On our Israel tours, we say we go places that other tours don’t go. And sometimes we get stuck.
We were hoping to see El Araj, one of the two sites currently vying to be identified as the biblical Bethsaida but there had been an unusually excessive (for May) amount of rain. But John DeLancey pushed the bus out of the mud and we were on our way.
We awoke to a beautiful day along the Sea of Galilee.
Each of our cabins has a beautiful view of the lake. (The Sea of Galilee is also known as Lake Kinneret.)
The wilderness east of Jerusalem is a harsh and foreboding land, as we found out on Day 5. But first we stopped at the world’s oldest city, Jericho.
The stone tower of Jericho, what some have called the first skyscraper in the world, built early in Jericho’s 9,000-year history. Later levels of occupation covered it.
The Dead Sea is a desert among water bodies, the most unusual lake in the world. Its surface is 1400 feet below sea level, and the water is almost 10 times as salty as the oceans.
The view from our oasis as a new day dawns. A truck drives toward bedouin villages.
The desert is a special place in the biblical story, and in Israel, as we found out on this day.
We started out day walking past the tamarisk tree to the ruins of Tel Beersheva.
The Shephelah is the foothill region of Israel, between the coastal plain and the Judean hills. In ancient times it was the border between the Israelites and the Philistines, so it has a number of sites of archaeological interest.
“Here’s the Shephelah,” says our co-leader, Dr. John DeLancey of Biblical Israel Ministries and Tours. We’re actually at the site of Gezer, an important Old Testament city that changed hands several times and was presented as a wedding gift to King Solomon by the Pharaoh of Egypt.
Waking up in a hotel on a Mediterranean shore is a great way to start a vacation.
View from the hotel on the morning of the first day of our Israel trip in May, 2018: The Tel Aviv beach and the ancient city of Joppa in the distance.
The Prairie du Chien Rendezvous is a modern celebration of the historic event that drew Indians, trappers, and traders to the confluence of the Wisconsin River for many years in the late 18th and early 19th century. Every few years it draws me back, this year with my son Drew and granddaughter Eden.
First stop was the Shadewald Mound group on a small hill near Muscoda with a spectacular view of the Wisconsin River Valley.
The last Saturday in April found me awaiting the start of the annual Crazylegs Run on the capitol square, an 8k route (5 miles).
5:45am, I walked out the front door and set out on my journey.
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