We are back in Hanhongor for a few days to pack up and see our friends. Most of our things have been boxed up with the furniture to either be returned to the school, used by Darkhuu, or sold. Living in a ger has protected us from collecting too much stuff, but it is still enough to fill the back of a van. We will miss Hanhongor and our little ger but days like today (90F with no wind and an all day power outage) remind us that there are benefits to living in the big city.

Yesterday we walked out to visit Nigel's grave. His rock ovoo has grown impressively over the past two years.

Who says you can't go swimming in the Gobi desert?

Hanhongor after a storm.

This really begs the question why anyone would choose to nap on dung.

Brian on a conference call for work. Seems a lot like his old job to me....

Our wonderful neighbor Sanaa, who is a junior in college, surprised us today with a model ger that he made entirely by himself. It is truly an amazing work of art that will have a place of honor in our new apartment.

Sanaa and his amazing ger.

It comes complete with a traditional stove and chest...

two beds and a miniature mirror....

a horse saddle (not pictured), and a sack for churning your airag (fermented horses' milk).