Camels and Cliffs -- 8/5

Out first adventure today was breakfast. This camp has had the best meals so far, but today was odd. We got two little oblong slices of rolled up scrambled egg. It looked like the eggs had been sauteed like a crepe, rolled, flattened, and sliced. They might have been great when they were hot, but not so much tepid. Along side the egg, was a nicely sauteed hot dog, which I initially thought was a sausage. No such luck. I wonder what dinner will be??

Camel herder family - the boy on the left is a nephew, the others are sons.

Then we took the bus to a visit to a camel-herding family. We started out in their ger, where we were served camel milk yogurt and fermented milk. Both were very sour and I would lose a lot of weight if that were the limits of my diet! Fortunately, they did not offer us the dried yogurt chips that have been an untasty staple of our other visits. This family, with 2 boys, ages 12 & 8 and another on the way in 2 months, was hit hard by three bad winters a couple years ago, which killed off most of their herds. They used to have 1,000 livestock in goats, sheep, and camels, and now they have 15 camels. They moved to town for a year to make money, but didn't like the lifestyle, so they are back in the desert trying to make a go with camels.

Lynn on  a camel

Jim (right) and Bob hoofing it up the dunes. They were so hard, it wasn't tough to do.

They supplement their income with visits like ours, giving camel rides, and selling souvenirs made with felt and camel fur. We got a short ride on the two-humped bactrian camel, which are easier to ride than the one hump kind because you ride in a saddle with stirrups positioned between the humps. Then we took a walk up the sand dues behind their ger. This area is one of only a few places in the Gobi with actual sand dunes.

Back in the bus (which, I might add, is devoid of A/C, a functioning ventilation system, or even windows that open, making it  the sauna bus), we headed to Bayanzag, also known as the Flaming Cliffs. It was given that name by an American archaeologist who found dinosaur bones and eggs there in the 1920s. It is reminiscent of Zion or Bryce National Parks with less stability and grandeur.  It is actively eroding and Billy says it looks different every time he sees it. It was a welcome change from the featureless desert, and we wandered around for about an hour.

Bayanzag (The Flaming Cliffs)

I also had a new experience. There is no potty on the bus, and I have always considered myself lucky to be able to avoid watering the steppe like everyone else has had to do on our visit here. Today my luck ran out and with very short vegetation and a lot of visitors,  I was challenged to find a spot private enough. As we started down a gully, a bus load of people pulled away, increasing the privacy quotient, and I spied a 2-foot high bush and fertilized the area. I am hoping that this is a one-time opportunity!

We didn't find any dinosaur bones on our exploration (if we did, we didn't know it), but we did add to our rock and sand collection.On the way back to camp after lunch at another ger camp, we came across a plot of land actually being used to grow vegetables,  an unusual occupation here. The water source was a large spring with a couple kids playing in the mud nearby.

Tonight, we pack up to begin our journey home, a three day trip. First to UB, then a day to Beijing, and finally back to the US. I'm not sure there is a lot we missed here, except maybe visiting the areas that were home to Genghis Kahn, but it has been great learning about this country and its scenery.