand Canyon
Pink Jeep Tours: Grand Canyon Deluxe Tour
Weather: in the Grand Canyon
Lodging: At the south rim

We’ve decided to do a package tour, so here’s the deal:

• Best Western Inn of Sedona
• Pink Jeep Tours, Grand Canyon Deluxe