Tired of the dust and palpable fear of Kabul, three of my friends and I decided to take a day trip to Salang in August.
Solmaz Khorsand, Massoud Hossaini and Zach Rosenberg relaxing at a rest stop in Parwan. August 2010
A Soviet-built gallery near the Salang Tunnel. August 2010.
Massoud stands on a rock on the Salang River. August 2010.
Salang. Bright and bleak, and so high it feels disconnected from the rest of the world entirely. August 2010.
Solmaz and Zach relax with some tea at a roadside restaurant in Salang. August 2010.
Wolesi Jirga election posters galore, including this one for a female candidate from Parwan. August 2010.
A cold, windswept place where the earth meets the sky. August 2010.
The obligatory stop for bolani (fried dough stuffed with potatoes and spices) on the side of the road between Charikar and Kabul. August 2010.
One day, perhaps sooner than anyone can imagine, foreigners will no longer be able to travel the roads outside of Kabul, and the breathtaking country outside the capital districts will become nothing more than red “no-go” zones on office security maps in the expatriate imagination. What a tragedy that will be.
Transitionland 
It was a really great trip that we had. I hope we do it again with all friends. Afghanistan is on her way to get the freedom and all foreginers who help Afghanistan will be hero in our history. Thank you all.