Ocean of Sand

Last weekend I headed over to Dubai to get a couple of things. On the way home, I decided to go off the beaten track and take a wander in the desert a little just on the outer edge of Al Ain. I didn't stray far from the isolated little road I was on. I drove a short way into the desert along the road, pulled over, got out and went for a walk in the dunes. It was lots of fun. Here are some pics from my cellphone (since I didn't have a proper camera with me):

Along the way into the desert, I passed through a small farming community. Here are the roadside shops.

 

Lonely mosque

I took this picture after climbing up to the ridge of a sand dune. You know, it's much harder than it sounds climbing up a sand dune. It depends which side you're on. Generally speaking, one side has more compact sand and the other has softer sand. It's as if you take three steps forward and slide two steps back. But when you get to the top and can look out over the desert like this, it's worth it. It's like an ocean of sand stretching as far as the eye can see.

It astonishes me how plants manage to grow in such an arid environment. 

I always think of the lines in the sand as looking like thousands of snakes. The question is, are they slithering up the hill or down? Or perhaps it's more like a giant fingerprint on each dune?

In one of the valleys (or basins?) between dunes, I came across these tracks. I have no idea what creature would have caused them. lizard? snake? scorpion? desert hedgehog? Surely it doesn't look like a bird's tracks. There's a big one and a smaller one intersecting it. Any ideas?

And as with every adventure into the sand here, by the time I got back to the car, my shoes were filled with sand! haha. I have to say, for such a seemingly boring and monotone place, the desert is fantastic and strangely beautiful. I think I'll have to take more trips into the desert from now on. I say "trips" but I just mean driving a few minutes out of town. I don't fancy going on dune bashing trips or desert safaris or anything enthusiastic like that, just driving down a road, parking the car and going for a stroll like on this occasion. It was fun.