At our appointed pick up time we were outside the hotel looking for our driver while our
driver was inside looking for us. It was
cold and rainy. We were happy when he
came back outside and we got into the van. This was not a shiny new van and it took a while to figure out that the seatbelt was broken. So at the gas station I jumped into the second backseat so I could have a working seatbelt. Leslie sat in the middle seat and
Adam drove from the front. It was a
three to four hour drive so we got as comfortable as possible. The rain did not let up until we were an hour
out of Amman. Slowly the clouds cleared
and finally the sun came out. We stopped
at a shop to go to the WC and while we were there we looked at all of the
thousands of items for sale. There were
ornate chess sets, fancy jewelry, souvenir magnets, dresses, lamps, dishes,
pottery, silver pieces and much more. The landscape became dryer and the vegetation more sparse as we continued to drive. Adam first stopped at the Wadi Rum visitor center to get our paperwork in order and there was a new bird for us!
Ughhh, rain and a stiff wind
My view from the way back
Puppies at the rest stop
The lone goat herder
We passed numerous mines, phosphate and potash are mined here
A lonely building
We are leaving civilization behind
and going back in time
Water must reside here
Love this cup
Bone dry with a hint of green
In each small town we see a mosque
Inside the rest stop shop
Still a long way to drive
The train still needed bridges for the rare times that the rivers flow
Remains of old mud brick buildings
Sheep and goats
The watchful eye of the shepherd
No more green to be seen
Roadside stalls
Out for a stroll
A rocky part of the desert
A roadside car wash
The size of the minarets match the size of the town
They must be able to find something to eat
Some donkeys
The biggest town on the road Ma'an
With fancy places
And the nicest mosque
Back to dry riverbeds
and small Bedouin towns
These signs make me laugh every time
Still windy!
We are dropping down into the Wadi Rum area
Super dry and more sand here
Some patches of trees
But huge expanses of dryness
Mountains all around
Bare rocks
It reminds me of Uluru in Australia
A 16 axel load!
Mostly yellow sandstone
The taller mountains must be made of tougher stone
The black camel!
Layers of yellow and red sandstone
The rocks get taller and taller as we near our destination
More camels too
Very rugged and worn down
Black veins of granite in this mountain
The visitor center is in sight
More banding in the mountains red for iron ore
The mountains are taller
We have arrived!
In the Wadi it is red and yellow
Nice contrast
Tall weathered mountains
Dramatic panoramas
This train was created 300 years ago
Canyons of rock
It is already a dramatic scene
Perched high on a pillow of sand
Beautiful
The gate and guard house is disused
Paperwork must be completed, our Jordan Pass made it easy
Tristram's Starling a lifebird
We are almost to our Camp
It has been 1 year ands 202 days since we began our Migration
