Friday, January 30, 2009

Winter Back Home

Snow in our back yard with our 'old gizzer swing' sitting forlorn without Boppi and Hamma to sit and swing with the grand kids.

Christmas Season In Saudi Arabia

We organized a field trip out in to the desert country west of Riyadh during our Hajj Eid break (mid December) and guided a group of families in our ward who had not visited 'standing stones'. Above is a picture of us leaning against a set of the taller stones. Everyone enjoyed the trip and seeing areas of the country not frequently visited and definitely not on the sightseeing tour. This site is about 1-hour outside the city below the escarpment and past some of the better ATV desert tracks through the reddish sand dunes. Unless one has a GPS or has been there before, this place is not easily to find. Once we reach a convenient parking location as close we can come to the actual site, we have to foot the rest of the way but first must snake ourselves under a newly installed chain link fence and walk about 300 meters out on to the flat planes. These stones are are nothing but stand stone slabs arranged in a semi circle with the remains of a small building at the epicenter.
Now here is real desert: sand or sand stone, little to no vegitation, no trees, no buildings, and few tents. The weather was perfect for picture taking: mid 60's.