Jordanian Desert @ Wadi Rum

A night sleeping on the sand in Wadi Rum has been near the top of our list for unique and new experiences during the first half of our trip. It didn't disappoint.

Wadi Rum is nicknamed the "Valley of the Moon" and the unique topography is often a backdrop used by Hollywood. Lawrence of Arabia, Red Planet and The Martian were all filmed here.

Geography lesson for the Bohagirls in the back seat.

Drive to Wadi Rum

After our border crossing into Jordan, our first stop was for a cup of Turkish coffee in Aqaba. We were treated by our driver for the week, Yasser.

It was quickly a mountainous, barren and rocky landscape for the majority of our trip. As we got closer to the Wadi Rum area it became more sandy and we started to see the red Mars-like coloring it's famous for.

Mazayen Rum Camp

Our overnight was at the Mazayen Rum camp. After entering the Wadi Rum park entrance, Yasser pulled into a giant and empty parking lot. There wasn't a sign of life anywhere to be seen.

Across the desert, we saw a truck kicking up sand and heading toward us. It was our 'bell man' ready to grab us and our bags!

Our final leg to the desert camp.

Wow!

Arriving in an environment that none of us had ever been in before was really spectacular. It's so different, that as we pulled up everyone was more quiet that usual, jaws dropped opened.

Our Desert Tent

We checked into our room, which would be fair to classify as "glamping", and had lunch in a large tent that was like a mess hall/restaurant.

You don't come to the desert for great food, but it did the job...and I loved that 80s boom box!

Free Time @ The Kids Club

We didn't realize it, but the hotel had an epic kids club that can only be described as...minimalist, with hardly anything to do, until...you put some imagination into it. Paige and Sadie did just that and spent a couple of hours just doing their imaginative play thing that they love so much.

Not exactly a Disney Cruise in the department of stimulus, but they sure had fun.

A Desert Run

In what will most certainly be one of the most memorable runs of the trip, after 'dropping the girls off' at the Kids Club, we went for a run in the red sand.

Ready for a desert marathon.

Need water...

Afternoon & Sunset Jeep Ride

Our day ended with an amazing Jeep ride, running up some big dunes and star gazing after dinner. Read about that and see the landscape in this blog post.

Now off to bed to sleep like Martians in the red sand of Wadi Rum!