This past weekend we had the opportunity to go camping with several other families- lots of kids.  Yes it was August but it was COLD- the pictures tell it all.  Beautiful stream and you can see the monastery located nearby.  We went with the Field’s and Lain’s (we all fit into the Land Rover) and the Bergevin’s drove down from Bulgan- we’re planning to head to the Bergevin’s for Thanksgiving.  We took about a 3-hour drive from Darhan to get the site; thanks to the cold and the starting of Mongolian schools, we had the place to ourselves.  We experienced first-hand the necessity of 4-wheel drive as the roads were a bit rough and required more than one water crossing.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed it, especially splashing through the mud in the car.  How many times did we 8 parents say, “okay, nobody get wet”?  More than we can count.  How many children fell/walked/jumped in the water?  All of the older kids managed to soak their shoes, socks and pant legs within about 20 minutes of arrival.  It got a little cold for them that evening, but don’t worry all you grandparent-types out there; no frostbite was incurred and we managed to bundle them all up in some way.  Annika actually enjoyed wearing my down slippers for awhile.  It gave them all an excuse to take their parents’ chairs and sit by the fire.  We can’t forget to comment on the stars — spectacular night sky.

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Can you spot Annika? She is hiding in the pink camo

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The view of the local monastery at sunset

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What happened to the August warmth?  Did our blood grow thin from being in Arkansas?  I asked another guy we were camping with, who had been in Mongolia for several years- said he was pretty cold.

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Mayfly hatch- we had a beautiful brook next to where we camped (see below)- perfect trout water but some areas were silted in and I did not see anything moving, trout or otherwise. Maybe  further up the valley? This area looked like it got allot of camping traffic.

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Unfortunately Zeke (in the red blanket) fell climbing a tree and broke his arm.  We broke camp early and he took a ride to UB to get a cast.  He’s doing fine.  We saw the camel on the way out.