Why Kristin Thinks the Kaiseb Pass Needs a McDonalds.

So as nice as it was seeing the ocean again, we had a long day ahead of us and needed to hit the road. A road which started out pretty nice ...
... and quickly deteriorated into a very unpaved trek through a lot of "not much" and "nobody." This was the lovely and lengthy drive (6 hours!) through the Kuiseb Pass.
See all that nothing in the previous picture? I hated all that nothing. You know why? A hypothetical traveler of the female persuasion who drank a glass of water with breakfast is not likely to find a discreet place to go to bathroom in all that nothingness.

Hypothetical gentlemen travelers do not seem to have such problems. Or at least they don't worry about it. That kinda sucks and proves that smart women who drink water on crazy hot days are not meant to drive through the desert for 6 hours. I've done it so none of my world-traveling sisters will ever need to attempt it again. Sisters, you're welcome.

Now the next photo is very, very important.

Yeah. It's okay. Neat view of a funky African bird nest. But the real reason why I'm posting this photo is because I really had to fight for it. We were driving through a particularly sandy stretch of road and stopping was not advisable, as my beloved husband pointed out. However, I had to get a picture of that tree, in that ravine and the sky was perfect and the shadows were interesting and it will only take a second really and, because Lance loves me, he stopped and I took a few pictures.

And the car got stuck in the sand.

Then Lance got it unstuck.

So you understand why I had to post this photo. Married people, you really understand why I had to post this photo. : ) Driving on.

The road changed, was suddenly paved, and the scenery changed drastically. This was the Kuiseb Canyon.

Which makes sense, considering we had just crossed over into the tropics. Snicker. Snicker. (Notice that someone wrote "Pop" over the last four letters. The road does strange thing to a person and said persons tend to do strange things to signs.)
Finally we arrived at our destination. The Sossusvlei Lodge!
Tremendously cheesy, a bit expensive and totally worth it.

The life of a traveler is a rough one folks. Actually, the electricity, and therefore room fan, isn't turned on until the hottest part of the day is over so the porch was the most comfortable place to sit. I wonder what he could be looking at?


Why it's me! Pretending I'm a meerkat. Poorly. But you get the point.

I *heart* tents you don't have to set up!

That evening the hotel put out a yummy buffet dinner. I remember trying bbq zebra and oryx - the oryx was better. Lance liked the kudu. We crashed at what felt like midnight but really couldn't have been later than 9.

Early to bed - Early to rise and explore the dunes!