Here we are, Day 6! It’s amazing to think of all we’ve seen so far and all we’ve yet to see! I have 5 more days of exploring and I am still stoked!

We first visited Beit She’an, where King Saul’s and his sons’ corpses were hung from the walls (1 Samuel 31:10).

It is one of the ten cities of the Decapolis and offered some great insight into Roman life! (Joshua 17:11; 1 Kings 4:12; 1 Chronicles 7:29)

For example, did you know bathhouses back then were alike to modern-day pubs? It’s where the men gathered, shared stories, gossiped, etc. The Roman version of the Old Boys club.

These ruins were the most intact of the ones we’ve seen thus far, so less imagination had to be used to get a feel for what the city looked like.

See that hill? That’s called a “tel”, which in Hebrew means “mound with ruins”.

Typically, when taken over by different groups, the new properties would just be built on top of the old ones, creating these layers of history and ultimately these tels.

Here, instead of building the city on top of the ruins, used it as a place to build a temple to worship pagan gods.

See that little stairway going up? You bet I climbed that.

It was a doozy, but it was worth it for this view from the top! It was magnificent now, so imagine what the sight would look like with everything built up! Even so, thank goodness following Jesus doesn’t require me hauling sacrifices up to high places such as these!

Here is evidence of an earthquake that broke up the road and knocked down the columns.

Here we are, sitting on the toilets in the unisex, public bathroom.

Talk about awkward, Romans!

We did a whole lot of walking and man, did the sun beat down. You know you’ve worked up a good sweat and a really red face when several people ask you if you’re okay after all is said and done.

Welcome to my world, ladies and gents.

We then drove to the West Bank, in Palestine and into Jericho! Here is all that remains of the ancient ruins, buried underneath a tel.

Here is a sycamore tree, the type Zaccheaus climbed up to see Jesus walking by! (Luke 19:4)

Here was our stop for lunch! Lamb and some more hummus was to be had, along with Turkish coffee and bananas for dessert!

We had some furry guests, keeping us company as we ate.

On our way through, we stopped at a gas station for a camel ride, of all things!

Funnily enough, I made a bucket list back in high school and can you guess what was one of the items? Yep, riding a camel!

Video evidence!

It’s crazy to think of sitting atop one of these beasts as one traveled for hundreds of miles! This was not only a mode of transportation, but a costly one!

Here is Mt. Nebo, where God brought Moses to see the Promised Land he was not to enter. What’s crazy is he saw as far as Dan, where we were only a few days ago! (Deuteronomy 34:1)

Our next stop was Ein Gedi, where David hid from Saul (1 Samuel 24) and wrote Psalm 57 and 142.

There was a trail that Itai gave us the option to do because it was an uphill climb the entire way.

What did I say? Challenge accepted!

He wasn’t kidding though. Between the heat and the steep stone steps (day that five times fast!), it was a workout. It reminded me a lot of my hike in Yosemite.

There were three waterfalls along the hike and we saw…

1…

…2…

(pause for a photo break)

…3!

If it was work for us to meander our way through, I can’t imagine how hard it was for Saul and his 3,000 men. David sure didn’t want to be found, I can assure you.

#ChacoSquad for life.

When we finally made our way down, we could see our next destination in the distance: the Dead Sea!

Here is an acacia tree along the trail, which was used to build different parts of the tabernacle, including the ark of the covenant! (Exodus 25:10)

First though, we checked in to our hotel for the night.

Another bucket list item was ready to be checked off: swim in the Dead Sea!

Guys.

I know words can’t really explain just how buoyant you are when in the Dead Sea, but what everyone says is true. You become UNNATURALLY buoyant. Like, sit cross-legged with ease and have a hard time standing up kind of buoyant. So surreal and so fun!

On the bottom are chunks of salt. Some people in our group fished out chunks as large as golf balls!

Since you don’t want the water in your eyes (33% salt concentration, to be compared with Utah’s Salt Lake at 14%), we had to fish them out with our toes. This was my catch.

Also, #protip: don’t shave the day of and be wary of any cuts/scrapes when entering The Dead Sea.

I gouged my heel as I dismounted the camel, thus had a chunk of exposed skin upon approach (I’ll spare those of you with more sensitive dispositions pictures of the injury).

Boy, I wish I could explain the severity of the pain I experienced once my feet entered the water. Whew. I’m working up a sweat just thinking about it. I think I scared a few of my groupmates with my reactionary groaning. Plus though, I think the minerals help with hurrying the healing process!

Today’s travels included:

-Beit She’an

-Jericho

-Ein Gedi

-The Dead Sea

P.S. Happy Father’s Day to my dad! Love you, daddio!