Fall Break 2012

We went on a road trip this fall break to see the singing sand dunes and the white mountains.

We arrived around dusk, just in time to get some great shadow shapes in the sand.

Sadie was so relieved to be out of the car. She rolled in the sand and ran around making foot prints.

We camped that night and the next day came back to climb around in the sand some more. When you slide down the slopes the sand hums, thus the name "singing sand dunes" We climbed up to the ridge and then along the ridge in a single file line.

Sadie and Bunny on the ridge.

We stopped by a tiny village after the dunes to see a 700 year old tree. Little did we know that we would be returning the next day!

The puppies were a big bonus on this pit stop.

MoonSet

Sadie was a champion camper. She just hung out and was up for whatever happened.

The next morning we went on a little hike to see the red rock formations. Sadie is getting pretty heavy, but she still fits in her backpack.

The red rocks, view from above.

After our hike the plan was to drive to the white mountains to our next campsite. But the Pleasants car overheated. We spent the day stopping and starting, limping the car back to the village with the 700 year old tree. It was dark before we got there. We watched the moon set again. They took us in to the village. A mechanic fixed the car in his shop by rigging a part from scraps. We were taken to the house next to the tree where a fire and tea were waiting. We were given beds for the night. Sadie was starting to get sick. I think the dust and wind got to her. She and I went to bed early, but in the morning we heard that they villagers had made fish stew for everyone, shown the the banya and shared their vodka. No one would accept money.

In the morning we woke up slowly and had breakfast. We walked around the property taking pictures and admiring the homestead. The villagers here are totally self sufficient. They don't need money and everything they have is shared amongst themselves. They don't even have a bartering system, they just share. This homestead here has a spring on it and a little stream running through. There is a man made pond in the back with fish. There are cows and puppies here and the other villagers have chickens and pigs. The man who lives here gave everyone turnips and pumpkins in the morning.

As we were leaving we stopped by a warm spring to bathe. Only John and Victor were brave enough to get all the way in, but Katie rinsed off too.

We made it pretty far down the road, but the Pleasants car broke down again, this time an oil pan issue. We had to pull over and leave the car in this village by the side of the road. There were people up on roof of the mosque doing some repairs when we stopped.

It was such an adventure. The car breaking down ended up being a fortuituous way to be able to spend more time in the little village and experience the Kazakh hospitality we have heard about but not experienced very much. It is probably much more likely to experience that outside of the city. Sadie got sicker when we got home. Her cough got worse and she developed an ear infection. We finally had to get her on antibiotics. Maybe this will finally knock this persistant cough out of her system for good.