Yesterday, on Saudi National day, we decided to go for a hike in the desert and convoyed with the Fantastic family. Trying to find a good place, we found ourselves on a gravel trail. It was pretty nice and we thought that we would be able to naviguate it without too much difficulty. Mr F however decided to leave his car behind at the beginning of the trail as he did not have high enough clearance.
So, here we are, all in the GMC Envoy, fresh out of the garage...actually almost first time out since we got it back. It is so much fun and the desert is beautiful, not sandy but rather hilly, rocky and gravely!
Those gravels did turn into a trap when the car started sliding, the wheels slipping out of control and eventually we got stuck in the gravel! Now, we are alone, just the two families, in the middle of the desert! None of our cellphones have reception, the "can you hear me now" guy should start working in the Kingdom. On the way there, not too far actually, we did see a bedouin camp, with a couple of tents and camels. So, in real case of emergency, we could always go ask them for help!
We do a quick water check: the camel pack is full, we also have 4 little bottles and another thermos full, so enough for a while. So, the guys dig around the wheel and decide to manouver to get the car out of its current predicament. The moms and the kids decide to explore around, climbing the nearby hills and looking around. Eventually, the car is freed from the gravel and decision is made to go back toward Riyadh, enough adventures for the day. 
Guys get in the car and drive back to the Fantastic car which had been left not even a mile away while the kids and moms walk back. We spotted some of the desert gourds that pop up once in a while in the desert. Those are always popular with the kids who pick up the yellow ones and love to crush them! We believe they are not edible, as the animals do not seem to care for them, not even the camels.
Despite the turn of the events, we also were lucky to spot several herds: two of goats and one of camels, that one with their sheppard (I'm not sure how to call the guy working with camels, so sheppard he is today). The man seemed genuinely happy to see people. We greeted him in Arabic, asked him how he was doing. He offered us to taste some camel milk. Obviously, that meant to milk some of his camels as he was not carrying any with him....and my spirit of adventures had had enough for the day. We did thank him very nicely in Arabic and he waved and smilled very nicely. This bedouin would have given us milk if we had accepted, I am convinced of that! 
We also found a discarded camel harness that I picked up and brought home. It did not smell too god, but it's really cool to have one. If you look at the camel picture you can see that some of them are wearing one. 
A little further we saw a victim of the desert! A poor little goat seemingly had gotten stuck in wires and fell into a crevace. Surprisingly it was not covered with maggots and flies, which made us think that it had happened quite recently. I guess all that watching of CSI has educated me on the process of maggots growing on cadavers! It did not even smell bad, yet!
We also discovered another "fruit" we had not seen before: it looked like a giant lima bean, all soft and mushy. Alex was desperate to pick it but I told him that the animals of the desert were eating those and that it was better to leave it hanging in the tree, so it would be freshly picked whenever an animal would find it!
Despite the stress of getting "stuck" this desert walk that did not really happen was full of adventures and discoveries. I can't wait for the next one...but with no gravel or inside a 4x4 vehicle!
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