The White Desert

This was an amazing trip. It was only 2 days long, but really cool and laid back. Basically we set out in a van to an Oasis and then jumped in an all terrain jeep driven by a local Bedouin. Then Saule (the driver) drove like a madman through the desert; quite possibly the best part of the trip. You bounce around while the driver either shifts the jeep on the sand or drives at about 100km per hour around rock formation obstacles. I felt a little like I was part of an Indiana Jones movie. Throughout the trip we made pitstops at different areas like the black desert, crystal mountain, the mushrooms, and the white desert where we camped out for the evening. Saule made us one of the best meals ever! We brought a couple bottles of Vodka with us and played cards, traipsed around the surreal landscape, and then slept out under the stars. It was amazing! At night, when I went to find a spot to pee I kept hearing all these little howling noises which turned out to be desert foxes, one of which tried to sneak into our camp and steal our marshmallows. Anyway, the pictures are way better than anything I could really tell you about the trip. But really, you just had to be there.

This is some of us inside the jeep getting ready to take off.

Another picture of the Jeep.

Pretty desert scene at the beginning of our adventure.

The Black Desert. Basically a big Mountain covered in some kind of volcanic rock. No worries Mark, I saved you few pieces :)

More of the black desert.

Me being a dork.

Amazing view from standing on top of the mountain. Our jeep is just a tiny spec in the distance.

Part of Crystal Mountain. Basically it's a big rock completely covered with quartz.

When we rolled up to this spectacular view Paul and I had the insane urge to start humming the theme to Star Wars.

Rock that looks like a wave...you can see Faye taking a little snooze inside.

The mushrooms. This is what the white desert is covered in, strange white rock formations. The rock is made of chalk and is eroded by the wind into strange shapes.

White desert landscape.

Really amazing view of a mushroom.

How's is it standing like that? Pretty neat, huh?

Since the white stuff is chalk, you can do fun stuff like this.

And this is where we camped, right next to the jeep. Some friends claim the rock on the right looks like George Washington, but I'm more apt to think it looks like a goat or something...you be the judge.

I'm really excited about our vacation trip to Alexandria and Siwa at the beginning of December. Siwa is supposed to be gorgeous so I'm looking forward to getting some more pretty photos. Unfortunately I'm on the run...I get to fill out progress reports today. Ugh.