The Beacon#6
PETRA, JORDAN, AND THE DEAD SEA
The Brief
This is an expedition for 15 people whose souls are eager to say yes to adventure.
Our 10-Day Deployment
Amman / Dana / Petra / Wadi Rum / Dead Sea- 01APRIL 15
Fly Out
Wheels up from home.
Departure - 02APRIL 16
Arrive Amman
Land in Amman. Airport pickup, group check-in, and a quiet first night to shake off the flight.
Basecamp - 03APRIL 17
Amman + Souk
Wander the old city, citadel, and Roman theater. Head to the souk together to pick out your shmagh — the scarf you'll wear every day on the trail. Group dinner.
Amman - 04APRIL 18-22
Dana → Petra Trek
Five days hiking 14–17km through some of the most dramatic landscapes on earth. Bags carried camp to camp by the Bedouin crew.
Wild Camp - 05APRIL 23
Petra, Back Door
Every tourist enters through the Siq. We enter through the mountains — Monastery first, down through tombs and temples to the Treasury. You'll earn that view.
Rose City - 06APRIL 24
Wadi Rum
4x4 jeep safari through red sand. Ancient inscriptions, dunes, the most dramatic sunset you've ever seen. Bedouin camp under the stars.
The Void - 07APRIL 25
Dead Sea + Amman
Float in water so salty it's effortless. Dead Sea mud. Closing group dinner in Amman.
Debrief - 08APRIL 26
Fly Home
Different person than the one who left.
Return
Included
- —9 nights — hotels, wilderness camps, Bedouin camps
- —Most meals: 8 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 7 dinners
- —2 group dinners in Amman
- —Licensed English-speaking guide
- —Bedouin support crew + luggage transfers on trail
- —Wadi Rum 4x4 jeep safari
- —Dead Sea visit (Bring a bathing suit!)
- —Jordan Pass (visa + Petra entrance)
- —All ground transport + airport transfers
- —Travel insurance
- —Group shmagh from the Amman souk
- —Custom numbered art piece
On you
- —Flights to / from Amman
- —Tips (bring $150–200 cash — part of the experience)
- —Hiking gear and clothing
- —Alcohol
- —Personal expenses and souvenirs
$4,000
Guides, rooms, excursions, boats. You pay for flights and tips.
A high-quality coffee table art book of the expedition, customized and shipped after the trip. Optional.
When they're gone, they're gone.
Who's going?
- A person who says yes to possibility.
- People who can hike 9 miles a day and laugh about it at camp.
- The kind who want a high return on everything, including the things you can't measure.
- Those who are curious about other cultures.
- Folks who travel light and leave camp better than they found it.
- Anyone looking for a luxury resort, a spa day, or a pool float.
- People who need wifi at dinner and a hot shower every night.
- Travelers who complain about the food, the heat, or the walk.
- Anyone who can't unplug from the inbox for nine days.
Who is Alex.
"Life is a grand adventure."
I deeply believe that most people have adventure in their soul but it's hidden away in a dark cave hoping for a sliver of light to show them the way out.
Besides being a world-class photographer, a veteran, and having a superpower for putting future friends in a room together I have this deep desire to shine a light on dark caves hoping for adventurous souls to leap out and join me.
01 / Portrait
02 / Iceland
03 / Peru
04 / KenyaPrevious adventures
Guatemala
Volcanoes + Lake Atitlán
Peru
Sacred Valley + Machu Picchu
AUSTIN WORKSHOPS X 3
Local Beacon Series
What people say after.
From the field"The trip was extraordinary. Of all the manifold aspects of the trip, I found the people, conversations, connections, and atmosphere of laughter and kinship to be my favorite parts. It was a masterpiece of execution, my friend. You truly have a gift."
JD Schultz·Beacon · Peru"Hands-down, one of the best if not the best trip I've been on for a multitude of reasons."
Michelle·Beacon · Peru"So now that you’ve had time to reflect, what did you think about Peru? It was magical. I honestly wouldn’t have picked it in 50 years of traveling but it was my favorite trip I’ve ever taken"
MEGAN·BEACON · PERULet me give you my art
You will get no shortage of digital images. We will meet ahead of the event to help you pack a wardrobe that makes you become art within the landscape. I'm giving everyone a special token to signify the trip. and I'm offering an optional coffee table photo book as physical art.
01 / Photos & Video
I'll photograph and film the entire expedition. You'll receive a full gallery of high-resolution images and video of you in the landscape.
02 / Wardrobe Prep
A prep guide and session before the trip to help choose your outfits — colors and textures that play with the desert palette so every frame works.
03 / Coffee Table Photobook
An individualized, high-quality coffee table photobook built around you. Touchable art for your home — not a slideshow buried on a hard drive.
04 / A TOKEN
A curated, one-of-a-kind object specific for this trip — created for and given only to the 15 people on this expedition.
Explore past galleries
Apply for a spot.
This will be oversubscribed.
Chosen seats are given based on the best dynamic I think the totality of people will create.
This means people who I truly love and are a perfectly good fit will apply but not be able to come. I apologize in advance.
Have an invite code?
Enter it here to confirm your seat.
The practical stuff.
Is this refundable/transferable?+
This is NOT refundable. It IS transferable as long as the person the ticket is transferred to is approved by Alex through the same process that everyone else goes through.
Are the dates locked in?+
As of right now (July 2026) the dates are subject to small movements (1 or 2 days) as we lock in hotels and the tour company. If you purchase tickets and the dates change in a way that is no longer agreeable, you will get a refund.
Who else is coming?+
Part of the magic of these groups is that you trust me to put a perfect group of people together. These groups are attended by business owners, investors, and most will be veterans. I try to create a group with a large variation of different perspectives and experiences.
Is this a business?+
No, I really want to travel the world. I'm willing to do a TON of work to share my adventures and my photography skills with friends. This is an epic trip I want to go on, and we are going to do it together. I do this once a year, I don't have an LLC for this, and I will not be getting business insurance. There's a margin between your cost and the hard cost — that gives me a small safety net for surprises on the ground and a little motivation for the significant work of setting this up. This would be a terrible business model.
Safety, Insurance, Visas, Passports, Food restrictions?+
I recommend you get your own travel insurance for health and safety. You will need a Visa to get into Jordan (I am setting this up and it's included in your cost). You obviously need a passport. I can find out about food restrictions if anyone who joins has any. As for safety, I have two thoughts on this: 1) We are going to a very safe tourist area that just happens to be in the middle east, and people get a bit weird about the middle east but it'll be fine. 2) Jordan is bordered with Israel which definitely has parts that are an active war zone and who knows what it's going to be like next year, that's why it's called an adventure. I'm sure you can get a VR device to show you what Petra is like if you want to stay in your safe little bubble.
How do you decide who gets to come?+
Vibes. I pick who would be enjoyable to spend 10 days walking and talking with, who would make a good impression on my other friends, is easy to travel with, has a lot of YES in their soul, can appreciate a bit of my artistic contributions, and has low expectations.