Our "hotel"::

Sandstorm in the Gobi::

We arrived in the Gobi Desert yesterday morning where the only pavement we saw was the run-way….Our jeep immediately pulled onto a dirt road where we arrived at our lodge 1.5 hours later. It was a very bumpy ride! We stayed at Three Camel Lodge and had a beautiful ger with a bathroom attached. Showers are at the main lodge though. En route we saw herds of camels and wild horses. Many flocks of sheep goats and cattle. There were many miles of wide-open spaces with nothing and suddenly you would see a pack of animals. Our first day was very very windy and we decided to go to the sand dunes. We arrived back at the lodge to a great dinner. Kim had a late night massage that was great- I was a little concerned as it only cost 35.00 for an hour BUT it was one of the best massages I ever had. Then off to sleep in our beautiful gers to the fantastic silence and darkness.

Andrei and Dylan at the National Park:: 

Jess and Jack::

The Kipps at the Flaming Cliffs::

Our stop at the Camel herders::

We awoke the next day to a drive to the national park, where we hiked and enjoyed the lovely mountains. We ate a picnic lunch and drove to the flaming cliffs. There was much less wind today and it was actually hot.  We stopped at a ger camp that was shaving their herd of camel. For 1.50 per ride the little boys and Andrei rode the camels. Nancy had a great massage back at the lodge while Dylan, Jack and I played an awesome game of “Mongolian” Monopoly- we ate then called it a day!

We awake at 4:00am for the drive to the airport to catch our 7:00 flight back to Ulan Bataar...