Mom and Dad Go Sand Sledding

Dad sand sledding!

Whether you work for Aramco or just come to visit, sand sledding is a Saudi right of passage. So we loaded up the truck on a weekend afternoon and along with three other families headed south out of Ras Tanura into the desert. This was going to be Mom and Dad's first real jaunt out into the hard core Saudi landscape. It turned out to be quite a trip.

The first time we went sand sledding down near Abqaiq we went in the morning and returned home mid afternoon. This time we decided to go midafternoon and stay in the desert until after dark. Some of the Aramcons who have been here awhile said that we had best be careful being in the desert after dark. I shrugged it off (but didn't say anything to Mom and Dad) and we moved off into the desert at 2:00 in the afternoon.

Dad had been hoping to get a camel shot and in the KSA you don't have to go very far away from the gulf into the desert before they start popping up. Here is his shot:

Once we reached the spot in the desert with the 100 foot dunes it was time to get down to business. I would drive the sledders to the top of the dune and they would sled down. The best of both worlds. They have their fun and I could have mine. I love to put the truck in 4 wheel and tear off into the desert.
Mom in the desert.

As the sun began to set we all settled in for some dinner and good conversation. As the sun went down we drove back to the top of the dune for some sunset pictures.

The below picture is my favorite from that day. It is of Mom and Sarah at the top of the dune looking down on the camp site below. Gives you a sense of how big the dune is.


After dark we built a fire and watched the embers jump into the night as a full moon came up to light up our camp site. The perfect end to a great desert adventure. But wait that's not all!


Falcontry is a big deal here in Saudi. That is where you use a trained falcon to hunt. Dad's friend asked him to try and get a picture of a falcon if he could while he was here. We did one better. Just up the road from where we come out of the desert is a "falcon farm" where they train hunting falcons. So we took Dad up and got him his falcon shot. A very cool ending to a very cool day.