This post is all about the photos. No real stories, just wanted to look back and remember our time in Mongolia with some of our favorite shots. They are in no particular order and they may or may not have been in a previous post. They are just our favorites.
Our most favorite photo. Period. Erlan and his wife treating an eye problem on one of their yaks.
Moving Day – really! Somehow I don’t think everything we own could fit on this one truck…especially not the house itself! Perhaps we need to move into a ger when we get home?
First day of school – stressful around the world. This photo got a ton of attention when we first published it.
Three men on Trusty the horse – goofing around on “Khazak Games Day”.
Grammy holding the baby. Anner held this cutie too.
Everyone always looked out for the little ones.
The little guy on the front? He rode on his own all day – I think he just liked sitting on the horse bareback with his uncle.
Just getting used to riding bareback…like we all did as youngsters. Err…maybe not.
This pic is just a little fuzzy, but it’s still one of our very favorites. Yak tea for everyone!
Absolutely love the colors inside the ger. A stack of pillows like this one means the family can take in many guests which is an important part of the culture.
Inside the ger was always a hub of activity.
Sewing up the back of the carpet we bought on our final day with the families. Can’t wait to see the rug in our house when we return!
This carpet! The woman on the right made it – how awesome is that?! We stayed with her a couple of days of the trek.
Loved this girl. Couldn’t get her to play frisbee, but did help her carry some water.
THE HORSES
Our wrangler Erlan’s horse awaiting a ride.
Trusty, my horse, falling asleep with a bite of grass still in his mouth. I chuckle every time I see it!
Never get tired of the photos showing our horses and the great wide open.
THE VIEWS
Ohhh, the views! Don’t forget to click on the panoramas to see them more closely.
Steppe, mountains and clouds forever…with nary another human.
Gers in the valley.
Welcome to sunrise in Mongolia!
Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiide open for riding!
A bit of the feel of our own Pacific Northwest. Well, when we weren’t seeing herds of wild horses or yaks roaming free.
Misty mountains surround the Pass of Death (we re-named it the Pass of Happiness).
Sometimes the views were simply endless. Having your trusty steed nearby made it seem not so big somehow.
The skies went on and on and on.
The rusty color of the mountain, heavy clouds rolling over, the horses and my fella. Love it all!
OTHER ANIMALS
We saw camels while we were off-roading on the way to meet our horses. Aaron saw them in India, but I’ve never seen herds of camels before!
Just watch where you’re going, bub! Yeah, I’m talking to you!
The Golden Eagles were fiercely powerful!
An eagle hunter with his favorite bird.
So proud of his fur coat!
Baby Yaks! Every being is cute when little. Even yaks.
KHAZAK GAMES
The Khazak Games were a recreation put on for us by our hosts. Real Khazak Games are held when an entire community comes out to demonstrate their unbelievable horsehandling skills, eagle hunting, and style of wrestling. We had a blast the afternoon our staff put on some mini-games for us. It was also fun that locals came by to watch and just spontaneously decided to take part! Seriously, they saw it going on and came over uninvited. Love that inclusive spirit!
Amangul dressed in traditional attire to become the master of ceremonies (really, for everything, not just the games).
In this event, wives chase their husbands on horseback and beat them with a riding whip. Fun, eh? In this case, Smokey Joe and Amangul demonstrated for us, but they aren’t married.
Next up: Picking up things off the ground while riding. And I mean they were riding fast and would lean ALL the way over the horse, hang on by a toe and then grab three items. Smokey Joe was incredible.
Erlan wasn’t too bad himself!
These were impressive demonstrations, but don’t take our word for it, check out this quick video.
Finally, tug-o-war on horseback. Unbelievable to watch as they pulled and tugged, went in circles, arms bent behind and then over their heads.
PULL!!!!
GOOFING AROUND
Aaron and a local boy in the very first ger we visited on Day 1. They couldn’t talk to each other, but the boy enjoyed walking Aaron around and showing him things.
Why, yes, this is my traditional Khazak dress and hat. Why do you ask?
Aaron at our first camp outside the town of Altai.
A tent with a view.
Towards the end of the trip we were a little bored and little bit punchy. Somehow we decided to see what is the smallest possible fire we could start. With that, the Tiny Fire was born. Whenever we talk about our Mongolia trek we always end up telling this story.
And finally, if you want to see juuust a little bit more, here’s one last Mongolia slide show and video combo. Sorry for the cheesy music, that was an accident. Just mute it and pretend you’re listening to Amangul play her dobro under an endless Mongolian sky.
After two weeks of unreal adventure, here we are leaving the Altai. We did it!
Zavkhan Trekking led us on this amazing journey – It was something else! Good and bad, it was one heck of an experience and one that I would totally do again.
Ok I have to say something. These are great photos and video but………where is Genghis!?!?
Umm, err, well, we DO have a photo of a Genghis statue, but it’s not the Genghis you’re looking for! It was in Ulanbaatar rather than an hour out in the middle of nowhere with literally nothing else to do around it. That was, sadly, just too far to go to see one statue. Maybe NEXT visit to Mongolia…
Great, surely memorable photos. And you lived through it! Thanks both for the photos and for living through it.
Always glad to live through things!
Wow. Amazing photos. Amazing experiences. Seattle will seem pretty dull in comparison!
Dull or not, here we come! Watch for news soon.
Love the pictures! Hope I can have the chance to take this trip someday!
Do it, Suzanne, DO IT! Farm exports will wait. 🙂