Midnight at the Oasis

Actually, all these pictures are during the day but there are oases in the Sahara. The sand dunes we think of do make up a large proportion of the landscape though there is vegetation, birds, and lots of dromedary camels, more than I've ever seen before. The camel herders ride motorcycles and we even saw a few flocks of goats here and there. Just a little about the Sahara and then enjoy the photos.

Erg Chigaga is the largest area of the Sahara that is "untouched" though we saw enough touching to feel were not completely alone. There are many camps for tourists staying in pretty luxurious tents and being driven around in 4 X 4s. We were surprised at how relatively clean the desert was and the sound of silence was truly amazing, even coming from the north coast of California.

An oasis, water from the Draa river, kind of a little hippy enclave in the desert

A second oasis with water and date palms

A dry lake (Iriki Lake) that does get a little water in the winter to become a wetlands for animals.