Dunes at Dusk

Starting on this journey to the Middle East, I have created another "bucket list." A list that I hope to accomplish all, but it is a far fetched idea. A list that has the top places I want to see...things I want to do....and places I want to travel.

Among the things on that list, and something that has taken me SO long to complete, being that I live in a desert....OFF-ROADING! Yup, I want to hop into a 4X4 car, and blitz through the sand dunes of the desert, in the middle of NO WHERE!

So, Friday October 22nd, there was an off-roading event raising money for a well known charity, Race for the Cure: Breast Cancer Awareness. It was an all-day event, including a day trip, a bar-b-que, and then a night trip (how we were getting home).

Being that Race for the Cure is primarily pink, Barbara and I were going to dress the part. We had found matching pajama sets that had pink, hearts, and were comfortable. Comfort would be key on this trip!

We attended the event, and rode with a good friend of Barbara's, a local Emirati by the name of Nasser. He is one of the nicest, giving, and extremely accommodating individuals that I have met (although they have all been very pleasant). He is a Marshall, so he was leading the afternoon group.

There was a time when I thought I was completely nuts for jumping out of an airplane, but knowing my personality, it is fitting. Now, I have to question my sanity again, by asking why someone would get in a car, in the middle of no where, and fly through sand....hoping you don't get stuck! HA, because it is FUN!!!

The amount of speed that you are able to use, as you literally glide through the sand dunes, in the middle of no where, is absolutely amazing. The skills that it takes to navigate through the desert and the dunes, it is something else.

During the day trip, it is so neat at how much you see in the desert...yes, a little bit of nothing, but you also see camels, creatures squirreling around, some neat plants, and a clear blue sky! It was very pretty, actually reminded me of being in the middle of the hill country somewhere in Texas (ironic enough).

The bar-b-que was yummy. Just as any good ol' Texas BBQ, it was pool-side.....steaks, chicken, and sausage. Sides galore, consisted of salads, pastas, and of course, dessert in the desert. :) It was nice....I was able to meet some of the other off-roading club members, chat a little, and rest before our big journey.

Getting home to Abu Dhabi is normally an easy route....a straight shot on a perfectly paved road. With caution of a few speed trap cameras, there isn't a lot that could get in your way. BUT, not this group!! Our journey back home to Abu Dhabi was going to be done 100% by desert. We wouldn't touch a foot of highway until the end. We were going to travel through the desert, as if we were in the olden days, but instead of camels...it would be by Cadillac (or Nissan Patrol, Toyota FJs, etc.). The really scary part to this ride, opposite of the day trip, you can't really see! So I could see when a big dune was coming, or how my driver was going to handle getting us over, but at night...things are different. Granted, the guys that were driving this trip had been doing this for a while and were rather good at off-roading....but at the same time, you are depending on a leader with a GPS, the car, and the lights on the car. Hmmm....well, here we go....

I hopped into a Nissan Patrol, orange of all colors, with one of the marshals Khaled. He is a friend of Barbara's, which I have come to know. He is a nice guy....very well traveled (travels to the States every year for work), very smart, and just a very like-able guy.

Off-roading at night has got to be by far, one of the coolest things ever! The unknown and the unexpected all by the glare of the moon...WAY COOL! Up and down, through the sand we go, all the way to Abu Dhabi. There were about 20 cars on this trip, which I now understand is WAY too many for a night trip. I think we were stopping every 10 minutes because someone got stuck, someone popped their tire off the rim, or we lost someone; the stopping got rather old, but what do you do?

* Putting the tire back on the rim, in the desert....let me just say, I don't ever want to do it. You think changing a tire on the road is hard or tiring, well, you ain't seen nothing yet! This is pure skill....balancing the jack atop sand (which sinks) by weight of 2-3 guys on the other side of the car...pure genius!

* Getting stuck in sand... it is just bound to happen, period...end of story! Every driver does it at some point, experience or not, but you know, they ALWAYS get out! (I don't know how, it just always works out!)

* Bathrooms in the desert- Well, you have one of two choices....you either hold it or you find something to go squat behind. There are no portable potties, and there darn sure isn't any running water! You are really roughing it out here!

It was mid point through the trip that was my Oprah "ah-ha" moment in the desert. We had reached the biggest sand dune, Negro Dune. It was HUGE! It was as if we had reached Mt. Everest and were prepping for the climb of our life! The boys had all raced each other to see who could get to the farthest point up the side of the dune. It was so steep, cars were sliding back down the dune...just crazy. The rest of us took a soda break, relaxed and "chatted."

When taking a night trip, warnings should always be remembered. As it was reaching past midnight, the marshals were worried about fog starting to settle. Being that I was not familiar with the desert, I couldn't imagine what they were so worried about! Yeah, right....fog in the desert, and it is going to obstruct our way home. Well, low and behold, I got my spoon full of fog alright. Not thinking, it only makes since that with the temperature of the sand being so hot, and the night time so cool in the desert (yes, it really does get kind of chilly at night) that the drastic temp changes would create an abundance of fog. It was starting to get so foggy, views were being blocked...windshields wouldn't clear (even with the defrost on), you couldn't see but 5-10 feet in front of you, etc. The guys were having to maneuver through the dunes blindly...guessing when to use speed and when not.

Toward the later part of the night, with the fog settling, the sand started to get wet, turning into a mud type. Getting up the dunes was becoming even more difficult. We passengers were having to hang out of the windows, being a watchman for the drivers. Barbara was so far out the window, she has stains to prove it. She looked like a freshly bathed puppy dog....wet hair matted to her face. I didn't look any better....curly hair and humid fog...not a good mix.

With all complications aside, the trip finally came to an end. There is a gate, which lets you on to the highway that takes you the rest of the way home. At this point, 3:30 am, I was never so happy to see the road. The fog had become to much, and I knew it just wasn't safe. In fact, as memory has it, Nasser got lost. He didn't see the rest of the crew turn off, so he kept going. He had missed the turn by a long shot. We were waiting for about 45 minutes before he had found his way back and picked us up. Another 30 minutes and we were home, showered, and in bed. I had never been so happy to see a shower too! One thing about sand...it gets EVERYWHERE...in your shoes, hair, bags, etc. Aghhh, a warm shower....

It was a total blast and a complete success, something that I would love to do again. Being that I still have plenty of time here, I am sure I will!