Brothers Grimm

Yesterday felt like a page out of Grimm's fairy tales. Kim, Mike and I signed up for a jeep tour of the white and red sand dunes. Fortunately, the Fairy Springs were included, for me it was the highlight of the trip.

We started the tour with a wade through the Fairy Spring. I'm not sure of the origin of the name, but I'm most certain that there is some sort of magical tale behind it. I was quite leary of taking off my shoes and wading through unknown waters....who knows what might live in those waters. Fortunately, there were no incidents except for Mike scratching his leg pretty good on the rusty jeep! Hopefully he had his tetanus shots!!

The red rock formations were beautiful, the pictures do not do them justice. The red mixed in with the white in a multitude of formations is indescribable. It did remind me somewhat of the Red Rocks in Sedona, Arizona.

After the Fairy Spring, we took a 30km drive out to the Lake of Tears and the White Sand Dunes. I think the highlight of this part of the trip was the ponies cooling off in the water. The Lake of Tears has an interesting story that I only caught part of and wish I could find more information about...something about a man and a woman and I'm sure some sort of love story with a sad ending. The ride it's self was quite bumpy and uncomfortable (although I have to say that I did get the best seat in the middle). Poor Mike and Kim were on the edges where the seats were separated (not really sure how to explain it other than I am sure that it wasn't comfortable). I tried to swap places during the trip but they are both too damn stubborn....!!

Another 30km back and we got a glimpse of the red canyon. This looked stunning but the main entrance is apparently closed and the government (I think) is going to start charging admission at some point in the future (according to our driver...).

I think we were all simply beat from the bike ride the day before and the jeep ride out to the white dunes because when we got to the red dunes, none of us wanted to get out and walk up them!

Daily expenses (usd):

Hotel $10
Day Trip to Fairy Springs and Dunes $9
Coffee/Breakfast $2
Lunch $ ???
Dinner and drinks ~$5

Total for the day: $26 + lunch

Highlight: Fairy Spring
Annoyance: Taking my shoes off all the time! (Those that can wear flip flops/thongs don't know how easy they have it) :o(