To view more pictures of the last few months, with a focus on my kids, please click here.  For a look at my life in the Army, go here.

Most of Saudi Arabia is close to what you probably imagine; lots of desert, lots of oil rigs (near the Persian Gulf) and lots of Bedoins.  There are some suprises though.  The desert is mostly hard rock, and very little sand dunes, the bedoins transport their camels in the back of Nissan pickup trucks, and nearly everyone here in a house or a tent has a sattelite dish for getting their MTV.

Here on Eskan Village, our biggest danger is not terrorists, it's the dump to our east, the oil burning power plant to the south, or the refinery to the southwest. Below you see the smoke drifting over Eskan from the nightly burning of tires at the local dump that coats our lungs as we do our PT.

Camping in the desert is one of the things we can do to keep from going crazy here.  Some of the guys get into shopping for gold, or rugs, or other items that are commonly referred to as "Saudi Gaudy" due to their lack of any style.

Another one of the nice things to do here is to snorkle or scuba dive in the Red Sea.  Since there are no rivers emptying into the sea, it is crystal clear most of the time, and perfect for both sports.  This is me snorkeling off of the corals near Jeddah.

Above is a sight to drive terror into the heart of any Palestinian, or liberal Democrat in the US for that matter.  In Israel it is common to see young men and women walking around with guns, and not just any guns.  These are assault rifles, the type used when you need to protect yourself against suicide bombers.  But contrary to current US liberal doctrine, it is not a constant shootout here over any little problem.  What I found was a populace at ease simply because they were so well armed!  No wonder Hillary supports a Palestinian State, teenagers in Israel disprove one of her firmest held beliefs!

Same camel as the one pictured above, only this time I'm in the picture too!

The Saudis call this place the "Edge of the World".  Good name, I think.  I refer to the rest of the country as the "Edge of Civilization".