Gobi
desert
Click on
the links below to
visit other parts of Mongolia:
Eclipse, Gobi
desert,
Hustain
Nuruu
Reserve, International
Intellectual Museum,
Kharkhorum,
Kherlan
River
Valley, Ulaanbataar,
Ulgi,
Yol
valley, Mongolia
wildflowers
A map
showing where we visited can be found by clicking
here.
Remember to come back to
see the rest
of our trip after you look around Goggle maps.
Across the Gobi.
It's hard to believe
that anything
can eke out an existence out here.
First
stop was
the Flaming Cliffs.
We arrived in the
evening and got our
first look.
The color really changes
depending on the
time of day.
The next morning most of
our group
went back to see them in the early morning light, do some exploring,
and look for fossils.
And they found some.
The second picture
probably requires
some explanation.
If you find something
that may be a
fossil but may be just another stone there is a common test.
It seems that only a
fossil bone
fragment will stick to your tongue.
These three are
demonstrating that
they were successful in their search.
My collection of pebbles
that I
picked up around Mongolia attracted the interest of
inspectors at
the airport when we were leaving.
We were called down to
the bowels of
the airport terminal to stand by while the pebbles were subjected to
the security agent's calibrated tongue.
I can't imagine having
that job for
even one day but it does demonstrate that Mongolia is serious about
keeping all of their fossils in their country.
There was the
opportunity to learn
how to milk a goat and meet some local kids.
What would a trip to the
Gobi be
without getting to know a camel, or several.
We
set out across
the wasteland
toward ...
What we were told were
the longest
and tallest sand dunes in the world.
Specifically 100 Km (60
miles) long,
with some dunes measuring 300 m (nearly 1000 ft.) tall.
Our caravan.
This is as far as the
camels took us.
To go any further it had
to be on
foot.
These pictures may give
you some idea
of the scale of these dunes.
One of our guide books
suggested
sledding down the dune on a plastic bag.
It didn't work for us.
On the way back.
This guy was waiting for
us when we
got back.
He was about a foot long.
It was unbelievable when
we happened
on these camels wandering across the desert at sunset.
The next morning we got
an early
start so we would have a chance to see some wildlife as we went through
some hills on the way to our next stop.
We were amply rewarded
when we caught
sight of these ibex.
The Himalayan griffins
were totally
unexpected.
When we came on an adult
and a young
antelope our driver decided to try to get closer.
The ensuing chase caused
some dismay
in our group.
Many thanks to our
friends from the
trip for sharing their good company, videos, and pictures with us and
with you.
Thanks again Alice, Lee,
Eleanor,
Michael, Joyce, David, Juliana, Tom, Stu, and Tanner.
Click on the links below
to visit
other parts of Mongolia:
Eclipse, Gobi
desert,
Hustain
Nuruu
Reserve, International
Intellectual Museum,
Kharkhorum,
Kherlan
River
Valley, Ulaanbataar,
Ulgi,
Yol
valley, Mongolia
wildflowers
See
other places we have visited here.
Go
to our Personal
home page
Go to our Community
page
Go
to our Science
Fun page
E-mail Nancy
and
Alan