Twelve hours to Istanbul, a four-hour layover, then five hours to Almaty, Kazakhstan. Departure at 9:00 p.m. Friday and arrival at 5:00 a.m. Sunday. This better be good.

Our first week will look something like this, with probably five days in Kazakhstan, followed by our first two nights in Kyrgyzstan, where we’ll spend the remainder of our three weeks:

Actual temperatures, precipitation, and Geiger counter readings will vary even more as we take trips to a canyon and mountain lakes. We’ll be layered af.