Mar 1 - Mar 3 Mitzpe Ramon - part 2

 Mon - Mar 2 continued

About Liav Levi from Desert Shepherd ... one thing about him that came across was his love for the desert. Now I have to be honest ... I love bright bold colors. I really have no favorite color. I love multi-color, if that is a choice. Big bright bold colors. Green, purple, turquoise, blue and pink, yellow, orange, red, all of them, I love them. I don't really like the desert because it's one color scheme - brown. Dark brown, light brown, sienna, etc ... all those shades of brown, so there is really no love for the desert from me. However, every time I am in Israel, I find myself intrigued with the desert and it's colors. Now Liav taught us a lot about the desert. He explained how the machtesh was formed, and how when you dig in the quarry over here it affects other areas. Basically, there is a whole ecosystem going on there and it's important not to mess around with it. It was really more than just showing us look at this cool formation here and look at this cool rock over there ... it was a lesson in the desert from someone who loves it.

After the jeep tour, we went to Camel Hill to see the sunset. We had to rush to get there in time. 

That's the look out that we had about 10 minutes to get to the top of. But -- the view was spectacular!

We went out to dinner, and then we went to this cool little hidden gem that I had found out about from Love Love Israel. There is a secret walk where you follow the path to the end and find a bunch of glow in the dark rocks that form --- something -- I can't tell you -- you have to find it for yourself. 

h/t: http://www.astronomyisrael.com/2019/09/the-milky-way-trail-in-mitzpe-ramon.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR1CrMb4lsWMXuOF2ya-YyIfR1z8vIYHltbG7olIPDwrk9wfCbctgTbmDIA

The next day we went checked out of the hotel, and went to a place whose name I forgot. (This is what happens when you wait over a year to write about your trip! LOL) People call it the colored sands. There is a little lake in the middle, and little piles of different colored sands. I had brought the girls some little jars and funnels and they filled up their jars with colored sands. Then we headed back to Jerusalem. 

On the way back, we passed the spot where David Ben-Gourion and his wife are buried. Such a gorgeous and peaceful spot.

We stopped at the one of the most fun children's museums (second only to the one in Lynchburg VA!). The girls loved it. It's several floors high and the kids can wander around on any floor they want.

There were giant human sized puzzles for them to play with. A race where you run against your friend (or mom as Huvi did) and hit the timer to see how long it takes you. There are human sized games where you roll the dice and walk along (think shoots and ladders). There was a whole section where the kids could put on a performance and they loved playing Head Bands with a giant seat with rotating pictures. Right next door to this super cool kids museum was a terrific park. Yours truly rode the zip line!

As the sun went down, we continued our journey back to Shauly's apartment ... with a stop for dinner ... at .... yup ... 

Kosher Ikea. And no, I didn't get Swedish meatballs. (I don't remember, it was something boring like grilled chicken since nothing is really organic or non GMO.)