When I woke up from the best night of sleep in ages, it was still dark out but the dawn was quickly approaching. I was sleeping on my back and when I opened my eyes planet Mars was directly above me in all its red splendor. I watched it move towards the west for some time until I got up to walk around. The moon was just above the eastern horizon and while the whole of it was visible, only a sliver was lit. Ramadan is certainly approaching with the new moon.

The sun began to lighten the earth around us and it became apparent that foxes raided our camp's trash. We saw some of these foxes the night before and they are certainly not afraid of humans. I imagine tourist groups have been camping there for years and Bedouins have ruled the desert for hundreds of years, so of course they're not afraid. Like all desert animals, their ears are very large and their bodies small. I picked up their mess, watched the sunrise, and returned to my desert bed to get a little more peaceful desert sleep.

When the sun heated the desert floor to an uncomfortable temperature, I woke up sweating and squinting from the light. We ate a simple breakfast of bread (hobbs) and tea (shai) and loaded up the truck. I felt so damn good! I was sad to return to the city, but avoided those thoughts because we still had the day's adventure ahead of us.

It began with a stop at a hot spring near the edge of an irrigated area filled with palms and dates. The warm, sulfur water was pumped from the ground into a big cement pool which then ran into a series of irrigation canals throughout the farmland. I wanted to swim in the pool, but it would have been inappropriate. The pool was filled with local men and boys bathing, so I sat near one of the canals and put my feet in the water - it was certainly relaxing enough to cool my feet. I watched the donkeys parked like cars near the pool waiting for their owners to climb back on their backs and take them home. I was curious to know where they lived. The desert is so immense and bleak - their lives must be hard. At the same time, their lives are unquestionably simple and I envy the simplicity. I noticed that the guides don’t seem to have any hang-ups about anything. There were certainly small problems during the trip, but nothing got them too excited. I think Americans, myself included, could learn from simpler lifestyles. We get too confused by our consumerism and desire for tangible goods that lead us astray from life’s truest goal - peace.