Sand and Camels!

Woke up at 3am and couldn’t fall back to sleep. I had to use the fancy bathroom which is at least 100 ft from my tent. So with it being quite cool outside, by the time I got back, I was wide awake. Good thing I had all that water to keep me hydrated. I tossed and turned for about an hour and finally broke out the IPod to watch Mama Mia. Thanks, Peanut Girl for downloading the movie!

In the morning, we were scheduled to go to the range which was located off base. Once again, I was struck by how flat it is here and the monotonous color of tan. The wind had really picked up so the sand was blowing across the road much like snowdrifts in Minnesota.

We were at the range to confirm our zero on our weapons. Once on line, we fired six rounds and walked to our targets to check our shot groups. We had left our M4’s on the sandbags while we were down range. During this time, a herd of camels had moved into the area. All I could see were specks in the distance but the range personnel had to drive and chase the camels away before we could fire our remaining rounds of ammo.

Finally we could fire our remaining rounds-NOT! The wind had blown so much sand into our chambers that hardly anyone could fire. It wasn’t until I got back that I realized how much sand I had collected on myself with sand stuck in my ears and in the pockets of my clothes. Another reason not to live here.

On the way back, I got to see my first camel. In fact, I got to see an entire herd of camels. Unfortunately, I had left the camera back at the tent so I couldn’t capture this Kodak moment. I have a feeling; I’ll be seeing a lot more camels in the next coming year.