Think Spring! Labyrinth Canyon by Kayak

Labyrinth Canyon is a graceful float through a bounty of southwestern vistas and red sandstone cliffs.  Spectacular buttes and mesas rise over 1,500 feet above the river floor. This trip is perfect for paddling your own sleek kayak or sharing a two-person kayak with a friend. Because few people travel here, Labyrinth Canyon is the perfect trip for those who want a quiet getaway.
This 60-mile river journey begins near the town of Green River, Utah, where the Green River flows gracefully into Labyrinth Canyon, the longest stretch of undammed flat water in the Southwest. The river progresses slowly through white, yellow, brown and red canyon walls with hairpin switchbacks accented by towering buttes and mesas rising 1,500 feet above the river.  Labyrinth Canyon’s walls are cut with long side canyons, where guests of all skill levels can explore and ponder ancient Indian writings and trapper’s inscriptions. 
My guides are naturalists with great depths of knowledge about the history, geology, wildlife, and legends of the canyon.  They know the ‘secret’ places that only exploration and experience reveals, and they share it all, connecting you to this incredible country. Take out for this trip is at the Mineral Bottom Ranger Station.
Each evening, camp is established on the riverbank.  While you explore and relax, the guides set up chairs and the kitchen, where they prepare fresh, delicious, abundant meals. The clean air amplifies a vibrant blue sky, creating a perfect environment for hikes and unparalleled photographic opportunities. 
Time is set aside for hiking to geological and historical sites including Ancient Pueblo ruins and petroglyphs.  Each day as evening yields to night, the sun melts from the sky and is replaced by a vivid star show that enhances the evolving conversations you will share with your friends, family and the guides.
No prior experience is necessary, as touring kayaks are easy to paddle, comfortable to travel in and very stable. Your guides will be instructing and encouraging you from their own kayaks and you’ll be maneuvering your sleek craft like a pro in no time.  You can have your own kayak or explore the river with a friend in a two-person kayak.

Ikats- Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats

FROM- The Textile Museum Washington DC, exhibition features a selection of the Central Asian ikats given to The Textile Museum by collector Murad Megalli, on view for the first time ever.
On my must do list in Istanbul was source out the best Ikat shop in the Grand Bazaar; over the years, I’ve collected pages of Ikat designs, the fabric is just beginning to reach retail stores here…one needed to travel or if lucky, find vintage ikat or suzani fabric in chic antique stores; needless to say, almost impossible to locate here. The DC Textile Museum is also on my list prior to the close in March 2011. I brought home over 10 yards of Ikat fabric, rolled into my suitcase.
From the museum description: In the streets of Central Asian oasis towns, a man’s clothing defined his status in society and proclaimed his wealth. In the home, the place of honor was filled with the richest ikat textiles. Many family ceremonies were celebrated in surroundings made beautiful with textiles. Ikats display Central Asian artists’ and weavers’ attention to the harmony between design, color and execution in order to create their master works.
Nineteenth-century Central Asian ikats are distinguished by bold, original designs using vibrant colors and are prized for their great beauty. These textiles derive their name from the technique used to create them, wherein bundled warps—and sometimes also the wefts—are bound and dyed several times before weaving, resulting in eye-catching designs in dazzling colors. Today the influence of ikat designs can be seen in contemporary fashion and home décor.
Ikat is explored through a number of different lenses, including; the social importance of garments made from ikat fabric, the placement of ikat designs in the larger Central Asian context, the relationship between different ikat fabrics, the designs and construction of the garments, and the revitalization of the technique in Uzbekistan.
 Ikat