I am going to try to get this down before we fly off in less than 48 hours. The kids and I left early Thursday morning for the 6 hour drive to Jebel Shams, the highest peak in the region and location of the 3rd largest canyon in the world. Jessica opted to travel with her friends Sarah and Adam Allam. We were in a long caravan of SUVs with pink sticky notes in our rear windows. One fun thing to note: this is the first time the girls had camera phones of their own to add to the documentation. There are way more fun shots than I normally get. Soooo many selfies.
We ate lunch at the top and took a long picture break before starting back down. We got back right as the sun was setting. A full ten hours. I wore my fitbit which tracks stair cases. At the end of the day it said we climbed 382 floors which I believe because somehow, it's very good at elevation. It said 14.5 miles, but about that one I am skeptical because it's just counting steps and hiking steps on uneven surfaces are certainly much different than normal walking/running. We got back and ate dinner and then put on lots of layers as the temp dropped low with the departed sun. We huddled around a big fire for awhile. Someone asked what time it was--I was going to guess sometime after 10, but no. It was 6:45! Ha ha. We all turned in earlier than I ever remember for a campout. I was in bed before 7:30. Oh, and I slept better than I ever had before on a campout. 18 months ago when we first came here was my worst sleeping. Can you imagine being comfortable on those rocks? Well this time we brought the huge two foot tall airmatress and with great difficulty, stuffed it into our tent. ahhhh. Makenna and I cuddled up together despite our socks, pants, 2-3 shirts, hats and hoods and sleeping bags. Jessica was in her green tent sleeping on the big blue and white pillow. She reported being more comfortable than before too. Isaac shared a tent with two new boys, brothers. They are another consulate family. 15 year old quadruplets 2 boys (one mentally handicapped) and 2 identical twin girls, and then they have another 13 year old boy. The twin girls were also on the campout because the girl scouts had joined us. There are 4 families that have kids in both groups.
Makenna added the cloud shots.
We saw a lot of this.
We saw this sign a bit after we saw literally hundreds of camels, obviously a camel farm.
One of the forts we passed on the way.
Looking at the beginning of the hike.
We left just after sunrise.
We had to follow the flags. Can you spot two in this shot? There were a few times we got off track for a bit and had to back track to find the flag trail again.
The goats were a bigger problem by day. The few people who stayed back at camp reported having to constantly chase them away from cars, table tops and nosing around the tents.
A lizard! We saw lots of these, a few hawks and a few goats out on the long hike.
This is at the halfway point.
This is a shorter hike than Pikes Peak, by a good 10 miles (when comparing round trips), but I think this one is actually more challenging simply because of the terrain. There are no lovely well traveled dirt trails. The rocks are often loose and almost always sharp, so you don't want to use your hands to help scramble.
There were a very few non spiky plants, but I found this pretty little one.
Adam and Jessica capturing the canyon.
We made it!!!
How awesome is this shot?
Did I mention there are spiky plants?? These were the worst. Jess called out for help the second night. I pulled one of the suckers out of her tennis shoe, with blood on the tip.
That tree is full of the spikes.
Stick bug
Yup, the donkey was still there and loved to hang out at our camp, especially at night.
Okay, now we have broken camp and driven to the rim walk. The goats were everywhere and a bit aggressive. I left my driver door open for a second as I pulled Jessica's camelback out for her and the goat ate a paper I had stuck in the door. Good thing the passports were in a thick baggie and harder to get.
Jess added another.
The abandoned houses.
This is out of order. These are the few that are left to do the rim walk.
Attempt at farming. wow. I don't see anything edible growing here.
You can see where the water falls and if you look close, see the cistern to catch it.
Driving home. National Day is a couple days. Driving through Al Ain (city of a thousand round abouts) we saw so many fancy lit up decorations.
No comments:
Post a Comment