The Great Wall

We journeyed on the train to the Great Wall.

Since we had to sit on the floor of the train, Milo decided he looked better in soft focus for this photo. 

It was raining. Which was preferable to the hot weather option. 

And it gave me a reason to wear my purple poncho. 

Milo found a Subway Sandwiches of all things. He was the only one brave enough to eat there. Well and this one other guy: 

Full stomach and rain jacket ready for the climb. 

This was but a small preview of what awaited us. 

And So We begin...

My goal. Milo didn't approve.  

This was his counter offer.  

And So We walked...

The views were vast and beautiful and an excellent example of "monocular cues" used both in visual art and my psychology class: texture, overlap, shading, height, and clarity.

Milo's tower is not far off now. 

Mine, on the other hand is still a distance away.

We arrive at tower four, Milo's choice for our stopping point. The view cannot be done justice by a photo but here's a glimpse: 

Milo tries to talk me out of persevering. He even tries being cute. 

You can see the long section of the wall that we would NOT be walking. This did help me leverage the eighth tower as a far more humble goal. 

This will serve as a placeholder until I can upload the video of Milo climbing the final approach to the eighth tower. Hint: he's not smiling in the video. 

On top of the eighth tower. But this isn't the last fearsome feat to overcome on this journey. 

This will serve as a placeholder until I can upload the video of our journey back down the mountain in a suspended cable car. In the video you can hear us screaming. In fear or delight. Unsure. 

We missed our train back to Beijing because the trains run on different schedules on opposite days. After an additional two hour wait, we were lucky to gets seats this time. Milo was exhausted. And the mountains were wild and disappearing into the fog and dark. 

Good night Great Wall. 

Good night wild northern China.