another desert visit

One day we drove from our first friend's place out farther into the desert to visit Matt's former tutor and his wife and baby...  Matt and Isaiah visited these friends three summers ago.

We drove through a canyon with these caves at the end, just before we reached their town...

Taken from the same place as the shot above, just looking outward from the canyon...  such beauty!  (And... check out the 150+ oil rigs across the plane beyond town there!)

cemetery on the way into town

the flaming mountains and their vineyard village

if a picture could capture heat... this one shows it pretty well.  

Since Isaiah has raved about the desert since his trip with Daddy years ago, all the kids wanted some time to run on the sand slopes.

This little beauty, with the traditional beautification of her sadly separated eyebrows, was named after the first woman to be martyred for Islam.  Oh how we love these dear friends!!