The Camel Whisperer and the Eagle Tamer

In early August, Charles and the three kids headed out of UB on a 6-day camping adventure.

Along the way there were rivers to ford, mud to slip-and-slide in, hills to climb, hot springs to soak in, a volcano rim to hike around, eagles to view, fishing, smore's and all the great things about camping to enjoy. Mongolia's divers landscape provides the perfect challenge for a Subaru Outback!
These are photos of our actual car ... NOT a car advertisement. And, the car is *in-motion* in all these shots ... not stuck, as it might appear.

As well as all the activities mentioned above, one day there was an opportunity to ride bactrian camels. Ashley seemed most fond of and the most at ease around these large creatures. I might start calling her 'the camel whisperer' ...



In addition to all the riding, both in the car and on the camels, there were times for stretching the legs. One hike led the group around the rim of this old volcano. Makes my knees weak to look down from heights like this ...

On another occasion during the trip, more than 25 eagles could be seen sitting perched on a fence. At once, at least 15 of them took flight for a short distance, then returned. Very majestic!! Ian tried his hand at taming one ... all but this one were wild.


Yes, those are EAGLES on that fence. From a distance, they look small, but they are big and heavy! Just ask Ian ... ask him how his arm muscles felt supporting the eagle's weight ... or maybe you can already tell by his expression.


I am always impressed by how much stuff Charles can pack into the cargo space of the Subaru. He once carefully fit two twin sized bunk bed mattresses in the back along with two of our children, still properly strapped into car seats, when we lived in Poland. He also packed an entire week's worth of gear for four people along with our commissary purchases when we took a road trip to Garmisch (from Poland in 2002). This camping trip was no exception to his supreme packing skills. Along with the four people, he fit a full-sized spare tire/rim, 2 large water tanks, a cooler, four sleeping bags, two tents, four sleeping pads, clothing, a week's worth of food, tarp, rope, stove, fuel, boots, sand toys, fishing gear and some additional items.

It. all. fit.
Wow.


They were well prepared for tent camping.

But, one of the days it rained. And the wind blew. And it hailed and then one night it snowed (a little). Yes, in August. It snowed! So, they went to a nearby ger camp instead.

And there was a rainbow!

And all was well in the end. See this happy camper?