A sneak peak of our tour in the Mongolian countryside

We arrived in Ulan Bator yesterday evening after 13 days in the Mongolian countryside.  After almost 2 weeks of seeing more livestock than people, we spent our first night back in UB enjoying its creature comforts (mainly, running water!).  We've returned to UB with a sense of awe at Mongolia's vast, rugged countryside, as well as an immense respect for the people who inhabit it.  Living in the Mongolian countryside is not for wimps, y'all.

Here's a sneak peak of what our tour included:

Our Mongolia Tour from 1-10

1:  The number of dinosaur fossils still in the ground that we saw in the Gobi Desert

2:  The number of countryside festivals we stopped to enjoy

3:  The number of times we rode horses

4:  The number of nomadic families we stayed with

5:  The number of monasteries visited 

6:  The longest number of days between showers (not something we took pictures of, but here's how we brushed our teeth...)

7:  The number of different types of animals the nomadic families had (here's one example: yaks)

8:  The number of lakes in Naiman Nuur, one of the beautiful areas we visited

9:  The number of tourists in our group (here's a picture of the other 5)

10+:  The number of yak/goat/sheep/camel/horse products we tried (here's one in the making: vodka made from fermented mare's milk)

I'll post lots more photos and stories soon!