valley of the whales

For the first time, I was able to camp in the desert and sense the barren, absolute silence. The Western Desert of Egypt has almost no vegetation, being almost completely composed of sand that was once at the bottom of the ocean. In spite of the lack of plant life, there was a surprising amount of animal life. We even had a fox visit our campsite overnight, evidenced by its tiny footprints encircling our tents. It was apparently a picky eater, though, leaving the tomatoes and french fries of the previous night's dinner in favor of chicken bones and cucumbers.