Ein Avdat - 22 December 2012

Yesterday (22 December 2012) we went to Ein Avdat National Park. We had been there once before, when it was still quite hot. This time, the weather was much more pleasant. Before, we had both hiked a short distance up the trail but had turned around before getting very far. This time, David stayed in the car and listened to an audiobook while I hiked quite a bit further up.

There were quite a few people there, which is not surprising, since it was a Shabbat with perfect weather. Interestingly, the only language I heard anyone speaking was Hebrew. Usually, I would expect to hear some Russian (spoken by Russian-Israelis) and probably one of two other languages (spoken by visitors from abroad).

This is an absolutely stunningly beautiful place! Here are a few of the best pictures I took there.

Not very far up, there were 3 ibexes quite near the trail, so it wasn't too difficult to get this nice shot of a couple of them. The one on the left has some kind of a collar around its neck. I presume this has something to do with tracking him. I didn't see if the others one had one or not.

A little further up, I came to the first pool. Here's a nice picture of it reflecting the sky. I think the girl in the purple top actually adds a nice touch to this view.

In the right side of the picture above, you get a hint of the cave up high on that side. Here's a full-on view of that same cave or hollow in the side of the canyon.

Somewhat further up, there are steps carved into the wall on the right to allow people to get up past the waterfall. I didn't go that way this time. Instead, I continued toward the bottom of the waterfall. Some distance below it, there is a small, obviously manmade dam. This allows visitors to cross the stream in order to get closer to the falls. Here's a view from near the left end of that dam showing the pool behind the dam reflecting the cliff side. High above is the trail I didn't go on this time (you can't really see it, but you might spot a sign up there beside it). The waterfall is near the lower center of this pictures, but you can't really see it very well, either, since it's a bit dark in there, and there's only a trickle of water coming down. You CAN see, though, that there's another dam, this one natural and much nearer to the falls.

Here's a view from that natural dam showing the waterfall very clearly, together with about a quarter or a third of the pool between it and the natural dam.

The views in the downstream direction are impressive, too. The following 2 shots are examples:

With all this water, it's not surprising to find a lot of both plant and animal life. Here's a bird that I saw and managed to get a good picture of:

A trip to Timna Park - 24 November 2012

Today we went to Timna Park. We had been there once or twice before, but this time the weather was perfect for a bit of hiking. So, while David sat in the car and listened to one of his audiobooks, I took several short walks. Here are some of the pictures I took.

The first hike was only a short distance from the car. The destination was "A Mushroom and a Half". This picture should explain the name:

Next, I took a longer walk, but it was well worth it. Here's a beautiful view of the Pink Canyon:

On the way back to the car, I captured this view of Timna Mountain, in the right half of the picture. In the distance (to the left of Timna Mountain) you can see the Jordanian mountains, which actually, of course, are MUCH higher.

Our next stop was Solomon's Pillars. Here's a nice view of them:

To the right of the picture above, there are steps  that lead up to an opening between the rocks. Here's a view from way up there, looking north. The dark rock that frames the left side is right beside me!

After passing through the gap, there is an area near some nearly vertical smooth rocks. On one of them, barely visible, is a VERY old drawing showing Ramses III giving an offering to the Egyptian god, Hathor, with hieroglyphics below it. It has faded so much, though, that I could hardly see it in the glare of the midday sun. I took pictures, of course, but you can't see it in them, either. Nevertheless, it's quite impressive to see something from so long ago in such a remote location. It underscores the importance of this valley to the Egyptians of that time, who mined copper here.

Down below the inscription is something even more impressive: the remains of an ancient Egyptian temple! According to the sign, they found a LOT of objects associated with the worship of 3 different gods, with Hathor being the most important one. They also found the names of NINE different Egyptian kings from more than 3000 years ago!

Our last stop was the gift shop and restaurant by the artificial lake they have made there. Here's a panoramic view of the lake:

We didn't eat there, but we I did fill a couple of little plastic bottles with different colored sand in layers. It's part of what we get when we pay for entrance to the park, for which residents of Eilat get a discount!

Hemet Cistern בור חמת

Today (10 November 2012) we drove up through Makhtesh Ramon, past Mitzpe Ramon, and on west a little to הר הנגב Har HaNegev ("The Negev Mountain") nature reserve. We visited an ancient water collection cistern called בור חמת Bor Khemet ("Hemet Cistern"). I don't know who dug it because the signs only gave its name. However, it was likely the Nabateans, meaning that it was at least 1500-1600 years ago! There was no water in it today, probably because the channels that directed water into it are no longer maintained. I imagine that it was virtually NEVER completely empty during the time it was actually in use. There are still steep stairs that descend to the bottom of it (I went down them). It's probably about 2-3 meters deep. I took this picture using the neat panorama feature of iOS 6 on my iPhone.

