More Desert Forays

We continue to take as many weekend trips to the desert as we can fit in – because before we know it, it will be too hot to enjoy them. On New Year's Eve, we took the kids and two friends out to enjoy the scenery. We followed the caravan of cars to a place not too far from the city, passing camel farms along the way. The hiking site had nice variety, and this time we opted for the “long walk.” We climbed up the rocky escarpment (Misha clambering ahead and Sebby in the arms of one parent or another) and walked along the top of it, surveying the beautiful, reddish sand spreading out beneath. Misha and I were delighted to spot our first animal in the desert besides a camel – a cute little lizard with excellent camouflage. From there, everyone climbed down into the valley, feeling out pathways over and through the rocks. It was beautiful. The long walk proved a bit much for Misha, but luckily one of the organizers met us as we climbed out of the valley and gave us a ride back to the start!

Josh and Seb on top of the escarpment, overlooking the rusty sand.

Another good father-and-sons shot.

Misha and I at the edge of the canyon.

Misha and I climb down into the valley.

A gorgeous shot of the deepening color of the sand as the sun sets.

A beautiful view of the cliffs in the misty, dusty air as we drive back to the city.

Passing a camel on the road.

These camels, back behind their fence, have wandered home to their farm. My students tell me that there is no such thing as a wild camel. They all have a home somewhere, despite roaming the desert all day on their own.

Rainy Desert Day

Two weeks later, we decided to leave Sebby with our sitter so we could hike freely without carrying a toddler who is always impatient to get down and walk by himself in terrain that encourages scrapes and bumps. It was the coldest day we have experienced yet in Saudi Arabia. My T-shirt covered by one sweatshirt was no match for the drizzling rain and the chilly wind. I used my abaya for an extra layer of protection (not much, but it's something) and covered my ears with my headscarf.

Misha under the rainbow.

Luckily, the rain stopped soon after we arrived and left in its place the most brightly glowing rainbow I have ever seen. In fact, there were multiple rainbows beneath each other, shining with such intensity that we could see each individual color. On that note, we set out with Misha on the long walk, an exhilarating hike down into the valley, up again, down, and up. Apparently part of the path we followed was an old camel trail. The valley floor featured beautifully gouged out “swimming pools” from climate changes long ago that were temporarily filled with water from the recent rains.

Looking down into the valley.

Here we are on the ridge, while far below us lay the carved-out basins in the valley floor.

Misha and Josh overlooking the water-worn valley beneath.

You can see the tiny people walking around the bottom.

Misha did remarkably well, dashing along beside me and urging me to “Hurry up! We have to beat Daddy!” He loves climbing up and down the rocky sides of the canyon. He didn't lose steam until we were nearly back to the car, on the flat, easy home stretch. A nice jaunt in the desert always leaves us feeling exhausted in that comfortable, feel-good sort of way. It's so good for us, especially in this country where most of life, unfortunately, takes place indoors.

Misha and I dangle our feet over a picturesque ledge.

Close-up: cold cheeks and noses! Luckily hiking kept us warm.

Christmas under wraps

Our Christmas this year was much less extravagant than the previous year's, but it was good nonetheless. To Misha's delight, Santa even made it to Saudi to leave him some presents! A few weeks before Christmas, Misha had commented sadly, "But Santa can't come to Saudi Arabia." I found this so heart-breaking that I said, "But I'm sure Santa knows plenty of American kids and other kids that live here that need presents."



Since we work for a public university, we had no "winter vacation" to speak of. Luckily, the weekend was Dec. 23 and 24, so we celebrated on Christmas Eve. As usual, Misha woke up early and was exploring everything in his stocking by the time I stumbled into the living room. I made a comment about what Santa left him in his stocking, and Misha said, "You mean you didn't put this here?" He then got very excited and started exclaiming how Santa is the best guy in the world!

Sebby woke up and wandered out shortly after, and last of all, Daddy woke up to join in the fun. Misha was quick to help Sebby dump out the contents of his stocking. :)


Then the opening began! Last year, we had presents galore under the tree because we had so many people - all the grandparents, Tanya, Aaron, Bud, Ashley, as well as the four of us. This year, as we had little time, pretty much all the presents were either for Misha or Sebby. But even though there wasn't as much to unwrap, there was enough that the kids didn't find anything missing from the experience. Christmas is Christmas.





Both in newly unwrapped sweatshirts, the brothers play with Sebby's new block train.


Christmas Eve with Mom

and with Dad!


Misha got lots of puzzles and games. This kitty puzzle came all the way from Grandma and Grandpa!


Misha with his little knights.

Josh with the pirate game that Misha made him, with a little help from me.

Sebby was enthralled with Misha's new chess set.

Christmas Day was back to work! Because the university specifically requested that the Western staff be discreet about our Christmas wishes to each other, I found it amusingly ironic when the students themselves came strolling into class exclaiming, "Merry Christmas, teacher!" and asking to see photos of our festivities.

A few post-Christmas photos:


Sebby sporting his new Wild Things shirt, out enjoying the compound.


Misha plays with his huge blow-up soccer ball, a present from our wonderfully sweet taxi driver, who always gives Misha gum, candy, apples, oranges, and other things every time he climbs in the car with me to go to school.


And here, Sebastian's having a blast with his new edible finger-paint (aka yogurt).

Sunset at Red Sands

Though the title of this post may sound like some kind of romance novel, it actually refers to the second desert trek we've made. The week before Christmas, we drove out of the city about an hour and a half to a place called Red Sands. It was amazing to watch the desert turn from its usual beige to a very distinct, rich red color, which only intensified as the sun sank lower. We parked our car near the others and started off on a little hike to explore the surroundings. The views were gorgeous - huge, red dunes rising from a landscape of grey dotted with hardy shrubs.



The sand was the kind of sand you would imagine finding on the perfect beach - incredibly soft, clean, super-fine, and a beautiful auburn color. We all had fun climbing the dunes and giving our legs a work-out. It's not unlike climbing a snow pile - especially how your feet sink in deep and the sand pours into your shoes. Misha, though tired at first, perked up when he saw us trudging up the red mountain of sand, and he came dashing up after us. Once at the top, he started to slide down on his stomach, until his parents suggested he not! (It was quite steep.) Sebastian also fell in love with the sand, so much so that he laid down on his stomach and went "swimming"!

Josh climbs the dune.

Hello from the top!

Sebastian, happy as a clam.

At the top of the dune, we admired the view of the whitish, flat desert on one side and the endless, billowing red waves on the other. We could even see the tiny "wave lines" in the sand made by the wind. Just like in a movie!



After our gallivanting up and down the dunes (and envying some of the others who were rolling over the sands in their ATVs), we circled back to our meeting place by the cars and had a small picnic before packing up and heading back. This time, we thought it best to leave before it was completely dark (like last time!) and it was a huge help in navigating our way back to the world of pavement.

Picnic time for the brothers.

For your viewing pleasure, I have included all my favorite photos:

Our family with our Canadian friend, Georgina. The white bars behind us keep cars out but allow camels to pass through.






Sebastian explores desert plant life.


Daddy and Sebby

Little boy in a big desert

The world is a big place ... better get started!


The backbone of the desert.

Misha climbed up this rocky cliff, which offers a great view of the Red Sands.


The kids on a walk


Josh and I back at the camp.


The sun starts to set. The tiny figures at the bottom are Sebby and me.

The rich red stands out against the blue, blue sky.


Camel tracks.

As we drove back toward the road, we passed several camels who were wandering back to their farm for the evening. They walked right in front of the car!