Many people ask me, ‘Why do you want to go to the desert again? You have been there many times!”
There is no one answer that can convey the draw the desert has on me. Yes, it is harsh, it is extreme. There is no water for bathing, food and drink minimal, the track is rough, the timing not quite right, it is Thanksgiving…and here I am going to the desert…again!
So why? If the situation in the Middle East remained as it was pre-2011, this trip would not have such urgency. But I believe, such chances to experience the deep Sahara are slipping away, if not an impossibility for desert enthusiasts.
But it is really this: To live in the moment with no distractions. It is the peace, the solitude, the grandeur and vastness. It is the freedom, the wind, stars, sky, rocks, sun, heat, cold in all their purity. For one more time…to be a dune.
Celebrating the Egyptian Desert
Nomad4Now 
Fabulous! Les , really !
Thanks Lynn for your continual encouragement. Love, Lesley
Oh Leslie, such nostalgia! We made the same trip but spent an extra three day and included east aiwanaat and gebel aiwanaat. The rock art was unbelievable. We also stopped at the Swimmers’ Cave and the Foggliari cave. Maybe you’ve done all these before…. But I agree completely, just to be a dune…. And the value of just focusing on the necessary. Keep the cars running. Be sure to drink enough. Eat only what you need. Watch the sun rise and set. Watch the Big Dipper circle counterclockwise around the north star. Tell time by how far Orion has moved since you last woke up… Observe the marks of people who lived here at least 6 or 7 or 10 thousand years ago when the climate made the landscape into something we could never recognize as the same place today…. Be aware of those changes that move without our consciousness, our volition, and utterly direct our futures.
Have a GREAT trip! We’ll be thinking of you!
Love, Mary Lyn
Thank you Mary Lyn. You have laid down exactly what we are missing in our lives today and to revert to the fundamentals. Thank you so much for your comment. It takes ‘being a dune’ to a deeper level. Wish you were on the expedition, Love, Lesley
Beautiful!!! To be in the moment with no distractions…I long for that!!!!
Oh, my, what memories this brings to mind. Which then tugs at my heart strings. As Amr Shannon once said, in the desert there is no place to “hide”. You truly do confront your true self. How I loved my time in the desert!
How true…the desert strips the layers away…I know how you loved going into the desert. Thank you for your thoughtful comments. L.
Excellent photography!
Thank you, Patrick!
Deares Lesley, Thanks a million for sharing all these beautiful experiences with all of us. You made me dream about our own trips to the desert. We didn’t do as far as you have done. Anyways, your images are just marvelous. Thanks for letting us know about these beautiful places and sensations that we experience once we’re there. HAPPY 2014! Lots of love for you and your family,,,
Thank you Conchita, it is so good to hear from you. I really appreciate your comments. It means a great deal to me for your appreciation. I wish you the best in 2014. Love to you and your family, Lesley