camping in the desert

i went on a great trip this weekend to the desert. about 2 hrs north of khartoum..on the north road (the one paved road that goes north) and then off the paved road out into the desert.

i traveled with the running group (the hash) and about 45 other campers. it was so great to get out of the city...fresh air...quiet and the natural world. its was also pretty cool to just drive out and park and camp in the desert. (we had to go through a check point but had not problems. initially some folks from our group were worried about getting through because we don't have local travel permits..although i do have a multi-entry permit to leave and come to sudan for the next year..i don't yet have one to travel w/in Sudan. Yet traveling in the north is not an issue so it didn't matter.

we had a few adventures along the way. the original camping spot we wanted to go to was blocked by a new trench being built ...it cut across the desert and since we didn't know how long it would take to get around it we turned around to go to a different place.
then someones car got stuck (twice!) (the one 2 wheel drive car in the caravan) so we all pushed, shoveled and got them out of the dried riverbed slippery sand they were stuck in.

i was in a car with a south african couple, around my parents age, with 2 other teachers. the ride alone was so much fun because they were talking care of us alike we were there own children. they were feeding us and looking out for us it was like we formed a little family in their truck

we got to our campground just before nightfall and quickly put up tents. i slept outside under the stars and the full moon! we were up late talking, eating and dancing!

in the morning i got up w/ few other teachers to watch the sunrise. ahhh..just thinking about it now makes me miss it. i want to go camping every weekend!!

we went on a morning walk/hike over some of the little mountains around us.
the desert is a part of the sahara and has these amazing rock formations. they look like volcanic rocks and there were also crystals and geodes everywhere. pink, white and clear ones.

we also saw a few camels and some folks herding goats.

enjoy the pictures and movies.