Nakhal Shakhamon the day after a big thunderstorm

Yesterday afternoon (9 November 2012) we had a BIG thunderstorm here in Eilat! It didn't rain all that long, but plenty of it, including some small hail, came down in that short time. We stayed in our apartment for the duration, but today I read about flooding and saw plenty of evidence of when we were downtown. The airport was even closed yesterday afternoon due to flooding there!

This morning, on my way back from the outdoor gym, I took a couple of pictures of the freshly washed Nakhal Shakhamon. This first one was taken from where Harim Road crosses the nakhal (which flows under the road through TWELVE pipes that are each about 2 meters tall!). Notice that, although it looks a bit wet, there is no water flowing -- it's all gone on downstream (contributing to the flooding near the sea!), evaporated, or soaked into the ground!

Here's a pretty view from the round pergola where I do my exercises. In the foreground you can see a small beautifully landscaped area near the pergola. On the right are the exits of the 12 pipes under the road. In the distance, slightly to the left of center, is White Mountain, the tallest point in this view although it doesn't look as tall as the other hills because they are much closer.

The Small Makhtesh

Last Shabbat (the 27th of October) we took a trip to the Small Makhtesh ("crater").

There are at least three of these in the Negev Desert. The other two are known as the Big Makhtesh and Makhtesh Ramon. The last is actually the biggest, but it was discovered later due to its remoteness. There are also now paved roads through the Big Makhtesh and Makhtesh Ramon. In fact, highway 40, the main highway through the Negev, passes dramatically down from Mitzpe Ramon and goes right through Makhtesh Ramon. The road through the Big Makhtesh is much less important, but it is still paved.

But these is no read at all through the Small Makhtesh. In fact, we had to drive about a kilometer or so on a rocky unpaved road just to get to the parking area. Then I walked another kilometer or two to get to where I could see the Small Makhtesh. But the view, as you can see here, is pretty dramatic. These pictures were all taken from the viewpoint. This first one is looking toward the north end of the crater.

This second picture is looking directly across the crater and shows the interesting and varied patches of color on its floor. The gap at the right of this picture is where the Makhtesh drains toward the Arava and then the Dead Sea. In the distance, you can see the mountains of Jordan on the other side of the Arava.

This picture is looking slightly further to the right from the one above. Now the drainage gap is just right of the center of the picture.

Turning further still to the right, we see the southern wall of the makhtesh. The viewpoint is actually NOT right at the edge of the crater but on a hill somewhat above it and set back a little. The edge in the foreground at the left of this picture is really not that far away. Again, you can see the mountains of Jordan in the background.

This picture is looking still further to the right and barely overlaps with the one above. We really can't see any of the makhtesh at all in this view. What we do see is another stream that barely misses the crater but instead flows down a completely different valley toward the Arava.

A hike just south of Makhtesh Ramon

Today (8 October 2012) we drove up to just south of Makhtesh Ramon (the Ramon Crater), where I parked the car at the side of the road and took a short hike. The weather was beautiful, with warm sun, a cool breeze, and a few fluffy clouds in the sky. Also, it was about an hour to an hour and a half before sunset, which is a great time for photography. Here are some pictures that I took (all of them with my iPhone 4s).

For this first one, I hiked up near a small cliff (seen on the right) and took this view looking approximately northeast.

This second picture was taken near the same spot but looking a little more northward. The Makhtesh really begins just the other side of these hills.

In this final view, we are looking almost directly east towards two mesas. Somewhat closer, at the bottom of the picture, you can see our car (the red on on the left) and several others parked along highway 40 at the beginning of the trail I took.

Paran River flowing over highway 40

Yesterday (1 October) we were driving down highway 40 after having made a trip further north. When we go to נחל פראן Nakhal Paran (the Paran River), there was actually water in it, something we have never before seen. Since there's no bridge over the river (or even pipes under the road), the water just runs across the road. Luckily, it wasn't too deep to get across easily.

After we had crossed, I parked the car and got out to take some pictures. Here are a few of them. In the first picture, you can see kids wading in the muddy water and a northbound vehicle splashing across.

This is the view looking upstream (roughly towards the west). As you can see, more people were enjoying the water up there.

Here's a view of 2 cars going across the stream, one in each direction. The post at the right is a familiar sight all over this part of the country. It's for situations where the water is quite a bit deeper that this. The lowest black tag marks 0.5 meters, the next one 1 meter, and the top one 1.5 meters. I wouldn't even cross if it were near 0.5 meters (about 20 inches), since that might be enough to wash my car right off the road, I think.