Mom Says I’m Running Away

Day: 275

Today is our first day in a week that we haven’t had to pack up our bags and move on to somewhere new, although with the insane afternoon sandstorms we ended up huddled in our ger for a few hours anyhow. The break was exceptionally deserved after what the morning did to my ass.

The morning, before the winds set in, was filled with a couple hours of riding an angry, stinky, camel through the scorching sun. It is almost as fun as it sounds.

In the evening a pair of German girls found us in our ger, and after a sorrowful tale of their escapades of broken car stuck in the middle of the desert and a pissed off driver we all agreed to let them tag along (sharing some of the cost of our tour price!) with us for the next few days on our way back towards Ulaan Bataar. The Russian pimp-mobile is going to be crowded.

GPS 43’49.415 (N) 102’23.489’ (E)

Day: 274

The Mongolian population doesn’t actually believe in roads of any sort, everyone is just required to have four wheel drive then plow through the countryside creating fresh tracks. About half the time we are driving along with absolutely no road of any sort, and the other half of the time we are in the tracks that were created a few days before by the last bunch of tourists in a 4×4.

From time to time, our driver will pull over at some random ger, mumble at us in Mongolian then go inside for 10 minutes (I assume he’s having a cup of tea). He’ll then come out with a smile on his face, jump in the front seat and point off in the distance at some hill, herd of goats or vast expanse of nothingness and happily tool away with us in a new direction. A very interesting way to travel.

After five or six hours piled in our van, we made it to the base of Khongoryn Els (Some giant sand dunes) where we found another Ger camp to sleep in. Tomorrow is camel riding through the dunes!

GPS 43’49.415 (N) 102’23.489’ (E)

Day: 273

-Went to an ice filled valley in the middle of the sweltering desert where we got slightly lost and turned a three hour hike into five. We ran out of water and never got to eat luch. When we got back to our Russian jalopy, we found our driver unconcernedly sleeping in the back of the van.

-Visited Bayanzag (i.e. The Flaming Cliffs) to take a few pictures. Fortunately we were running late so the sun was low in the sky, hence making the cliffs “flame”. Reminded me of Utah a bit, come to think of it, much of the Gobi reminds me of Utah. Dinosaur bones everywhere, harsh summers and freezing winters, and endless desert.

-Found an awesome campsite in the middle of a Saxual forest, set up our tents and started making dinner. Only to find we were sitting in the middle of a Giant Tick breeding ground. Tucked in pants and shirts became a must to fight off the largest ticks I have ever seen. Searched myself a few times, after the small one I picked up in Calilegua National Park in Argentina I really don’t feel like having an insect burrowed in my skin again for a while.

GPS 44’8.311 (N) 103’43.667 (E)