The Calm After the Storm

The rain had stopped, the clouds hovered motionless above us in the desert sky, and there was no breeze. The sky was completely calm. The sun had gone down hours before we laid down in our tents, but the temperature was still boiling. It felt like someone had turned off the light, but forgot to turn down the heat! We were a sweaty mess, sand stuck to every part of our bodies, but after our magical camel ride through the stormy desert, we were completely exhausted. Sleep came easily. Our senses and emotions had been maxed out by every incredible thing we had touched, heard, and seen in the last 24 hours. We had just experienced the seemingly unattainable, beautiful, perfect things dreams are made of.

Rob and I were thrilled to find the sun still sleeping when we woke up the following morning! A few stars had made there way into the sky and were sparkling just for Rob! He had wanted so badly to see the stars from the middle of the desert , with perfect clarity, away from any light pollution, but with the storm, it had not been much of a starry night. I was so happy to see those few stars twinkling for him! I almost burst into song, “I am like a star shining brightly, shining for RobertD to see!”… but I didn’t want to ruin his moment so I refrained. My heart was smiling to be with him and see him so happy. 🙂

We were the only two in our company who were awake. We climbed one of the dunes a short distance away from our tents. The sand was a rich red/orange color. It was so soft and fine, and felt so nice under our feet. The dunes rolled on for miles and miles all around us. Nothing could stop them! They were absolutely gorgeous! We ran, jumped, rolled, and even made sand angels in the sand! As the light of the sun began to appear, we sat together on the top of the dune and watched the vibrant hues of the sun fill the sky. It was so peaceful, humbling, and almost sacred to be in such a barren, yet uniquely beautiful place created by the hands of the Almighty. I love exploring the world, because of places like this. There is no other place like it in the world, and yet there we were, sitting right in the middle of its wonder and majesty. Gratitude filled my heart. It was a sunrise and a morning I will never forget.

Just before we loaded up to trek back to the hotel, Rob and I wanted to spend some time getting to know the camels a little better. They were lying on the sand making their camel noises, that sound a lot like a lion growl and a goat screaming – it’s hilarious!! If you need a good laugh just pull up youtube videos of camel sounds or goats screaming, and you’ll die laughing. I do every time! Camels aren’t too scary, but they are still pretty big and a little bit intimidating when you’ve never been around them before. Rob wanted a good picture with one, but was afraid to get too close. He got the courage to kneel down next to the camel, but not for too long. He wasn’t too keen on kneeling in camel poop either. I was up next. It was like waiting in line to see Santa Claus. I was just as excited! I walked up a few feet from the camel’s head. I could see that he was chewing on something with his big teeth. Rob kept telling me to get closer, but the camel sounded and looked like he was going to be sick with every bite. I totally thought if I got closer he was going to barf. One of the guides saw Rob trying to coax me into getting closer and me hesitating, so he came up behind me and gave me a little nudge right into the camel! AND you’ll never guess what happened! THE CAMEL BARFED ON ME!!! Just like I thought he would, AND HE DID!! A green goopy barfin’ mess all over me! I stood there in shock for a minute and then we all started cracking up! I got barfed on by a camel in the desert! Now that’s a first!